Sri Lanka: Past Experiences and Current Trends

Following article based on the speech delivered by the writer at the Darebin Intercultural Centre in Melbourne on the topic Sri Lanka: Past Experiences and Current Trend, recently.

by Dr Lionel Bopage-Jun 18, 2017

( June 18, 2017, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) First let me thank the Darebin Ethnic Communities Council and Darebin Intercultural Centre for inviting me to speak at this Pop-Up Art Studio event.

The biography Rebellion, Repression and the Struggle for Justice in Sri Lanka: The Lionel Bopage Story, which Michael Colin Cooke authored, came into being during the time of my association with the Darebin Ethnic Communities Council. The story presented was based on a series of discussions that Gaetano Greco, Nalliah Suriyakumaran, Michael, Chitra and I had about Sri Lankan politics as practiced currently and in the past. There were strong arguments as Suri came from a LSSP background, Gaetano from Labour Left and Michael from a left trade union background. These discussions signified an alternative view of Sri Lanka’s history that was unavailable at the time. In depicting this alternative view, writing this biography was considered worthwhile.

Sri Lanka’s big mess was not mainly the result of the activities  of the JVP, the LTTE, trade unions, working people, Tamils, Muslims or expatriates. It is due to the socio-economic policies, and political strategies and tactics successive regimes have followed since 1948. Those policies were formulated discriminatively based on peoples’ background such as class, ethnicity, caste, religion and sex. Thus, Sri Lanka’s body politic was unable to develop a wider nationalism that transcended ethnicity. It is such policy calculus that destroyed the country’s social fabric and continues to destroy it even today.

After coming to power, all regimes even those with red appendages broke most of the pledges they had made during elections. As successive regimes imposed more and more economic burdens, people found it increasingly more difficult. During my university days, most undergraduates holding Arts degrees were unemployed. Ironically, even some of those who had medical degrees could not find work. Cost of living pressures, the rights of workers being curtailed by structural reforms as prescribed by the World Bank and IMF; lack of water and land for peasants etc. had been and still are prominent issues in the south. Hence, socio-economic and political context is paramount in understanding the evolution of the political program of the JVP.

The era we live in today is totally different from the environment that existed in the seventies with the introduction of neo-liberalism by the likes of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, and in Sri Lanka by J R Jayawardena. Capitalist globalisation intensified allowing free flow of capital across national borders for investment, and regulated flow of labour to satisfy production needs of such investment and domestic needs overseas such as in the Middle-East.

The fundamental social changes the Sinhala youth expected in May 1970 from the SLFP led coalition did not materialise. So, the youth set about organizing to implement that radical program for social justice. This flared into the April 1971 Uprising. Whatever the limitations of that uprising, reasons for the conflict point to major flaws in Sri Lankan institutions. Several analysts, historians and academics simply present this uprising as an isolated revolt by misguided youth or the work of a confused guy called Rohana Wijeweera. They place the responsibility for deaths and impairment during the uprising entirely on JVP.

However, the Criminal Justice Commission records show that the JVP was responsible for 41 civilian deaths, killing 63 members of the armed forces and wounding 305 security personnel. In retaliation, the state killed between 5,000 and 10,000 JVP cadre and sympathisers and arbitrarily detained about 25,000 JVP supporters. Many JVP cadre and civilians were extra-judicially murdered not at armed confrontations, but after arrest. Immaterial of the politics we pursued at the time, the capitalist state convicted us for the role we played against the imperial state and the neo-imperial CIA plots. Yet, the criminal nefarious role the state armed forces played during that time had never been subjected to public scrutiny. The story Michael has written portrays my life within that socio-economic and political context.

With state complicity, Tamils in the south were at regular intervals, brutally attacked and tortured, with thousands massacred, women raped and properties destroyed, simply because they were Tamils. Some were burnt alive. So, it was not surprising that the gun rather than the ballot became the tool in their struggle. Since the eighties, reprisals of Tamil militants were similarly brutal and inhumane, engaging in torture, abduction and detention of adversaries, arbitrary arrests, disappearances and killings. Many Sinhala and Muslim civilians including women and children were hacked to death. The conflict grew in intensity and ruthlessness and was militarily defeated. Yet the political conflict that gave rise to that bloodshed continues.

Without talking about the current situation in Sri Lanka, a discussion of the biography Michael wrote will be incomplete. The situation in Sri Lanka appears to be deteriorating rapidly. Obviously, a destabilisation exercise is on aimed at transforming or overthrowing the current regime to bring back those who were previously in power. Ordinary people seems to argue along the lines: ‘this lot is worse than the previous lot. They were corrupt, but did something for the country. This lot is more corrupt, but does not do anything much for the country’.

People sent the previous mob home wanting to achieve good governance through constitutional reforms, reconciliation, controlling corruption, ensuring rule of law and creating conditions for a better economic environment. Yet, everything seems to be stuck in a power game where the focus is either on gaining control of the SLFP, or on providing perks to school mates and friends. Reconciliation can move forward only when the mindset of certain politicians and bureaucrats seeing dissent as unpatriotic is changed; the rule of law becomes paramount; impunity granted to perpetrators of human rights abuses is rescinded and organs of the state are reformed.

