Are justiciable socio-economic rights worth including in the Constitution?

Tuesday, 4 July 2017

South Africa is the poster child for inclusion of socio-economic rights such as rights to housing and education in the Constitution. The retired judge who came to discuss the South African experience at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute concluded by saying he hoped there would not be a question about the relation between South Africa’s rising inequality and justiciable socio-economic rights but that he had an answer.

The GINI coefficient, where a higher value indicates greater inequality, was 59.3 in South Africa in 1993, three years before the current Constitution took effect. By 2011 it had risen to 63.4 according to the World Bank. According to another source, it was 62.5 in 2013 and South Africa had the second highest level of income inequality in the world.

There was no point in asking a judge about inequality. The causal relation between justiciable socio-economic rights and rising inequality would require a complex analysis of a counterfactual. Many factors were at play. What would inequality be, had the socio-economic rights not been included in the Constitution?

Will good things happen?

The claim that the justiciable right of access to adequate housing (provided by Article 26(1) of the South African Constitution) led to a greater emphasis on the provision of housing is unprovable. In the same way it is not possible to blame the rise of inequality in South Africa on the inclusion of justiciable socio-economic rights, we cannot attribute the claimed improvement in housing to the justiciable right. The political process may have improved housing independently of litigants enforcing the Constitutional right.

The South African Constitution qualifies the State’s obligation to realise the socio-economic right. The measures must be within available resources and must also be progressive in realisation of the right.

What would happen when a citizen appeals to the court to enforce his or her right? The government’s lawyers would come in with lots of paper to show budgetary constraints and demonstrate good intentions to progressively realise the right. The lawyers on the other side would counter with another set of arguments and paperwork challenging those claims.

According to the Judge, the court could order the government to file affidavits in after some specified time. More paperwork, more work for lawyers. Immediate benefits to the applicant? Unlikely. Harm to the environment caused by excessive use of paper? For sure.

We have much to learn from the South African experience. Faced with the same choice we have before us today, the drafters of the South African Constitution chose to include justiciable socio-economic rights. But they were realistic. They qualified those rights. If we do decide to include socio-economic rights, we should, like them, include reasonable qualifications.

The true beneficiaries will be the lawyers who get to argue the cases. But generating greater earning opportunities for lawyers is definitely superior to the creation of unrealistic and unenforceable rights that would also result in unelected and not fully informed judges making and implementing policy.

Will bad things happen?

Then there is the question of the quality and disposition of the judges who would give shape and form to the rights written into the Constitution. We had reasonable language in the 1978 Constitution. All was more or less good until the advent of Sarath Nanda Silva. The Constitution was bent out of shape. Political parties were emasculated by the cross-over rule. The time limit on instituting fundamental rights case no longer exists.

His distortions upon some legal provision. We must be careful about what kind of language we leave for a judge who may take the path of Sarath Nanda Silva.

The socio-economic rights included in the Brazilian Constitution have been used mostly to obtain judicially decreed access to medical treatment. Would it be desirable to have judges decide on a case by case basis who is to get dialysis treatment? Would a judicial bypass route not privilege those who had the wherewithal to retain counsel and move the courts?

Even though South African judges have been respectful of the boundaries between the judicial, legislative and executive branches what are the guarantees that a future judge in the mould of Sarath Nanda Silva will not walk through the doors left open by the inclusion of justiciable socio-economic rights in the Constitution?

Balancing the good and the bad

One must keep two things in mind when making public policy (and new Constitutions). We must strive to do good things. We must also exercise the greatest care to minimise the chances of bad things happening. Sometimes we have to eschew well-intentioned actions because of the need to minimise the chances of bad things happening.

The only way socio-economic rights can be included in the Constitution is with strong qualifications similar to those in South Africa. This is unlikely to yield immediate, tangible benefits to citizens, only indirect good effects on policy and implementation. The proponents will feel good and lawyers will get more work. The danger is that a future Sarath Nanda Silva will use the language, however carefully crafted, to do bad things.

