பிள்ளையார் ஆலயத்தை உடைத்து பௌத்த விகாரை கட்டிய இராணுவம் :சர்வதேச இந்துமத குருபீடம் கண்டனம்

July 05, 2016
இந்துக்களின் புனித பூமியாக விளங்கும் வடக்கில் இந்து ஆலயத்தை உடைத்து அழித்து பௌத்த விகாரை ஒன்று கட்டப்பட்டுள்ளமையை சர்வதேச இந்து மத குருபீடத்தின் சார்பில் வன்மையாக கண்டிக்கின்றோம் என சர்வதேச இந்து மத குரு பீடாதிபதி சபரிமலைக் குருமுதல்வர் ஸ்ரீ ஐயப்பதாஸ சாம்பசிவ சிவாச்சார்யார் தெரிவித்தார்.

குறித்த விடயம் தொடர்பாக லங்காசிறி 24 சேவைக்கு வழங்கிய விசேட செவ்வியிலே மேற்கொண்டவாறு தெரிவித்தார்.

அவர் இங்கு தொடர்ந்து கருத்து தெரிவிக்கையில்,

ஒவ்வொரு மனிதனும் தங்களின் மதங்களுக்குரிய ஆலயங்களுக்குச் சென்று வழிபட்டுவருகின்றமை வழமையான பண்டுதொட்டு வருகின்றது. அந்தவகையில் மதங்களுக்குள்ளே முரண்பாடான கருத்துக்களை மக்கள் மத்தியிலே திணிக்கின்றவகையிலே இன்று இலங்கை இராணுவத்தினரால் பல பௌத்த விகாரைகள் வடக்கில் அமைக்கப்பட்டு வருகின்ற செயலானது வேதனைக்குரியது.

விகாரைகள் அமைப்பது தவறது கிடையாது. அவரவருக்குரிய உரிய இடத்திலே ஆலயங்களை அமைத்துக்கொள்ளலாம்.

ஆனால் கடந்த யுத்த காலத்தில் இருந்து பாதுகாப்பு வலயமாக இருந்து தற்போது விடுவிக்கப்பட்ட வலி வடக்கு என்று சொல்லப்படுகின்ற காங்கேசன்துறைக்கு அண்மையிலே உள்ள வீமன்காமம் வடக்கிலுள்ள பிள்ளையார் (குமாரர்) ஆலயம் நீண்ட நாட்களாக பூசையின்றி குறித்த ஆலயம் சேதமடைந்திருந்த வேளை குறித்த ஆலயத்தை உடைத்து அவ்விடத்திலே ஒரு பௌத்த விகாரை ஒன்று கட்டப்பட்டிருப்பது இந்து மக்கள் மத்தியிலே ஒரு விசனத்தை ஏற்படுத்தியிருக்கின்றது.

குறித்த விடயத்தை உலகெங்கும் வாழும் இந்துக்களினால் பொறுத்துக் கொள்ளமுடியாது, காரணம் அங்கு இந்து வழிபாட்டிருற்குரிய விநாயகர் பெருமான் ஆலயமானது கடந்த முப்பது வருடமாக நடைபெற்ற யுத்தம் காரணமாக வழிபாட்டிற்கு செல்லமுடியாமல் இருந்து விடுவிற்க்கப்பட்ட தருனத்திலே அங்கு சென்று பார்க்கும்போது இராணுவத்தினரால் இந்து ஆலயம் அழிக்கப்பட்டு பௌத்த விகாரை ஒன்று அமைந்துள்ளமையானது வேதனைக்குரிய செயலாக பார்க்கின்றேன்.

புத்த பெருமானின் போதனையிலே அகிம்சையை போதித்தவர், எனவே பௌத்த மதத்தை ஏற்பவர்கள் அகிம்சை வழியில் தான் செல்லவேண்டுமென புத்த பெருமான் போதித்திருக்கின்றார். அதனை விடுத்து முற்றுமுழுதாக தமிழர்களாகிய இந்துக்கள் வாழும் புனித பூமியில் இந்துக்கள் வேதனைப்படும் அளவிற்கு இந்து ஆலயத்தை உடைத்து ஒரு பௌத்த விகாரை கட்டியிருப்பதனை சர்வதேச இந்துமத குருபீடத்தின் சார்பில் நாமும் அதனை வன்மையாக கண்டிக்கின்றோம்.

குறித்த விடயத்திற்கு உரிய அதிகாரிகள் உடன் நடவடிக்கை எடுக்கவேண்டும் என கோரிக்கை விடுக்கின்றேன். இன்று கிளிநொச்சி மாவட்டத்தை எடுத்துக்கொண்டால் பத்துக்கு மேற்ப்பட்ட பௌத்த விகாரைகள் அமைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன.