The greatest threat to economy is endemic corruption. In Sri Lanka too, corruption has become a way of life undermining the rule of law, impeding development and promoting mis-governance. The political will at the highest levels to rectify the situation appears to have disappeared or diminished. Corruption appears to have also influenced law enforcement and judicial mechanisms. Many governments have come to power promising to eradicate corruption, but it has penetrated almost all political and bureaucratic strata. Ordinary people cannot survive without giving and/or accepting bribes. Charges of corruption, even if laid, usually do not withstand the legal process, and more often never lead to convictions.

The current regime does not seem to have the needed strength due to issues of balance of power. Additionally, it lacks courage due to the indecisive nature of its leaders to act against culprits. When the regime has no conviction, courage or strength to control corruption among politicians and bureaucrats, what could one expect? Having talk shops and issuing grand statements are not enough. They need to be followed through by action. Unless the regime walks its talk, it will be like the previous regimes, who promised good governance and reconciliation, but made democratic spaces even more slim.  When we see that the same old cycle unfolding all over again, we need to be concerned and troubled.

Manoeuvres for destabilisation to capture, maintain or consolidate power have affected the Muslim community in Sri Lanka. The Muslim community must be going through the same mental agony that the Tamils have been during the riots launched against them. This hatred, attacks and violence can easily spin out of control leading to another major catastrophe. It may be that the inaction of the current regime points to a political necessity to maintain a tense social environment for diverting the attention of people away from the country’s prevailing socio-economic issues.

We also need to consider the Islamic fundamentalist currents working for an Islamic Caliphate utilising mass fear and mass violence. We need to vehemently condemn such violence and terror. At the same time, we need to understand that the neo-liberal push to get hold of fossil fuel resources in the Middle-East and elsewhere by inciting religious hatred among Islamic sects and arming each against the other gave rise to this cycle of violence and terror. Certain extremely conservative sects appear to influence and abet some Islamic fundamentalists.

Successive governments bear a heavy responsibility for the scantest attention they paid for protecting the human and democratic rights of the people. They were elected to govern on behalf of all people regardless of their diverse backgrounds, but they did not. We need to recognize the common suffering, the stresses and challenges all people are faced with. Communities become desensitised and the value of humanity become diminished when hatred and conflicts condition their living environment. Propagandists of nationalism use such desensitisation to arouse and exploit complex emotions for their nefarious ends. We encounter many, who have become mentally blinded to adamantly believe that their views are inviolate.

Considering the experiences outlined in the biography Michael authored, we need broader perspectives to understand the complexity of this situation and develop sustainable solutions. Everyone concerned about this situation need to raise their voices against building up this racial and religious hatred, intolerance and violence. We need to build an environment where barriers to communication can be constructively undone.

Thank you very much for your attention.

Disaster-Infrastructure: Unbuilt dams and roads built as dams

by Rajan Philips-June 17, 2017, 6:55 pm

There is no harm in sounding like a broken record when one is talking about the country’s broken infrastructure. Even cabinet ministers have started sounding like broken records trying to avoid personal blame after the flood disaster. Ministers and political leaders have landed on either side of the Southern Expressway, some blaming it as a virtual dam built on a floodplain, and others contradicting that criticism. Most of the senior ministers cannot escape blame, regardless of what they might claim, because they have been in cabinet for a long time even under different presidents while the Southern Expressway was planned, environmentally assessed, designed and eventually built. Either way, whether the expressway was a contributor to flood disaster or not, a determination has to be made, and any design flaw needs to be addressed before the next major storm. Equally importantly, the government must slow down its plans to build other highways and other flood-aggravating urban developments including the Port City, and establish a consistent process to ensure that the design and construction of infrastructure facilities are undertaken in conformance with applicable standards and practices. Is the government, with a bafflingly shuffled cabinet, capable of doing that?

Before addressing that question, let me bring in here the statement last week by the Minister of Home Affairs, Vajira Abeywardena, about a 1968 feasibility study by the Colorado (US) engineering firm ECI that apparently recommended the construction of six dams on Kalu Ganga, Gin Ganga and Nivala Ganga, as flood control measures. This is consistent with the information in Justice Kulatilaka’s writings that I have been citing in these pages. According to the Minister, the study was undertaken by the Ministry of Agriculture, Land, Irrigation and Power, which in 1968 was under CP de Silva in the Dudley Senanayake (UNP) government. Presumably, this initiative was undertaken in parallel with the much larger feasibility study for diverting the Mahaweli Ganga.

To recall a bit of engineering entrepreneurial history, the local partners of ECI in 1968 were MSM de Silva, one of the country’s most gifted civil engineers, and ECL (Engineering Consulting Limited), Sri Lanka’s first engineering consulting firm that MSM founded with CCT Fernando. MSM was also the technical founder (finances came from the Pin Fernando family) of CDE, Ceylon Development Engineers, Sri Lanka’s first heavy construction company and the only company that as far as I know has undertaken construction contracts in foreign countries – in Indonesia and in the former East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). This was all long before the advent of the open economy and the arrival in Sri Lanka of contractors of every hue from everywhere. In 1969/70, the World Bank commissioned a team led by Dudley Seers, the Development Economist, to study the country’s economic potential, and one of its conclusions was that the country’s construction sector was the only sector that had reached a level of self-reliance not only to meet domestic demand but also to explore external opportunities. Where are we today? That is my supplementary second question.

Back to the 1968 study, we could surmise that the study and its recommendations may have been shelved aside in the political preoccupation with the Mahaweli – the brouhaha over the recommendations of the UNP government in 1969, its defeat in 1970, the more calibrated implementation of the Mahaweli scheme by the UF government, and finally its ‘accelerated development’ after 1977. The accelerated development obviously brought new lands under irrigation and increased the national hydropower capacity, but it did little to the development of the country’s heavy construction industry. The main actors and contractual beneficiaries were foreign donors and their companies.