Is it worth it?

KhozaSocio-EconomicRights2007.pdf by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

A Realistic Approach To The SAITM Deadlock

By Somapala Gunadheera –JULY 5, 2017

Somapala Gunadheera

The SAITM dispute has become a Pandora’s Box. When one disputant agrees to a certain position, another party contests it. One day it appears as if the matter is getting solved at last, only to hear the next day that the controversy has returned to square one.

This problem is best solved by going into first principles and firmly deciding who had the last say on the points in dispute.

1. Free education

The main point involved is the right to free education. It was granted by the Legislature. The GMOAand other Tus may like FE and most of their members may be obliged to it but they do not have the last word on it. Of course, they can influence the Legislature to safeguard the vistas of free education. But it would amount to revolt and rebellion to try to twist the arm of the Legislature by taking the country and its invalids as hostages. Besides, originally FE was granted from kindergarten up to the University. Its extension into the University was an after-thought as students graduated to that level.

It is important to remember that there were two types of students under FE, normal students and the less affluent who were selected by a competitive scholarship exam. The former received only education free but the latter received lodging and subsistence as well or their equivalent. This distinction has been maintained through the University with Mahapola Scholarships for the have-nots. A problem has arisen with the slots available in the State Universities for medical students becoming less than those who have qualified themselves to get into them. The Government has three alternatives in dealing with them. They are,

a) Ignore the excess as it has been doing up to now.

b) Create space for them in the State Universities. In this connection, it is heartening to hear the Minister of Higher Education declaring that more State medical colleges would be opened shortly

c) Until ‘b’ is fulfilled, the State should provide ways outside the Government Faculties for those who have attained the required credits but are outnumbered by the slots available within the State facilities. This can be done by placing such students in private Medical Colleges at Government expense or by arranging Bank loans for them.

2. Medical Standards

Solution ‘b’ presupposes standards being set down for medical education. This is a matter for the Medical Council that has being hanging fire for some time, paving the way for the present deadlock. Laying down the standards enables a count to be taken of those who have satisfied the given criteria at the University Entrance Examination. It is these students who have to be provided for in the name of FE. The Government has so far failed to create facilities for them within the establishment.  If it has not got the wherewithal to establish new facilities for them, they can be accommodated in a private medical college that satisfies the standards laid down by the MC.

Therein lies the case for private medical colleges in Sri Lanka. FE does not exclude fee-levying teaching institutions. Even at the advent of FE, there were such institutions. As at now there are institutions coaching paying students up to degrees in other sectors like engineering and accounts. One wonders why only medical schools have to be free. Besides, a ban on private medical colleges would not solve the problem. Under such a restriction, affluent students are bound to join foreign medical colleges causing loss of foreign exchange and possibly, a brain-drain to the country. Establishing standardized fee-levying MCs here would solve this problem and possibly earn foreign exchange for the country. Of course there should be a control of the number of private MCs established here and their quality. No one who has failed to obtain the minimum credits prescribed by the MC should be allowed to get into them. If not, some day we would be saddled with medical colleges producing conductors. No Union has the right to dictate terms to the MC but they have a right to present their case to it.

Nationalizing the SAITM hospital is neither here nor there. One wonders how fair it is to take over the institution in a country where there are hundreds of other privately owned institutions. That it would help the owners is beside the point. It would have been more appropriate for the Government to undertake a management contract there to give clinical training to the students who are stuck without such experience.

3. Lecture boycott by medical students

The ongoing lecture boycott by the medical students appears to be an impulsive self-defeating move. Of course, the parents have a democratic right to get on a stage and demand what they consider to be their right. But by getting their children also on the same stage, they tend to while away a part of the prime of the youth of their issue. They should really encourage their children to complete their studies as fast as possible. Any time wasted on stages cutting lectures is a permanent loss to their career. They have already lost nearly a year of their prime cutting lectures and agitating in demonstrations. In the meantime their counterparts at SAITM are stealing a march over them.