கடந்த காலத்தில் இந்து மற்றும் இஸ்லாமிய பள்ளி வாசல்கள் உடைக்கப்பட்டு அழிக்கப்பட்ட சம்பவங்களும் எமது நாட்டில் பதிவாகியுள்ளது.

அதனை விட இன்று கிழக்கு மாகாணத்திலும் தமிழ்ர்களின் எல்லைக் கிராமங்களில் பெரும்பான்மையினர் அத்துமீறி குடியேறி பௌத்த விகாரைகளை அமைத்துவருகின்றனர்.

அதன்படி மட்டக்களப்பு வாகரைப் பிரதேச செயலக பிரிவில் பௌத்த விகாரை அமைப்பதற்கு அரச அதிபர் அனுமதி அளித்திருப்பதாக அறியமுடிகின்றது. இவ்வாறான செயற்பாடுகளை கண்டிக்கின்றோம்.

நிலத்தில் ஏன் இவ்வாறான செயற்பாடுகளை நிறுவி இன மத ஒற்றுமையை சீர்குலைக்க முற்படுகின்றார்கள்.

முப்பது வருட கால யுத்தத்தில் பேரழிவுகளைச் சுமந்து ஆறாதவடுக்களாக இன்றும் தத்தழித்து தவிர்த்துக்கொண்டிருக்கும் எம் இந்து மக்களின் புனித பூமிகளில் இவ்வாறான பௌத்த விகாரைகள் அமைப்தென்பது வேதனைக்குரிய செயற்பாடாகும்.

வட கிழக்கில் அதிகமான நிலப்பரப்பில் பூர்வீகமாக தமிழர்களாகிய இந்துக்கள் வாழ்ந்து வருகின்ற நிலையில் பௌத்தர்கள் இல்லை.

குறித்த விடயத்தை இந்து விவகார அமைச்சர் டி.எம்.சுவாமிநாதன் மற்றும் வடக்கு கிழக்கு முதலமைச்சர்கள், அரசியல்வாதிகள் போன்றவர்கள் கவனத்தில் எடுத்து விரைவாக உரிய நடவடிக்கை எடுக்கவேண்டுமென கேட்டுக்கொள்கின்றேன் என குறிப்பிட்டார்.

Note on Jaffna: Other side of the Quarrel

by Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

( July 22, 2016, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) If even one citizen who is sovereign seeks a solution – the solution is already there for the problem that manifested through the University of Jaffna. As per the Island:

‘Northern Province Governor Reginald Cooray yesterday invited undergraduates who had been forced to return to Colombo following last Saturday’s violent incident in the University of Jaffna to return to Jaffna and resume their studies.’

Is it the role of the Governor to extend such an invitation? The incident is a strong indicator of the true situation in Jaffna. If the Government continues to keep Sinhalese Armed Forces in North – then the Government’s Truth is that Jaffna is ‘unsafe’ for Sinhalese or it seeks to proactively prevent the rebirth of Tigers by using the threat of Arms. Jaffna is not safe yet for anyone activating Sinhala first theories. The young and the restless have the potential to become Tigers if they are not kept occupied in their official positions.

It is not uncommon these days to hear in Jaffna – the saying that ‘it would not have happened if the ‘boys’ were here’. This is true because ‘the boys’ controlled by arms those who could not manage themselves intellectually. But Jaffna has its own civilization led by the Caste system which is still indirectly practiced. If the caste system had prevailed as per its core purpose – that being largely for employment purposes – Jaffna would easily restructure to suit the current system of Democracy by devolving itself as per its own specialties – one of which is higher education. Sinhalese coming to Jaffna despite the risks – confirms this relative value in Sri Lankan structure.

Now that we know that law and order is at low levels – we need to use our own Truth. Instead of focusing on the past – through Reconciliation rhetoric – we ought to train those going from North to South and v.v. – to arrange their mind order to suit their new environments. In Thunaivi – Northern Sri Lanka – I learnt that those going to Middle East have to first go through basic training to adjust to their new employers/masters. Most do not go through any technical training – as they are already above average in those skills. But when it comes to social order – these folks lack the higher mind order. Many come back because they cannot take orders from their new masters. They like the ‘freedom’ back at home. In Thunaivi – I do not use the order I use in Vaddukkodai or Jaffna. If I did use one rule – I would be erring and my mind would become disorderly.