Leaving aside the Mahaweli saga, is it possible to revisit the 1968 ECI/ECL study and implement its recommendations for dams and flood protection measures in the southwestern parts of the country? Minister Abeywardena certainly raised that prospect when he revealed the existence of the long-shelved and forgotten study. But there have so far been no higher-level takers for the idea after the Minister’s statement to the media. We have no idea as to how much clout the Minister and the sources that gave him the information have to pushing this idea further inside the government. There are both political and technical issues involved here and they are also the burden of the questions I raised earlier.

What is the government

capable of doing?

Politically, or, rather from the standpoint of government administration, it is not clear if anyone in this government knows - who is doing what? The President shuffled the cabinet with one hand, and gazetted the assignments with the other, and the mismatch between the two is worthy of a comic tele-drama series. Even the shuffled ministers may be confused about what they were doing earlier and they are supposed to be doing in their new portfolios. May be they like the overall confusion as it allows them to do whatever they want. The new Minister of Foreign Affairs who has the subject of lotteries assigned to him, is also taking the initiative, apparently given his status as a senior Colombo area MP, to order the military to collect garbage in Colombo. This is confusion and usurpation compounded. Perhaps, the ministers are loving it, except the younger and the more serious ones who should have been promoted in the shuffle but were not.

The technical challenges are daunting, but they can be addressed given the body of knowledge and experience in the country provided there is political will and willingness to put things right. Much has been said about the construction of the Southern Expressway – it has been built as a bund when it should have been built ‘on pillars’ allowing drainage underneath. Elevated roadways are usually a feature in urban areas where it is necessary to span over existing built environment. New roads in ‘green fields’ usually follow the old principle of cost-saving by balancing the ‘cut’ and ‘fill’ in the earthwork in road building, unless the new road is intended to span a valley. The important design consideration is the impact on floodplains and pre-existing drainage patterns and how they are accommodated in the road design, along with the runoff created by the road itself. These are addressed in the detailed design of the road, with the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) providing the framework for the design.

The EIA is not a substitute for design and drawings, but a new layer of review to minimize and mitigate environmental impacts of engineering undertakings. No serious contractor will accept a tender based on an EIA, without ‘good for construction’ drawings. That said, no infrastructure work can now be undertaken without completing its EIA to provide the framework for its design and construction. The recommendations of the 1968 feasibility study will now have to through all the hoops of environmental previews and assessments. And they must, unless Sri Lanka wants to be in the deviant Trump land where environmental considerations are being disregarded by executive order.

To return to my initial question – is the current government capable of doing any or all of this? It remains an open question. The end of the week brought a new distraction – this time from the north, where the newly minted Northern Provincial Council is caught up in the oldest tricks of Jaffna municipal politics. Municipal self-determination, you might say. Men may come and men may go, but the political rivers in Sri Lanka go on for ever with or without dams. In that vein, it is difficult to be pleased about the prospects of the beleaguered people of the North getting their lives restored, or the flood affected people in the south getting their disaster infrastructure in place, any time soon.

Some questions on floods in south west Sri Lanka

2017-06-17

The  of June 1 gives on Page 14 a discussion of rainfall predictions in the current season. Talking with an Irrigation Engineer cum Hydrology specialist, who has also a role in international consultancies, I raised some questions, which I would like to share, as well as the answers given by him. 

This consultant has also worked on the study of water in the Kalutara District and on the design of the Colombo Katunayake Expressway. 

Though he does not wish to give his name his views are well worth listening to. I have worked with him when we were both Government functionaries in land and irrigation, he as Irrigation Engineer and I as District Land Officer, in the early years of our public service.

Does it function as a barrier for the flow of water from the interior to the coast and thus cause floods in the interior? 

We discussed a question which I raised as to why there was, in the interior of the Kalutara District, high flooding (Matugama etc.) while at the same time the coastal area, like the Kalutara town and other areas a few miles inland did not suffer from it. 

I am a Kalutara person (home town etc) and have memories of the lagoon in front of our home rising and the sand bar being cut to release the water into the sea. Our own property and its surrounding lands, which according to survey maps are below the Kalu Ganga flood levels and were inundated readily, were not affected this year but lands in the interior, a few miles to the east were under water.
My driver is from Matugama, born and bred, and even in the last couple of years he was expressing surprise that certain parts of the Matugama town and adjoining areas which, in his memory, were normally not flooded, were subject to heavy flooding.

Is there enough space in the culverts or are there enough culverts to take the water across to the sea, in whatever way? 

My engineer friend (Let’s call him GM) however pointed to the extremely high volumes of rains in recent years as evidenced by the rainfall forecast for April, May, June 2017 as shown on Page 14 of the  of June 1 2017, presented by Kelum Bandara,  journalist, from an interview with someone in the Meteorology Department. 

GM said that these figures, depicting the intensity of the rainfall, were more than adequate explanation for the severe inundation of the interior of the Colombo, Kalutara, Galle and Matara districts.

Rainfall forecast for April, May and June 2017 ( 1 June P 14)
AVERAGE RAINFALL (mm) Kalutara 1233 Galle 1019 Matara 763 Hambantota 245, Colombo 942 Ratnapura 939, Kegalle 1,142 (selected data for western / southern area of SL from table).