4. The Final Solution

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The jury still out Rajapaksas Inc. vs. Maithri-Ranil Combo: Corruption vs. Yahapalanaya…

To have his path made clear for him is the aspiration of every human being in our beclouded and tempestuous existence-
-Joseph Conrad

2017-07-05

What is the magic that the Rajapaksas have and the Maithri-Ranil Combo do not?

What is it that sustains the Rajapaksa campaign of vitriol, lies, exaggerations and hallucinations?

• They resumed their terrible habit of corruption and nepotism. 
• The victory rallies that followed kept that impression afresh at least in the minds of Sinhalese-Buddhists. 
• That constant changed only n 2009. That is because of the war-victory and Rajapaksa Inc. managed quite rightly so. 

What makes the masses not dispel the idea of a Rajapaksa comeback? What makes them blindly cling on to a fantasy of a corrupt regime but more attractive in terms of deliverables, charisma, projection of surreal circumstances such as ‘Miracle in Asia’ and ‘humanitarian operation’.

In short, what makes the Rajapaksas click in an uncertain political dynamics, that constantly demands progress?

These are not easy questions to answer. Pundits have attempted to analyse and deduce. They have tried many times to dissect the issues and the attempts made by the Rajapaksas to resolve these nagging national issues. In some cases the Rajapaksas have succeeded, while in others, they failed. But when they failed they did not get bogged down in an unworthy state of stagnancy. They either swept those issues under the carpet or simply ignored them and got back to the job that they are most capable of doing- hoodwinking the masses.

They resumed their terrible habit of corruption and nepotism. The most stark and vivid difference between the Rajapaksas and Maithri-Ranil Combo is that the former had fine-tuned the art of deception.

Both Chanakya and Sun Tzu, two great intellectuals of the ancient world would be surprised by the way and fashion in which the Rajapaksa Inc. navigated the ship of State during and after the Northern War in Sri Lanka.
It is beyond dispute that the Rajapaksas fittingly earned full credit for bringing the war to a successful end. While three of his predecessors failed to achieve this task, Mahinda Rajapaksa managed to end it in a most dramatic fashion.

The very optics of the war-victory was breathtaking; the killing of Prabhakaran, who was a scourge to all Sinhalese-Buddhists and display of this mass-killer’s dead body, generated a sigh of relief on the one hand and a satisfying sense of revenge on the other.

Then Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of the country alighting from his aircraft and worshipping the soil of his motherland created a semi-durable impression in the minds of all citizens of the country barring Northern Tamils.

The victory rallies that followed kept that impression afresh at least in the minds of Sinhalese-Buddhists. Backed by a superb team of advertising and public relations experts, Rajapaksa Inc. became a success story overnight. From the old women who worshipped Buddha morning, noon and night living in a humble abode in a country hamlet to a three-wheel driver in the busy suburbs and super-rich elite professionals in Colombo applauded the Rajapaksa Inc.-led government.

The pervasive sense of patriotism that engulfed the country consumed each and every non-Tamil citizen in the country and it was justifiable in the context of untold misery and disruption to civil life the Northern war brought about in the land.

There was no nuanced rendition of the message. It was direct, simple and hard-hitting. If you are not with the Government, you are taken as an adversary not of the Government but of the country and its inhabitants that yearned for peace and stability.

That is the end result of this euphoria that manifested itself in the wake of the cessation of violence in the North.

But a number of civil organisations led by some local Non-Governmental organisations (NGOs) and University academics went thus far and no further. It was mainly due to the following factors that played a decisive role in transforming an assenting mind into a collective adverse:
1. Taking General Sarath Fonseka into custody
2. Impeaching Shirani Bandaranayake, the Chief Justice at the time
3. Passage of the Eighteenth (18th) Amendment
4. Making a mockery of the Judiciary and the Supreme Court
5. Continuing cavalcade of corruption

A seemingly stable and solid Government that enjoyed a two-thirds majority in the House of Parliament became a mere tool in the hands of a very few; a coterie of family members and their immediate cohorts, whose vested interests were the same, became so powerful; substantial manifestations of cruel and corrupt deeds were taken for granted as rational and logical characteristics of a democratically elected government. The story of corrupt practices of that regime has been catalogued by some journalists, legal luminaries and social scientists.