In Mahabharatham there is a good example in regards to the eligibility to inherit the throne.   The two competing princes – Thuriyothanan of majority side and Dharmar of minority side – were asked to deliver judgment in regards to four guys killing a man. Thuriyothanan – like President Joko Widodo of Indonesia – said words to the effect ‘simple – the death penalty to all four’. Dharmar said that each one of the offenders was of different caste and hence there could not be one general punishment to all. The Shudran (manual laborer/process worker) was given 4 years rigorous imprisonment; the Vaishyan (farmer / businessman) was given 8 years; the Kshatriyan (Administrator / Military Ruler / Judiciary/ Governor) was sentenced to 16 years and the Brahmin (priest caste who were also Gurus)  who was delegated to be punished by the Royal Guru – undertook to immolate himself.

Using the highly civilized pathway – University students who volunteered to come to Jaffna – need to seek guidance from their gurus or decide for themselves as to how to punish or reward themselves. If the Government did not influence them to come to Jaffna – the Government has no responsibility to protect them above any other member of civil society in that area. Likewise Tamil students have to decide whether they want their parents to suffer more losses of their investments in higher education through their children becoming fighters when they have to learn and leave their parents to die without anyone who would carry forward their contribution to  Jaffna heritage.

The LTTE used mostly Shudras in their armed forces but today the heaviest punishment is being suffered by them. The restructure of elevating a manual worker to become decision maker for the whole – is in breach of the fundamentals of the Thesawalamai principles – according to which one cannot be punished above one’s position in social order. One who takes ‘authority’ beyond this order – does so at her/his own risk. This applies also to Southerners coming to Jaffna before we have in place an appropriate Common system.

The original article and other articles of the author can be viewed at her blog– Edts.

Parents of 800 students not willing to send children to Jaffna uni.

2016-07-21
A Parents collective of the injured Jaffna University students said today they would not send their children to the university until the security of the students were guaranteed.

The parents of over 800 Sinhala students wrote to the Vice Chancellor of the University saying that the students faced constant security threats.

 Addressing a media conference in Colombo, the parents also asserted the need to reinforce mechanisms to enhance mutual understanding between communities in the university. 

The letter sent and copied to the President, Prime Minister and the Minister of Higher Education further urged the administration to provide in house hostel facilities to students. 

“We as parents are faced with a big dilemma following the recent clash, and are unwilling to send our children back to university until concrete steps are taken to ensure their security” the letter said. (Indika Sri Aravinda)

Is the Air Pollution Analysis for the Sampur Coal Plant Credible?

Featured image courtesy Tamil Guardian

LAREEF ZUBAIR-on 07/21/2016

From Lareef Zubair, with contributors Shashini Rathnayake, Janan Vishwanathan and Zeenas Yahiya of the Foundation for Environment, Climate and Technology

Where does the Wind take pollutants from Sampur?

As per modern myth, school texts, national atlases, and indigenous forecasters, the wind blows from the North-East over Sri Lanka at the turn of the calendar year. Even the birds know it. The transcontinental migrants draft on the North-Easterlies and steer to hone in to Hambantota for the Siberian winters. However, the analysis of atmospheric pollution in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the coal burning power plant proposed at Sampur presumes that the wind blows from the South-East. On this discrepancy, rides not only the credibility of the EIA but impacts of profound consequence.

 A 3-D visualization of Sri Lanka topography.  Courtesy: Gunaratne and Zubair, 2015.

If the wind is from the North-East, it shall entrain the pollutants from Sampur towards the central mountain ranges from Ritigala to Namunukula. Mountains amplify the impacts of pollutants on atmospheric chemistry and cloud physics. Even a modest rise in toxic gases can have damaging consequences on the air people and animals breathe, the water they drink, and ecosystems. This can impact the quality of tea, agriculture and homegardens not on the slopes, and downstream and hydropower generation.

Coal burning power plants release dust and pollutants and toxins such as Mercury into the atmosphere. Every year, the Sampur plant is projected to vent 10,000 tons of Sulphur Dioxide, 10,000 tons of Nitrous Dioxide, 1700 tons of other particulate matter and other toxins and 4 million tons of Carbon Dioxide. These are monumental quantities that cry out for serious attention.

To show that this is safe, the EIA consultants from New Delhi, Mantec Consultants Ltd, rely on a computer model which tries to mimic the venting of these chemicals into the atmosphere. Such computer models are built on vast generalisations and shaky assumptions. To mitigate the shortcomings, all available data should be used after careful quality control and the results should be cross-examined.