Without making too much of a fuss however I am tempted to propose a further question. How come then that the coastal areas of these districts were relatively free of flooding? 

As a tentative answer worth talking about may I bring up the existence of the Southern Expressway, which is in existence only for a couple of years. Does it function as a barrier for the flow of water from the interior to the coast and thus cause floods in the interior? 

The raised earthworks and concrete works of the Expressway, running parallel to the coast 10 TO 20 MILES INLAND can also be seen as a dam blocking the easy flow of water from east to west in the south-western area of the country. And thereby causing floods. Another aspect of the Southern Expressway is that it runs through developed lands such as rubber, tea and other plantations, located more often than not on slopes. 

The Expressway track runs along the bottom of the land, often, in its course i.e. in a ravine where the water will collect anyway. Because of this the water will fill up alongside (unless there are enough culverts to take it to the other side). But since on the other side too there is an upward slope the water will collect so that the Expressway will be a kind of long dry road sitting on top of a water body running north south, separating the coast from the interior. This is an observation made by another engineer friend. Is this a true description?

Thus to repeat the point of view: The raised earth and concrete works of the Expressway, running parallel to the coast 5/10 TO 20 MILES INLAND can also be seen as a dam blocking the easy flow of water from east to west in the south-western area of the country and thereby causing floods. That is the general question. It can be broken up into further details: Are there sufficient culverts at the bottom of the highway for water to go under the highway from east to west? If not, the blocking of water will contribute in a major way to creating floods in the interior of the south west. 

Is it possible to create more space for the water to pass through? If the answer to the previous question is “Yes” then how can it be done and how much will it cost and what are the implications?
In contrast to the experience of the Southern Expressway the Colombo Katunayake Expressway has within the short period of its existence not caused problems.

But at the initial stages, when the sand foundation was being created south-north there was an event in Ja-ela which raised an issue. There was an existing watercourse running east-west taking water to the lagoon and the sea. 

When the sand/earth bar was being created north-south, as a raised platform for the highway, there was sufficient room left for the water course to function, taking the water across the course of the sand bar. Despite this, when the rains came there were unprecedented floods in that area, though room had been left for the existing watercourse. It was then clear that water moved not only along the watercourse but around it too towards the sea and this caused a flood even before the road itself was built. 

The residents of the area created a stir and either for this reason or whatever the project was abandoned by the then President Chandrika Kumaratunga. It was taken up later after a lapse of many years and now functions well. It’s very likely that it was redesigned with the earlier experience in mind.

This experience may be relevant to the current happenings in the south west. Is there enough space in the culverts or are there enough culverts to take the water across to the sea, in whatever way?
My friend tells me that the intensity of the current rainfall could never have been anticipated when the infrastructure was designed. These are outliers.  Was this inability to use info about the local scene due to the haste with which it was constructed? 

What was the status of interaction between the foreign contractors and the local expertise? 

Lots of questions to ask about the past with the hope of making room for the future. Are these pertinent questions to ask before more Expressways are given as contracts to foreign companies without local inputs and collaboration? 

Can one excuse such outcomes as the interior flooding found in the southwest as being caused by unprecedented rains? 

Surely we have records going back a hundred years. 

The future of Sri Lankan exports
Friday, 16 June 2017

Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake speaking at the FT Forum ‘Grow with Giants’ on Wednesday said Sri Lanka’s exports have dwindled due a lack of competitiveness over the years, from $ 17 billion to $ 11 billion and that there is an urgent need for export diversification.

Already for the first five months we have seen a negative growth of 2.5%. Now to improve our competitiveness, we need to focus on educating our young people, keep our cost down and increase the availability of technology.

At the same time Sri Lanka’s debt has increased to Rs. 9.4 trillion in the last two years. With domestic rates moving up from 6% to 10.74%. On a domestic portfolio of Rs. 4,277.8 billion there were would be an additional cost of around Rs. 202.1 billion and for the new borrowings, the total cost would be Rs. 113.25 billion. An amount of more than Rs. 315 billion would be required to pay back interest.

Repayment of the foreign debt as at 1 January 2015 was Rs. 3,132 billion, this has now moved up to Rs. 4,070 billion. Furthermore USD to LKR in January 2015, was 131.00 and by April-May USD to LKR was around 152.50. This Fx depreciation of around 16% is now having huge implications in all sectors.

Furthermore, downward performances of equity markets with foreigners existing both equity and debt securities has negatively impacted LKR. We cannot allow interest rates to move up and LKR to depreciate without understanding what we want to achieve by 2020.

Coordinated effort

The Central Bank should ideally come under the purview of the Finance Ministry like in the past 50 years to ensure both the Treasury and the Central Bank sing from the same hymn sheet, secondly to get out of this FX crisis it is best that we start focusing on increasing our export income and tourism income using the 60+ embassies oversees.

The Government has aggressively looked to sign up FTAs with China, India and Singapore to boost our export growth and FDIs. In fact the Prime Minister speaking at the World Export Development Forum (WEDF) sessions at the BMICH some time back said that the Economic Cooperation and Technical Agreement (ETCA) with India that will be signed soon will enable Sri Lanka to have closer engagement with India, especially the five southern states, which together with India are the fastest-growing segment of the Indian subcontinent and at the moment have a combined GDP of $ 500 billion.