The very memories of those distasteful allegations could be defilement to mind and deflation to spirit. Yet, what became a surprise victory for Maithripala Sirisena at the Presidential Elections in 2015, was a surprise only to Rajapaksa Inc.

That is all history. What confronts the country and its present ruling partnership today is entirely different but in no way novel, although they attempt to portray as one. Yahapalanaya is only a new word introduced by the Manifesto of the UNP-SLFP, especially in line with the modern Western liberal thinking.

Advanced democracies such as Western Europe and some countries in Asia like Singapore and Japan can boast of a very educated electorate, which is sensitised to Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Information.

Maithri-Ranil Combo that was elected in successive elections, Presidential and Parliamentary, has already wasted two and half years.

But Sri Lanka whose electorate has been sensitised to a culture of gross corruption and unhinged nepotism could hardly relate to genuine and tangible Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Information.

The sheer subservient culture of our people has gripped them in a stagnant and muted outlook as far as their relationships to the sophisticated machineries of governance is concerned. It has made them serfs of a system which their past generations had been used to and had no quarrel with. Governed by Kings and Queens in all of their history, Sri Lankans are inherently attracted to strong men and women. A cursory glance into our post-Independence history too shows the same propensity.
Coalition Governments are inherently weak in that the very process of governance becomes a practice of constant adjustments in relation to power-sharing and distribution and delegation of resources.

The Rajapaksa Inc., in its rule of nine plus years, managed to drive the country further into corruption. Its practice of nepotism became accepted as norm for there were so-called elites, who never hesitated to oil the right palm of the right clan member.

It is this electorate that the present rulers seem to have forgotten. Sri Lanka cannot enthrone a leader exclusively from amongst Sinhalese Buddhists. A candidate who is tipped to receive a substantial majority of Tamil and Muslim votes does not need a majority of Sinhalese Buddhist votes.

That constant changed only in 2009.   In 2009, the Rajapaksa Inc. defeated Sarath Fonseka, the military leader who commanded the forces at the time of war against Tamil terrorists/militants.
Maithri-Ranil Combo that was elected in successive elections, Presidential and Parliamentary, has already wasted two and a half years. The sense of uncertainty, the sense of weakness that is being felt by a great majority of those who voted for them is increasingly gaining a foothold; with that, the patience and faith is diminishing at an alarming rate.


vishwamithra1984@gmail.com

A reappraisal of evidence and claims

Emerging Buddhist-Muslim Rivalry in Sri Lanka?

by G. H. Peiris-July 4, 2017, 8:32 pm 

(Continued from yesterday)

The events that led to this unexpected attack by a mob of Muslim youth, and the massive conflagration it ignited to last over several days, constitute a tragic story which must be looked at in detail because it illustrates several features of thematic relevance to the main objective of the present study. My reconstruction of this story is presented as an addendum to this essay (Annexure 1).

The overall impressions conveyed by that story could be summed up as follows:

(a) There is no doubt that the BBS meeting and Ven. Gnānasāra's presence and his public utterances were potentially inflammatory. (Note that the injured Ven. Ayagama Samitha, the victim of the attack by several Muslim youth on 12 June had been brought to the stage, his injuries duly bandaged).

(b) However, it should not be forgotten that prior to the riot on 15 June there was a build-up of explosive communal tensions in the Dharga Town area at least from about the second week of that month (Appendix 1) warranting police action, both when serious complaints were lodged regarding a paedophilic rape committed on a Sinhalese child by a Muslim trader (8 June) and on the assault suffered by Ven. Samitha (12 June), as well as when representatives of the Muslim community conveyed to the police their fear about a possible outbreak of mob violence in the area. Whatever justification the police might have had for their inaction, there were undercurrents of suspicion among the Sinhalese that the police were in the pay of the Muslims business community.