The Wind over Sri Lanka from December to February

Mantec relies on one year of observations by Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) at Sampur and another month of their own measurements. This is a hundredth of the wind observation that are available. It may be that the CEB instruments registered something extraordinary over Sampur from December 2012 to February 2013. This possibility should be entertained after cross checking the data against observations in the neighbourhood. Usually when one undertakes environmental observations in a new site, stringent checks should be undertaken. Often there are instrument errors, calibration errors or simply misalignment or errors in recording data. No reports on quality control have been presented.  The “windrose” from Mantec which represents the direction from which wind comes and is shown here is consistent with the Mantec finding that the wind from December to February  comes largely from the South-East.

The “Windrose” is a representation of which direction the wind comes from. The distribution of wind speeds from each direction December 2012 to February 2013 is shown as estimated by Mantec. Courtesy: Sampur EIA from Mantec.

The wind directions for December to February that Mantec has presented are at odds with measurements from the Department of Meteorology, the Air Force, by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) elsewhere and our own institute in Kandy. Satellite wind observations and climate model simulations too present North-Easterly flows.  There are dozens of research papers to confirm this – for example,  the CEB observations at Sita Eliya (Zubair, 2002a) and Hambantota  (Zubair, 1998).

Above: The average wind from observations during January at a height of about a km is shown as an arrow. The   average rainfall is shown in shades of green and as contours. Below: Windrose for January for 16 years observation at China Bay, Trincomalee. The wind direction in this case is from the North-East.

Assumptions & Generalisations Regarding Wind and Air Pollution in the EIA

There are other causes for concern. Mantec have made the following inter-locking assumptions and generalisations:

a)    The wind measurements in Sampur represents the wind across the East.

A better accounting of regional variation in wind is needed.  There are variations due to location, storms, mountains and sea breeze.   The sea-breeze and the desiccating mountain slope winds (“kachchan kaththa”in Tamil)  affect  Sampur in a particular way.

b)    Wind observations at Sampur can be extrapolated to higher elevations

The CEB instrument does not reach the high elevations that the pollutants travel to. It is hard to capture the wind profile at higher elevations without observations. The assumptions in the software developed in the USA about the upper air should have been verified for our specific equatorial geography.

c)     One year of wind observations is enough

The wind varies substantially from year to year variation of wind in Sri Lanka. For example, in some years there are storms and even cyclones. In other years, the El Nino alters the wind flow. One cannot just use one year of data to project for the next half century, if serious.

d)    The past can represent the future

With climate change (Zubair et al., 2015), one cannot assume that the past represents the future. The EIA does not address the risks posed by climate change such as more frequent intense rainfall, cyclones, a rise in sea level or changing wind and storm patterns, all of it of  relevance for Trincomalee.

These shortcomings could have been mitigated by making use of all available data, consulting past research, addressing inconsistencies and communicating what risks this analysis has not addressed.

Pollution Concentrations on the Ground According to the EIA

Based on these data and assumptions, the  Mantec model estimates dispersion of dust, nitrous oxides, sulphurous oxides and particulate matter under idealised conditions. For example, there shall be no plant breakdowns or accidental large releases – both occurrences of undue frequency at Norochcholai. Essentially the model projects how much of the dust shall settle in the region just surrounding the power plant.  They limit their analysis to 20 kilometres.  The wind data for December to February largely blows from in-between the East and South-East directions.

The output from the Mantec model perplexes –  for example, in the December to February period, the pollutants are carried towards the South-East and into the sea. In other words, the pollutants go against the wind. Nowhere on the earth’s surface is passive matter known to go against the wind.

Nitrous Oxide Pollution  for Dec-Feb period as estimated by Mantec: The contours shows the peak concentration of nitrous oxides for a day due to the emissions.  We inset an arrow to show the South-Easterly wind direction that the wind comes from according to Mantec.      Notice, the contours with higher concentration is drawn towards the South-East against the direction of wind.  In other seasons too, the pollutants appear to go against the wind in their models. Source:   Mantec EIA Report.

In an attempt to validate the Mantec model results, the Industrial Technology Institute (former CISIR) was contracted by Mantec to undertake similar simulations.  The ITI model – which is a commercial version of what Mantec used – too relies on similar assumptions and generalizations.   They too use only one year of wind data albeit from a climate model run in the US and no ground observations. Not enough information is given in the EIA for comparison across seasons.  However, the patterns of dispersion of pollutants they project is misaligned with that from Mantec and the pollutant concentrations is several times that from Mantec.  The EIA does not reconcile the discrepancies which defeats the objective of validation.

Not matter how complex the models or are how attractive the outputs appear, the truth that all modelers live by – “Rubbish In, Rubbish Out” – holds.

What Can We Infer for Mountains and the Atmosphere Above us?