He also said Sri Lanka is negotiating another FTA with Singapore and they are very receptive because they believe that Bay of Bengal countries will be fast-growing countries with fast-growing incomes in the next 20-30 years.

Under the Chinese One Belt initiative with China Sri Lanka is also negotiating a FTA and a comprehensive economic partnership dialogue with Japan. The Prime Minister’s move to fast-track the FTAs with Singapore and China and the ETCA, with India is with a view to generate new investments and jobs.

He knows we cannot protect our economy by stagnating behind tariff walls. The best protection possible is a mutual-lowering of tariff barriers among friendly nations so that all may benefit from the free flow of goods. Increased economic activity resulting from increased trade will provide more job opportunities for our young workers.

Our industry, our agriculture, our services will benefit from increased export opportunities as other nations agree to lower their tariffs. Increased exports and imports will benefit our ports, steamship lines and airlines as they handle an increased amount of trade.

Lowering our tariffs will provide an increased flow of goods for our consumers. Our industries will be stimulated by increased export opportunities and because of the competition from other nations, we will be forced to develop an efficient, economic and productive system. This can usher in a dynamic new era of export growth unlike in the past, where exports dwindled and Sri Lanka had to rely more on remittances and foreign loans.

Exports

Exports are probably part of the answer of where we will find job growth. However, the issue of exporting our way to job growth is harder than it appears despite the GSP+ concessions. When a country exports goods, it sells them to a foreign market, that is, to consumers, businesses, or governments in another country.

Those exports create opportunities and brings foreign money into the country, which increases the exporting nation’s GDP. So at a time when good jobs are in short supply, building exports is an imperative. But as we boost our exports we will have to start producing more goods that are more labour intensive, that way as exports grow it will become a more productive engine. Therefore job growth isn’t just about where jobs are today; this is where jobs for our young Sri Lankans will be tomorrow. They need to be job ready.

Today the world’s powerful customers and fastest growing markets are beyond our borders. So if we want to find new growth opportunities, if we want to find new markets and new business opportunities, we’ve got to compete for those new customers—because other nations are competing for those customers day and night.

Free Trade Arrangements

More compelling for free trade is the dramatic upturn in GDP growth rates in India and China after they turned strongly towards dismantling trade barriers in the early 1990s. In both countries, the decision to reverse protectionist policies was not the only reform undertaken, but it was an important component.

In developed countries trade liberalisation, which started earlier in the post-war period, was accompanied by other forms of economic opportunities for example, a return to currency convertibility, resulting in rapid GDP growth.

Moreover, the argument that historical experience supports the case for protectionism is now flawed. The economic historian Douglas Irwin has challenged the argument that nineteenth-century protectionist policy aided the growth of infant industries in the United States. Nor should the promoters of free trade worry that trade openness results is chaos for some developing countries.

Trade is only a facilitating device. If a country’s infrastructure is bad, or have domestic policies that prevent investors from responding to market opportunities such as corrupt practices, licensing restrictions, very little progress can be achieved. Critics of free trade also argue that trade-driven growth benefits only the rich and not the poor. In India, for e.g. after the economic and education reforms nearly 200 million people have come out of poverty. In China, which grew faster, it is estimated that more than 300 million people have moved out of the poverty line since the reforms were initiated.

Every major trading nation today is actively negotiating bilateral and regional Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). However for Free Trade Agreements to work for Sri Lanka, we need someone with a strong backbone in the Government to give leadership to this effort and supported by a predictable government.

(The writer is a thought leader.)

Herein are two media coolies alias two legged crocodiles that pose stupid questions and wreck media briefings

(Lanka-e-News - 16.June.2017, 10.15PM) It is now becoming increasingly evident  that because of media coolies alias two legged media crocodiles who raise silly and stupid  questions after barging into media discussions , the dignity and prestige of the entire media profession are  being undermined. One such incident happened Wednesday (14) when two self degrading media crocodiles crept into the cabinet meeting . These scoundrels are dubbed media crocodiles because like the eyes of crocodiles get closed  when they open their mouths , these two legged reptiles open their mouths while they are blind to the truths.

The media crocodile in the first photo herein asked the cabinet spokesman minister Rajitha Senaratne a most queer question ‘ During the period of the last government , only 30 incidents of attacks of religious extremists were reported, whereas under this government there were 80 such incidents  .’  Rajitha who is always  witty and ready with most sensible answers to even worst insensible questions of morons and minions questioned back , ‘ Why , weren’t you in the country at that time?’ 

Based on the reports filed by  the Geneva Human rights conference , during the last government in 2013 alone , the number of incidents relating to attacks on mosques and vindictive assaults on Muslims was 284. The attacks on Christian churches and violence unleashed on individuals were  103.  At that time the government accepted there were only 182 incidents while the police reported there were only 143 incidents.

In 2014 , there were 113 incidents of attacks on Mosques and Muslims ,  and  Bodhu Bala Sena (BBS)  was  responsible for as many as  80 of the violent  incidents .  It was the Hele Urumaya of Champika Ranawake that unleashed the next largest  number of attacks  numbering 24 . This is the same Champika who then ate , drank and slept with the Rajapakses  , is   now singing baila most melodiously. Sihala Uruamaya was responsible for 7 incidents.

After the advent of the present government in 2015 , the number of such incidents dwindled to 37 !– drastically reduced.  It is noteworthy 13 of the 37 attacks were launched by the BBS

These are statistics in the report of Human Rights Commission.