(c) The large influx of people to the BBS meeting venue is likely to have been a result of malevolent rumour mongering and, of course, the undeniable entertainment value of the BBS leader (Didn't some of us in our youth go all the way to enjoy the 'May Day' performances especially by the inimitable scholar-legal luminary-pioneer Marxist, Dr. Colvin R. de Silva in the Trotskyite "extra-parliamentary mode of capturing state power" in vogue at that time, roaring "gahapalla" (attack), his silhouette pointing at the old parliament complex against the crimson sunset over Galle Face green.

(d) On the 15th eve senior police officers were reluctant to exercise force to prevent signs of potential violence. There was no immediate action taken by them to stop the stoning. They preferred instead to attempt pacifying the more agitated persons in the crowds, realising no doubt that their interventions were being recorded by the media and the users of 'smart phones'.

(e) Thus, the offensives in Aluthgama were very definitely not one sided. People on both sides engaged in, and suffered from, the violence – with more Muslims than Buddhists among the victims in the post-riot stock-taking of overall damage. Although later records referred to death-counts of up to about 8 Muslims and a Buddhist monk, no such claims were made in the course of many recorded random interviews.

(f) "Burning of a section of the Aluthgama town" is a highly exaggerated and unwarranted description of this sad episode, no different from the type of hyperbole often employed by Gnānasāra Thero in his public utterances, unless one were to argue, like school boys sometimes do, that even a lamp-post could be considered a section of a town.

(g) On several occasions certain Buddhist community leaders of the area joined their Muslim counterparts in appealing for calm and peace while standing amidst fairly large gatherings that appeared to endorse what they said. This conveys an impression that goes completely against an article published by the 'Centre for Policy Alternatives' (presumably to commemorate the third anniversary of the riot) according to which there is absolutely no hope for ethnic reconciliation in Aluthgama.

Emerging Buddhist-Muslim Rivalry

in Sri Lanka?

A reappraisal of

evidence and claims

Part 2

There is no dearth of writings that make the claim of Muslims in Sri Lanka being a minority that has, for long, suffered discrimination and harassment and, in the more recent past, been the target of "Islamophobic" persecution by the Buddhists. The more refined among these are some of the 'features' authored by the inimitable Izeth Hussain (ex-diplomat and regular columnist), hitting hard all round the wicket, as it were, often with easy elegance, and always, despite the pretence at intellectual detachment, with passionate commitment to his team's victory. There is, of course, nothing wrong in that, except his occasionally getting caught at silly point.

Professor John Holt's keynote address I referred to at the outset does not stand alone as an elevation of this pernicious claim to the plane of scholarly research. Among the others I have read, there are (a) the ICES and Law and Society studies (referred to earlier)iii which I think are the best of their kind, (b) Zuhair, 2016iv which, in my assessment, would have been excellent had the author matched its elegant style with prejudice-free substance; and (c) a monograph by Dr. Ameer Ali, one of my former faculty colleagues now living in Australia, titled 'Four Waves of Muslim-Phobia in Sri Lanka: c.1880–2009', published almost at the same time as Holt's study, a brief comment on which is presented below.