Wind and Rainfall in the North-East Monsoon

As the North-Easterlies winds take moist air up the mountain slope, it encounters cooler temperatures. As it cools, the water vapour in the air condenses into tiny droplets. These droplets  forms only on tiny impurities that are found even in the pristine air in the East. These droplets keep growing into clouds until they are large enough till they burst and fall as rainfall. This mechanism is what gives us the heaviest rainfall on the eastern slopes of our hills from December to February (Zubair, 1999).

Increase the pollution levels even modestly, and the droplets shall become a mist rather than a rain cloud and pass over the mountains an onwards West. Not only can such slight increases in pollution reduce rainfall, it can also reduce solar radiation and change evaporation. It can reduce the flow in our eastern streams and disturb the ecosystems from the hills to the eastern coast directly.

 Average Wind estimated from observations and simple laws of nature  for December.  The size of arrow for wind speed of 10 meters/second is shown at the bottom-right.   Source: Gunaratne and Zubair, 2015.    

Impacts of Pollution Streams on the Mountain Slopes

The sulphurous and nitrous oxide emissions along with the heavy metals can lead to toxic rainfall. This can have far reaching consequences on our climate, the health of humans, ecosystems, water supply, air we breathe, the quality of tea, agriculture, and hydropower generation. The contamination shall be not only on the eastern mountain slopes but be carried to the eastern slopes and and to the coasts by rain and rivers.

Two decades back, Prof. Oliver Illepurama’s research group undertook studies in Kandy and reported that air pollution levels for some of the gases released at Sampur were hazardous much more than in Kandy (Illeperuma and Abeyratne, 2002) – things have only got worse since (Illeperuma, 2015). Thus in Kandy, the only place we have data, it is clear that there is a hazard to public health from the additional risk from Sampur.

Learning from other Coal Plants

The   surroundings of the Norochcholai power plant are covered in dust particularly when the wind blows from the South-West. No government body monitors and reports on it. And one can only describe this as  willful and convenient blindness by the state.

As poorly anticipated, monitored and mitigated as the air pollution at Norochcholai is, the consequences at Sampur can be worse. The wind field and topography is such that the pollutants from Norochcholai are entrained away from our mountains  but not that from  Sampur.

Some argue that combustion technology and air scrubbing system is more advanced at Sampur Power Plant. This assurance needs to be taken with caution. A model “clean technology” coal power plant was installed 3 years ago in Mississippi, USA in much more advantageous circumstances, and despite all the promises and state support, it has only left massive pollution far and no one accountable to clean up (New York Times, July 5, 2016).

Credibility of the Air Pollution Analysis

When anyone proposes to experiment with our atmosphere by injecting  millions of tonnes of chemicals for multiple decades,  we should take extraordinary care.  We must have air pollution projections which are transparently done, are scientifically defensible,  and undertaken with  integrity, technical competence and professionalism.    The results should be presented openly and reviewed independently . By using air pollution models which are limited by design in what it can anticipate, by using input data that are suspect, by not consulting what is already known, by providing no credible validation, by limiting the checks to pollution levels at the ground alone, and by not being forthcoming about the limitations, the EIA process for the coal plants has not credibly addressed the danger ahead.

According to the EIA regulations (Zubair, 2002b), those affected should be informed and consulted in formulating the projects. If the fisher-folk of Sampur whose livelihood and health likely is compromised by this project and who know to live by their wits through an intimacy with the rhythms of the air and seas had been asked, they could have told the Consultants from New Delhi and Colombo and their clients, as to which way the wind blows.

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References:

• Abeyratne, V.D.K. & Ileperuma, O.A., (2011). Air pollution monitoring in the city of Kandy: possible transboundary effects. Journal of the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka. 34(3), pp.137–141. http://jnsfsl.sljol.info/articles/abstract/10.4038/jnsfsr.v34i3.3644/
• Illeperuma, O.A. (2015), Open Dalada Veediya to Reduce Air Pollution in Kandy, Island, January 23, 2015.http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=118175

• Zubair, L., 1998, Diurnal and seasonal variation of surface winds at Hambantota, Journal of the National Science Council, Sri Lanka, 25(3).235-245p. http://jnsfsl.sljol.info/articles/abstract/10.4038/jnsfsr.v26i3.5006/

• Zubair, L., 1999, Modeling Orographic Rainfall in Sri Lanka, Meteorology Beyond 2000, Transactions of the Indian Meteorological Society, February 1999, 269-273.
• Zubair, L., 2002a Diurnal and Seasonal Wind Climate at Sita Eliya, Sri Lanka, Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 71 (1-2): 119-127.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs704-002-8212-2