Unbelievably it is in  the glare of these authentic reports , the media coolie cum crocodile in the first photograph  was  blatantly uttering absolute lies.

The other media crocodile in the second photograph also posed a most foolish question  from the cabinet spokesman.  This imbecile’s moronic   argument  was “ those who are saying scoundrels like Gnanassara of the BBS should be arrested are the ones sowing  religious extremism .” Rajitha questioning him back asked, ‘where on earth is opposing religious extremism considered as extremism?’

Needless to say , because we have such two legged media crocodiles and reptiles in our midst in this country , the reputation of the genuine journalists too is being tarnished. It is natural therefore for ministers in this horrendous environment to even use foul  words when such rascals provoke them at media briefings by asking  out of point and out of turn questions wasting everybody’s time.  This was why minister John Amaratunge too was provoked to the point of  abusing a journalist in filthy language . John is supposed to be  destroying media freedom while these two legged  moronic media crocodiles who are a scourge  of  the whole country are ‘clean’

There are two vocations in Sri Lanka (SL) which have places for the uneducated . Those are the vocation of the politicians and that of journalists though both these vocations are intimately and integrally connected with people’s lives.

In other countries it is not so. Based on the experiences of  Lanka e news , in England , even to become  a   part time videographer in a night Restaurant , he/she must possess a degree in videography  which is a three year course. One can therefore imagine what would be expected of a journalist. An observatory weather forecast television presenter too must have a doctorate in the science pertaining to climate. 

Of course anybody can say that cannot be implemented in SL. In fact in SL  that need not be followed. Yet , the standard (quality)  of the journalists can be enhanced. Sadly , there is no code of ethics for the journalists who are demanding a code of ethics for the politicians.

Owing to this pathetic   situation , it is the genuine journalists who are unable to face the world . Therefore the two journalists alias moronic crocodiles in the photographs should be entrusted with home work by  their media chiefs before the latter sends such crude two legged reptiles  to  important media briefings and  contaminates the atmosphere.  Even by  giving some home work  to these two legged ignorant crocodiles  , they should be  made   to reach some level in education. Simply having a beard and a ‘konde’ will not take them anywhere.

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by     (2017-06-16 16:56:49)

Dengue fever outbreak: Sri Lanka update

by ROBERT HERRIMAN-June 16, 2017

The outbreak of dengue fever in Sri Lanka is spreading at epidemic levels with the latest case count at 63,987, including 177 deaths as of today. This compares with the approximately 23,000 cases reported during the same period in 2016.

This has prompted the Presidential Task Force on Prevention of Dengue and the Ministry of Health to declare an hour every week for cleaning of houses, public institutions, and private company premises. This program will begin today.

The Colombo Page reports: The program will be implemented from 9.30 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. every Friday, the Government Information Department said.

The premises should be cleaned during that hour and the health officers and Tri- Forces personnel will come to inspect them, Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne said. The places found with larvae will be fumigated.

In the past 50 years, the incidence of dengue worldwide has increased 30-fold, largely as a consequence of the growth of cities and increased travel.

Dengue fever is an infectious disease carried by mosquitoes and caused by any of four related dengue viruses. This disease used to be called “break-bone fever” because it sometimes causes severe joint and muscle pain that feels like bones are breaking.

LISTEN: DDT: A history, Silent Spring, the ban and the rise of the mosquitoes–An interview with Dr Jane Orient

People get the dengue virus from the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. It is not contagious from person to person. For more infectious disease news and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page

There are three types of dengue fever in order of less severe to most: the typical uncomplicated dengue fever, dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHS) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS).

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates there may be 50–100 million dengue infections worldwide every year. However, new research from the University of Oxford and the Wellcome Trust, using cartographic approaches, estimate there to be 390 million dengue infections per year worldwide.

Memories Of William Gopallawa

By Mano Ratwatte –JUNE 18, 2017

Mano Ratwatte

Some random thoughts about the first Buddhist Governor-General and First non-executive President of Ceylon/Sri Lanka. These are clearlybiased thoughts about my own grandfather. Hopefully, there won’t be too many personal insults for sharing these thoughts about a couple of things I observed growing up around him.

So many serious/depressing articles in these columns, and I felt I should just go down memory lane to change the tone a bit. Everyone talks about good governance. Yet, like in the US, politics and governance in Sri Lanka has been far too driven by angry rhetoric. Hence some thoughts on a person who epitomized good governance.

Elections

I remember a politically significant event in 1965. When the government led by Mrs. Bandaranaike lost, and Dudley Senanayake’s UNP became the party to control the most number of seats, some of the coalition member parties of my aunt’s government did their best to find minority parties and other people to back the losing government party coalition to re-form a government. The UNP had commanded the majority in Parliament and was entitled to form the government as it commanded “the respect of the majority of the Parliament” as per constitutional tradition of the Westminster kind.

Some in the coalition government were asking him to delay inviting the UNP to form the government so they could find MPs to form a new government. But as Governor-General, he upheld the constitution as tradition deemed; he did not delay the process and invited the UNP to form the government according to the constitution. This great judgment call came up in some heated conversations in our family.

To date, I can say that he did the right thing; and did what was expected and required of him according to the constitution even though it was Mrs. B who appointed him GG in the aftermath of the 1962 coup which had dangerous links to some who were very high up in the government.