In Ameer Ali's analysis of the "fourth wave" (post-2009) – that of the earlier "waves" are no more than an exercise in re-inventing the wheel – lacks the sedate, persuasive approach typical of John Holt. Apart from the invective, there are several misconstrued references by Ali to several Buddhist outrages not referred to by John. These include "the destruction of a 400-years old Muslim shrine at Anuradhapura" (a mind-boggling archaeological discovery, according to a veteran historian whom I have consulted)v, prefaced by a tirade which accuses Rajapaksa of "…benevolently tolerating, if not openly supporting, … a vicious campaign to terrorise the Muslims, destroy their economy and demonize Islam through acts of intimidation, insult, incendiarism, and outright thuggery by ultranationalist organizations like the BBS, its surrogate parent JHU and the Sinhala Rāvaya", and the presidential neglect to a mindset of "triumphalism and malevolence" towards the minority communities after the victory over the LTTE in 2009. Does Ali demonstrate more than all else that the 'key' to understanding the real nature of this entire conflict is to realize that the honourable don Ali is as eloquent in his lingo as the venerable monk Gnānasāra is in his, and that such eloquence in the dissemination of half-truths and falsehood has much the same destabilising impact – that of rousing the rabble. Surely, the failure of the government at that time to curtail Buddhist megalomaniacs is, in terms of realpolitik, comparable to the failure of earlier regimes to tame the 'Tiger' megalomaniac for well over two decades; and, moreover, those holding the reins of office in Colombo have always, in both war as well as peace, been in desperate need of at least a segment of Muslim electoral support and goodwill. What is this psychoanalytical tripe about a "triumphalist mindset"? So, let's move out of the type of garbage replete with ethnic prejudices, and focus in this part of the article on the issues raised soberly by Professor Holt.

2.1. John Holt's evidence for a rising tide of Buddhist hostilities

In addition to stating that there were over "150 documented perpetrations by Buddhists against Muslims" from early 2013 to mid-2014,vi Professor Holt has presented a short list of such episodes (reproduced below) as concrete evidence to substantiate the assertion of an intensifying trend. It seems reasonable to assume that, except for its first item, the others stand prominent among the "documented perpetrations" of the 18-month period preceding the ICES conference of 2014. Thus, going solely by this set of information, I would have no hesitation to conclude that, in comparison to the previous 12-year spell, there certainly was a calamitous 'plateau' distinct from about 2012, provided I could obtain information that helps me to understand whether "a BBS proposal" or a "Rāvanā Balakāya protest march", or the remaining 140 or so of "documented (but unspecified) perpetrations" are comparable as acts of Buddhist hostility towards the Muslims to, say, the Aluthgama conflagration or the Dambulla demolition or the Mahiyangana desecration that are in his list.

(a) riot in the township of Mawanella

(b) removal of the mosque at Dambulla in response to Sinhala-Buddhist mob demands in 2012

(c) BBS campaign against the production of Halal food (2013-14)

(d) BBS proposal to ban the burka (2014)

(e) ‘Ravana Balaya’ (sic.) protest march (2013)

(f) desecration of a mosque in Mahiyangana (2013)

(g) attack by a Buddhist mob on Muslims in prayer at a newly constructed mosque in Grandpass, Colombo (2014)

(h) Aluthgama-Dhargar Town clash (2014).

(a) Mawanella Riot

The assertion that "scores of Muslim businesses were burnt out" in the Mawanella riot is a gross exaggeration made in whatever source John has relied upon. I had an unusual opportunity (courtesy of a senior police officer - a former student) of seeing the extent of the damage soon after the rioting had been brought under effective control, but before curfew was lifted, when I observed about twenty-five shops and houses bordering the Kandy-Colombo highway and in the bus-stand venue belonging to Muslims and Sinhalese that had suffered various extents of damage during the riot (it occurred in May 2001 and not in 1999 as John's informant appears to have said). There was, at this time, a rising tide of electoral rivalry (the excessively turbulent presidential election in 1999, and the parliamentary elections that produced 'hung' legislatures in 2000 and 2001) in many parts of the country, especially in localities such as Mawanella where UNP and SLFP muscle-power was (as it still is) equally matched. In any event, the riot had hardly anything to do with Buddhist militancy. Reproduced below is a reference to an aspect of its wider context in an article I wrote at that time to the Delhi-based South Asia Intelligence Review.