• Zubair, L., 2002b, An Assessment of Environmental Impact Assessment in Sri Lanka,Environmental Impact Analysis Review, 21(5): 469-478. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195925501000816

• Zubair, et al. (2015). Climate Change Impacts on Rice Farming Systems in North Western Sri Lanka, In Handbook of Climate Change and Agroecosystems: Global and Regional Aspects and Implications. D. Hillel, and C. Rosenzweig, Eds., ICP Series on Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation, and Mitigation, Vol. 3. Imperial College Press. http://nix.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20150010249&qs=N%3D4294966724

Basil remanded again! this time for misusing Divi Neguma funds of the poor Sri Lankans ! Basil who was to march from Kandy to Colombo marches into the arms of the law !!

B report hereunder

(Lanka-e-News -19.July.2016, 11.10PM) Ex minister Basil Rohana Rajapakse ,the notorious  younger brother of Machiavellian ex president of Sri Lanka(SL), and Divi Neguma fund Director general Kithsiri Ranawake were again remanded yesterday until the  1 st of August . They were charged with misusing the Divi Neguma funds meant  to provide relief to the abysmally poor people of SL .Over Rs. 36,500,000 out of the funds had been misused by Basil to purchase GI pipes to make flags to be used at the last  presidential elections for his elder  brother Mahinda Rajapakse’s election campaign.

The people must be waiting to see Basil Rajapakse who was to march from Kandy to Colombo in a day or two , will now suddenly fall sick and get himself admitted to hospital after he is  remanded.

Lanka e news reported this morning ,Basil who got wind of the fact that he would go behind bars yesterday , would be choosing an auspicious time to leave his home.

It is the consensus of the people who are witnessing the regular prison entry and exit of the corrupt and fraudulent Rajapakse siblings and family members  that a special revolving door for them has been installed in the prison lately , for Namal Rajapakse who was in remand prison came out today  when Basil went in , as though it is fated that there must be at least one Rajapakse inside the prison to hold aloft its roof from falling .

B report handed over to court by FCID against Basil and his accomplice is hereunder …

The FCID via its B report to court stated , out of  the gross expenditure account of the department , a sum of Rs. 36,509,127 .78  had been spent wrongly , and in violation of financial regulations, GI pipes have been bought and distributed among 59 local bodies to boost Mahinda Rajapakse’s 2015 presidential election campaign . That is  the government funds of  the Divi Neguma development department had been abused , and irregularities have been committed. Mind you all these funds would have otherwise been utilized to provide relief to the poor Sri Lankans.

Following the exhaustive and extensive investigation conducted by the FCID it was discovered that a sum of Rs. 36,509,127.78 of government funds have been misused during the period between 2014-09-30 and 2014- 11-17. The GI pipes have been purchased on four occasions and distributed  Island wide to the Pradeshiya sabhas.

The most curious  and abominable part of this racket is , this distribution had been done when not a single pradeshiya sabha had made such a request . What’s more ? these GI pipes have been distributed to the pradeshiya sabhas without any prior notice via lorries of Lanka pohora Co. All these GI pipes were used for the election campaign of deposed president Mahinda Rajapakse. 

Investigations have revealed that Basil who was the minister in charge, and the ex Director General Kithsiri Ranawake of Divi Neguma department were directly involved in this fraud and colossal waste of public funds.

In the B report filed and produced in  court on 2016-03-09 , all the records of the investigation  , statements and evidence have been incorporated.

All the quotes and records relevant to the FCID  investigation were forwarded to the AG under Ref. CR 05/12/ 2016. Based on that , the AG by his letter dated 2016-07-05 had advised the FCID.

Based on  AG’s instructions ….

1.Basil Rohana Rajapakse and Amitha Kithsiri Ranawake have committed an offence and been linked to it under sections 113 (a) , 102 and 388 of the Penal code read in conjunction with the enactment of 1999 No. 28 amending Public property ACT 1982 No12 . They are therefore liable under section 5 (01) of that ACT.

The suspects involved following   the FCID investigations and  based on the advice of the AG are :

*Basil Rohana Rajapakse of 114 , Medamulana Walauwe, Weeraketiya
*Amitha Kithsiri Ranawake of 42 A, McKenzie Road , Keppetipola mawatha , Colombo 05.

These individuals upon  being informed arrived at the FCID., and after the  offences committed were read over to them they were arrested. They were then produced before the honorable court.