Innocent times

Another small note is about his personality: one time we were at Queen’s Cottage (as it was known before 1972) in Nuwara Eliya on vacation. He always walked everyday without fail no matter where he was. In Nuwara Eliya he was very fond of walking from President’s house, cut across St. Andrews Golf Course and take us to Cargill’s which was a landmark back then in old Nuwara Eliya. He dressed modestly in shirt, waist coat, jacket and had his walking stick. He was never a sloppy dresser but neither was he flashy and vulgar. He never wore bling.

Those were the peaceful days of Sri Lanka before JVP terrorism or Tiger terrorism. The bodyguard he had was a token CID sergeant who used to actually wrap his revolver in plastic and paper to prevent grease stains on his clothes. Well the reason to mention is, that while the police sergeant had a gun, no one could think of there being a need to use it. This was the era before gun violence and terrorism after all.

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Police use IT to nab suspects, BBS chief remains elusive

ECONOMYNEXT -June 17, 2017, 6:41 pm 

Thousands of police backed by Information Technology carried out a major search operation across the country yesterday (Saturday) and arrested over 650 wanted persons, but the high profile fugitive Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) leader, Galagodaatte Gnanasara, was not among them.

Police said in a statement that they completed the four-hour operation at 3.00 a.m. on Saturday and executed warrants for the arrest of 595 people wanted by courts while another 70 evading police summons were also rounded up.

However, Ven. Gnanasara, who is wanted for questioning in connection with several allegations of hate crimes as well as a warrant issued by a Colombo magistrate, was not netted during the search that involved  11,558 police, including 55 women constables.

Suspects who were rounded up during the operation were immediately screened using the police VPN (Virtual Private Network) which connects local police stations instantaneously with a central data base of finger prints, police said.

It was the first time that the technology was put to use in such a large scale. Nearly a thousand sets of finger prints were scanned. The prints revealed the identity of 62 registered criminals, police added.

The operation also targeted errant motorists, police said adding that nearly 500 people who were driving under the influence of alcohol were arrested along with over 300 who were driving vehicles without a license.

Nearly 200 were booked for dangerous driving and another 3,650 traffic violations were also detected.

Police said the surprise operation was initiated by Inspector – General Pujith Jayasundara and that there would be more such action taken by the authorities.

However, there was no sign of the Ven. Gnanasara who resisted arrest at Kurunegala last month and has gone underground since May 26 when police wanted to question him in connection with a string of hate crimes.

The warrant for the monk’s arrest was in connection with an allegation that he insulted the Koran in April 2014, months before the outbreak of deadly religious riots at Aluthgama where four people were killed and hundreds of homes were damaged in rioting.

The magistrate ordered his arrest after he failed to appear for a court hearing into the matter on Thursday.

Last week, police announced the first arrest of a BBS member in connection with four arson attacks in a Colombo suburb.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe vowed on Wednesday that he would not allow a repeat of 2014 anti-Muslim riots.  With frequent stoning and desecration of Muslim-owned places, the government faces international criticism over its failure to tackle the violence and rein in the BBS.

In a video message released last week, the BBS denied any involvement, but accused the government of allowing Islamic extremism to flourish in the Buddhist-majority nation.

BBS members responsible for Kurunegala mosque attack : 2 arrested ,four more hiding

(Lanka-e-News - 16.June.2017, 10.10PM)   When the police apprehended two suspects following the attack launched on a mosque by hurling petrol bombs , it was discovered they have been  active members of the Bodhu Bala Sena (BBS) organization for some time . 

The police releasing a communiqué revealed as follows: 

A team of investigating officers of the Kurunegala police after a prolonged  investigation into the petrol bomb attack on the Mallawapitiya mosque within  Kurunegala police division on  21 st May at dawn , has arrested two individuals  and are being interrogated.

It has come to light these two suspects are  BBS organization activists for some time . The police are taking action  to arrest four more suspects . It is learnt these suspects have fled the area and are now in hiding.

When a group of officers of the organized crimes division was about to arrest Galagoda Athe Gnanassara  at Koskele, Kurunegala on 21 st May  ,and following what happened at that moment , the petrol bombs had been hurled at the  Mallawapitiya Mosque.

( In the photo is the mosque that was attacked with petrol bombs)

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by     (2017-06-16 16:46:12)

Open letter to the chairman and board of Sri Lankan Airlines

Jun 17, 2017

I am writing in disgust, after reading that SriLankan Airlines had lost Rs. 22 billion because of poor management and indecisiveness. Thank God the Cabinet has summoned you. Now face the music. The Prime Minister cannot save you there. For your knowledge we spend only half of your loss on public welfare. We laughed and ridiculed the previous administration for messing the airline, you have proved you are no better, you are in fact worse.

To begin, the only qualification you two have to be on the airline and on the board is that you go on holidays with the Prime Minister; the CEO, because he is Charitha Ratwatte’s brother. When the board wanted the CEO’s probation extended for poor performance, the Prime Minister threatened the board. The directors agreed and continued.

We all know your only experience is retailing garments and selling coffee on the high streets of Colombo. How do we expect you or the CEO to turn around a bankrupt company? Both of you have no experience at all. This is not your private property nor the Prime Minister’s. You don’t even listen to him now according to the Minister in charge.

Mr. Chairman, the airline belongs to the public and it is an asset of the people of this country. Your performance as chairman has been very disappointing. You have to date not prosecuted anyone from the previous administration for mismanagement. Instead, you are being accused of doing business with a former Sri Lankan cricketer, buying spare parts for the airline. His BIL was the former CEO of the airline. So how can we expect you to take action against the former CEO, other than allowing the party to continue? Some of the former directors belong to the Royal College Club or relatives of Ratwatte or you. Because of that, the Weliamuna Report was thrown to the dogs.