Basil Rohana Rajapakse and Amitha Kithsiri Ranawake based on the charges filed against them under sections 113 (a) , 102 and 388 read in conjunction with the enactment of 1999 No. 28 amending Public property ACT 1982 No12 which rendered them  liable under section 5 (01) of the ACT, were remanded until the 1 st of August 2016 by the Kaduwela magistrate Dhammika Hemapala who granted the request made by FCID to remand them .

This is the second occasion Basil was remanded. When he was remanded on the earlier occasion a ‘Nandana vindhana’ (melodramatic devil dance recital) was performed on the court premises , but yetsreday when he was remanded , neither Nanda nor  Vindha nor Banda nor his Goondas arrived even to see him or  perform the devil dance.

Basil who was readying to march from Kandy to Colombo in a day or two , finally marched into the arms of the law..! The people are now watching intently whether Basil who tried to show himself off as a  hero but now proved well and truly as a villain of villains will in a day or two admit himself to prison. In which case the people had vowed to teach a lesson of a lifetime to the corrupt prison hospital doctors who submissive to  filthy lucre ,and are selling the professional honor and dignity shamelessly and sordidly . 

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by     (2016-07-19 18:45:53)

Yahapālanaya: Another Corrupt Government That Duplicates The Former

By DNR Samaranayaka –July 21, 2016

DNR Samaranayaka

A majority of the decisions that have been taken by the coalition government since it came to power in 2015 appear to be contrary to the expectations of the people who helped its formation. A clear indication of this is the number of articles that are very critical to the government now appearing not only on websites, but also in the print media. The newspapers such as The Daily Mirror, The Island, The Sunday Times, Ceylon Today, and The Weekend Leader were earlier not engaged in openly criticising previous governments, but they too are now highly critical about this government, especially with regard to its corrupt practices. Already, the government is experiencing a backlash from civil organizations about its broken promises. This is the first government in known history to face a barrage of criticisms from the public within the first year of administration.

The coalition government came into power promising to adopt an administrative system known as ‘Yahapalanaya’. It is normally referred to as a government devoid of undemocratic practices such as corruption, threats, abductions, suppression of freedom speech or similar unethical practices and without abusing the executive powers of the presidency. The commitment to Yahapalanaya was in fact promoted as the raison d’etre of this new coalition much to the comfort and support of the popular masses who were thoroughly disappointed with the corrupt practices manifested under the Rajapaksa regime. Thus on the promise and expectation of Yahaplanaya, this government was elected. Among the identified priorities of the coalition government were the action against political corruption, establishment of an Ethical Code of Conduct, and re-establishment of democracy and good governance.

Broken Promises

Since the formation of the coalition government, commissions such as the FCID and PRECIAC have been established to investigate political corruption which occurred under the former administration. However, the promises that were made to bring corrupt politicians to justice have not produced any results up to now. Every day it is reported that the politicians of the former administration are visiting the FCID or PRECIAC to record statements. Disappointingly, nothing much happens thereafter. Although the level of corruption was the main issue that led to the defeat of Mahinda Rajapaksa, and a highlight of the opposition campaign, it now seems apparent that this issue is no longer a priority. It would seem that the issue of corruption was of a huge concern to the ordinary masses was deliberately used by the then opposition as a massive stick to beat the previous government and ultimately come into power.

Read More

Confession in Raviraj case, for whose want?

Jul 21, 2016

A certain senior official of the Attorney General’s Department has instructed the further remanding of one of the suspects in the murder of MP, lawyer Nadaraja Raviraj, say department sources. It is the same person who had made a confession as per clause 127 of the criminal procedure code. 

He has been named a witness of the state, but except him, all the other suspects have been given bail, which is clearly a conspiracy, says a department official.

 

This will discourage suspects of criminal cases from coming forward to make confessions in the future, the official notes. By now, certain department officials are acting in the manner the ‘Divaina’ editorial members behave, that is justifying any crime on the pretext of Sinhala Buddhism, the official told us further.

CID Grills Rajapaksa’s Ex-PSD Personnel Over Thajudeen Murder

July 21, 2016

Several PSD officers who served under former President Mahinda Rajapaksa have been questioned by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) over the murder of ruggerite Wasim Thajudeen.

State Counsel Dilan Rathnayake informed the Colombo Additional Magistrate Nishantha Peiris on Wednesday that Udaya Nandana Nagahawattaarachchi who served in the PSD as a staff sergeant had been interrogated by the CID over the incident. Along with Nagahawattaarachchi, four other officers attached to the PDS who also served Rajapaksa when he was President have also been questioned.

In February, Colombo Additional Magistrate, Nishantha Pieris ruled that Thajudeen was murdered, and ordered the CID to arrest the suspects in connection to his murder.