The CEO of the Airline has no respect for the board according to Minister Kabir Hashim. He does not even listen to the Minister. If this is true, kick him out. We know you can’t, his brother will protect him. Both of them will have to get a home overseas if this Government changes, the way they do things now.

Anyway, we the public have had enough with you two. There could be legal action against this gross mismanagement and asking the court to intervene. We are also asking the President to appoint a Presidential Commission to inquire into the affairs of the airline, especially the events surrounding the aircraft cancellation that cost the airline more than the bond fraud. If you have any shame, please go home. Let not what happened to Mahendran befall you!

Ajith de Silva
Courtesy: http://www.ft.lk/

Nearly 250kg of Kerala Cannabis found in Pooneryn

By Yusuf Ariff-June 17, 2017

Police have discovered a large parcel containing 248 kilograms of Kerala Cannabis near the Sangupitiya Bridge in Pooneryn. The contraband were found following a raid carried out based on information received regarding the smuggling of Kerala Ganja into the country via boat and transporting it using a car. The suspects who had smuggled the Kerala Cannabis had managed to flee before the police officers had arrived. Pooneryn Police have launched investigations to apprehend the suspects

Search for 7 U.S. sailors missing off coast of Japan moves into second day

 Seven U.S. sailors are missing after a U.S. Navy destroyer collided with a Philippine-flagged merchant ship off the coast of Japan on June 17. (Elyse Samuels/The Washington Post)

By Anna Fifield June 17 at 6:19 PM

TOKYO — The search for seven U.S. sailors missing off the coast of Japan continued into a second day Sunday, with U.S. and Japanese forces conducting air-and-sea patrols after a Navy destroyer collided with a much-larger container ship.

At the same time, civilian and military investigators tried to figure out how the nighttime collision between two vessels — both with advanced navigation systems — could have occurred.

“This has been a difficult day,” Vice Adm. Joseph P. Aucoin, the commander of the Seventh Fleet, said as the badly damaged USS Fitzgerald, an Aegis guided-missile destroyer, limped back into its home port at Yokosuka Naval Base, south of Tokyo, after emergency efforts at sea to control flooding.

Family members of the missing were waiting on the pier with Aucoin when it arrived, guided by two tug boats. The Seventh Fleet had set up an information center for the families, and had chaplains and a counselor on site.

The Fitzgerald collided with the Philippine-flagged Crystal, nearly four times its size, in a busy shipping lane south of Tokyo at 2:30 a.m. local time Saturday. The weather was clear with a swell of about six feet at the time.

Photos of the Navy destroyer USS Fitzgerald after collision with container ship

Seven U.S. Navy sailors are missing off the coast of Japan after an Aegis guided-missile destroyer, the USS Fitzgerald, collided with a container ship, causing significant damage and flooding.

Three of the Fitzgerald’s crew, including the destroyer’s commanding officer, Cmdr. Bryce Benson, were evacuated from the damaged vessel and are being treated at the U.S. naval hospital at Yokosuka, the home of the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet.

Benson was reported to be in stable condition, while the other two were treated for lacerations and bruises. All three were awake and being kept under observation in hospital, the Seventh Fleet said in a statement.

The Fitzgerald, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer commissioned in 1995, is part of the Yokosuka-based group that includes the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, but it was operating independently of the carrier when the collision occurred, Cmdr. Ron Flanders, public affairs officer for U.S. Naval Forces in Japan, said.

When its crew is at full strength, the Fitzgerald usually has more than 250 personnel aboard and can reach speeds in excess of 30 knots.

The operators of the merchant ship, ACX Crystal, reported all of the 20-member Filipino crew were safe.

The Crystal, which was fully loaded with cargo, is bound for Tokyo, according to a website that tracks maritime traffic. It is operated by Nippon Yusen K.K., a Japanese shipping company, and was on its way from Nagoya port at the time of the collision.

“We are collaborating with the ship owner and fully cooperating with the investigation by the coast guard,” Nippon Yusen said in a statement.

All 20 Filipino crew members aboard the ship are safe and it has set up a task force to deal with the accident, the company said, according to the Kyodo News Agency.

Photos showed the container ship with minor damage to its bow, while the Fitzgerald appeared to have extensive damage midship on its right, or starboard, side, just below its bridge.

The destroyer was listing slightly, with water visibly being pumped, as it was towed into harbor.
Divers were waiting to inspect it below the waterline, where there had also been significant damage.
The collision had caused flooding in two berthing spaces, a machinery space and the radio room, the Seventh Fleet said.

“Thoughts and prayers with the sailors of USS Fitzgerald and their families,” President Trump wrote in a Twitter message Saturday. “Thank you to our Japanese allies for their assistance.”

The USS Dewey, another Navy destroyer, was helping with the search and rescue operations, along with three Japanese naval ships and two Japanese coastguard vessels. An American P-8 Poseidon aircraft was joined overhead by Japanese helicopters and an Orion aircraft.

There are extensive international guidelines for accident avoidance at sea known as the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, or Colregs. The rules require that ships must have a watch posted at all times and follow a number of collision-avoidance steps when crossing paths with or overtaking other vessels.


Thomas Gibbons-Neff in Washington contributed to this report.