Two sons of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Namal, who is a Parliamentarian, and Yoshitha, who is out on bail over a money laundering case at the Carlton Sports Network, are alleged to be involved in the incident. However, both have reportedly denied involvement. Six suspects, including ‘Captain Tissa‘, the personal chauffer of former President Rajapaksa, who also served as a bodyguard to former First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa, and their sons, Namal and Yoshitha have been identified as a possible suspect by CID.

Read More

Notorious Weerawansa plans to avenge Namal’s incarceration by taking it out on Daham

(Lanka-e-News -20.July.2016, 7.00 PM) Wimal Weerawansa the notorious passport fraudster  (spouse too was remanded over passport fraud ) has hatched a conspiracy to avenge the imprisonment of Namal Rajapakse another racketeer by taking out his anger on president Maithripala’s son Daham Sirisena, based on reports reaching Lanka e news inside information division.

Weerawansa the grade 9 qualified Modawansa has discussed  this conspiracy with a group very close to him in a house at Pitakotte, and has decided to print mud slinging posters against Daham.

Initially , it  was planned to sling mud at Daham by implicating in an illicit deal , but because Daham has no such deals  to prove with evidence , it was decided to implicate falsely  him in a woman involvement which would look more real  because Daham is young. Finally Weerawansa has taken upon himself the task of producing the posters maligning Daham by falsely linking him to  a woman.

Meanwhile , Sarath Weerawansa the elder brother of Wimal Weerawansa who was summoned to the Police for questioning over misuse of State assets  during the period when Wimal was the housing minister  has still not responded , and is dodging the police.

Sarath Weerawansa is wanted by the FCID in connection with the illicit sale of 12 vehicles  belonging to the National housing Authority and presidential secretariat.

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by     (2016-07-20 13:28:28)

Square pegs in round holes

Editorial-July 21, 2016, 9:11 pm 

JVP MP Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa revealed in Parliament on Wednesday that 56 UNP supporters had been appointed Road Development Authority (RDA) consultants and 54 of them had only passed the GCE O/L examination or studied up to Grade Eleven. Only two of those consultants had got through the GCE A/L examination, the House was told.

Minister Kiriella had to admit that the newly appointed RDA consultants were party supporters. It was thanks to the efforts of such people that the UNP-led coalition had been able to win both presidential and parliamentary polls in the Kandy District last year, he said, claiming that their interests had to be looked after. He was obviously trying to defend the indefensible.

It was a supreme irony that Dr. Jayatissa happened to raise the issue of educational qualification of the aforesaid political appointees in Parliament. It was revealed in 2014 that 94 members of the last parliament had failed the GCE O/L and 142 of them the GCE A/L! The situation must be more or less the same in the present parliament as well.

So, one may ask what moral right parliamentarians have to question the educational qualifications of others. If the legislators who haven’t passed the GCE O/L can handle public finance and make vital laws why can’t similarly ‘qualified’ people work as road development consultants?

A person who has not passed the GCE O/L cannot secure employment even at the lowest level of the public service. There is hardly any difference between state officials and parliamentarians in that the latter are also paid with public funds. So, one may be justified in arguing that politicians who draw higher salaries than most of the senior public officials should have better educational qualifications.

There is no way the government can justify employing its henchmen as consultants paid with public funds in return for services rendered. Political affiliations mustn’t be considered the sole criterion for public sector employment. If one is to go by Minister Kiriella’s contention then one may think it is a mistake for a youth to exert himself to pass examinations and receive university education; there is no guarantee that he will be able to secure employment upon graduation. But, if he drops out of school before sitting the GCE O/L and places himself at the beck and call of politicians he can rest assured that he will land a plum job in the state sector as an advisor, a consultant or even as a director of a state bank or a provincial governor.

Political appointments have been the bane of the public service which is full of square pegs in round holes. Most of the state institutions are overstaffed, but governments continue to recruit their backers.

One of the main issues the self-appointed champions of good governance currently in power very effectively flogged to turn public opinion against the last government was the appointment of party supporters and politicians’ kith and kin sans required qualifications to important positions in the state sector. Having captured power by promising CHANGE, the members of the incumbent administration are doing exactly what they hauled their opponents over the coals for. This, they do while extolling the virtues of good governance!

The JVP is one of the parties that circled the wagons around Opposition common candidate Maithripala Sirisena, helped engineer last year’s regime change and paved the way for the formation of the present administration. So, the blame for the misfits going places in the state sector thanks to their political affiliations needs to be apportioned to the JVP as well.

Ruling party politicians and their henchmen seem to have all the luck!