"In the longer term the Muslim fears of becoming a beleaguered minority in the entire country could have been reinforced by several brief, localised Sinhalese-Muslim clashes of the recent past – in the township of Mawanella in May 2001, and in Colombo North in October 2002. There is, in addition, the long-standing dispute in the interior of the Eastern Province concerning an alleged encroachment by the Muslims of land belonging to an ancient Buddhist temple".

(b) "Removal" of a mosque in Dambulla.

Urban functions in Dambulla until about the late 1970s were represented by no more than a small cluster of shops and primary-level government service outlets traversed by the Kandy-Jaffna highway, its income dependent mainly on the tertiary services the cluster provided to the thin scatter of peasant settlements in the surrounding area and to pilgrims visiting the historic cave-temple dating back to the pre-Christian era. Several changes witnessed in the 1980s – foremost among these were the opening up of 'System H' of the Mahaveli Programme to the northwest of Dambulla, invigoration of international tourism, and more generally, the advances in transport and travel that accompanied 'liberalisation' of the economy, and rapid population growth ̶ made it possible for Dambulla to become one of the largest market towns located mid-way between Sri Lanka's central highlands and the northern plains, a pleasant stopover for visitors to the hallowed archaeological sites of Sīgiriya, Anurādhapura and Polonnaruwa, and to emerge as the foremost centre of wholesale trade in perishable farm products commanding a commercial catchment extending over a large part of the island including Greater Colombo.

The relevance of these transformations to the political disturbances in this area stemmed mainly from the fact that the vast tracts of land which the sacred 'Rangiri Dambulla' temple had received over the past millennia as donations, much of it uncharted and/or uninhabited, and acknowledged vaguely as vihāragam (temple land), acquired a sharp upsurge of commercial value in the real-estate market. The first major outbreak of intense political dispute rooted in this fact was the agitation against the construction of a luxury tourist hotel overlooking the Kandalama lake – a campaign which, according to a Reuter report, attracted at its zenith more than 10,000 protesters (including a few volunteers for self-immolation!), objecting to the hotel project on grounds of its adverse ecological, social and cultural impact also involving a "land grab" of vihāragam by a consortium of large commercial firms. The protest fizzled out, and an elegant hotel pioneering eco-tourism in Sri Lanka came into being, the main reason for the former, and one of the principle beneficiaries of the latter being the Chief Incumbent of the Dambulla temple, Ven. Ināmaluvē Sri Sumangala, whose go-ahead for the hotel project, it was widely rumoured, was purchased by the investors for an astronomical sum of money. The other 'give and take' transactions also provided satisfaction to all concerned including the peasantry of the area which obtained from the investors an undertaking that the hotel employees other than managerial cadres will be recruited from among the local youth. A similar windfall for the venerable monk was rumoured to have occurred when the Sri Lanka Cricket Board acquired a large patch of land for its international stadium constructed in the year 2000. Needless to stress, these also meant an enormous elevation of Sri Sumangala thero's status as a Buddhist leader in the country and a powerful folk hero of the area whom many kowtowed and obeyed.

To be Continued

Murderer of Mel Gunasekara gets death sentence

 

By Roosindu Peris-July 5, 2017

The Colombo High Court today imposed the death sentence on the individual accused and convicted for the murder of journalist Melicia Gunasekara in 2014.

Delivering the verdict in the case after a trial which lasted over 3 years, Colombo High Court Judge Piyasena Ranasingha today sentenced Anthony Ramson George to death after the state attorney had sought the maximum punishment as he had two prior convictions.     

The 40-year-old Mel Gunasekara, a graduate of the University of East London, was working as an editor for Sunday Times at the time of her death.

She was stabbed to death in her Battaramulla home on February 02, 2014, while her parents and younger brother, had left for church to attend the Sunday mass.  

Melicia Gunasekera, was found lying lifelessly on the kitchen floor in a pool of blood. 

The suspect, who had previously been hired to paint the victim’s home, had broken into the house with the intention of burglarizing it. 

She had founded the Lanka Business Online website before working for the French news agency, AFP, and then going freelance.

Field Marshal, where will this hatred end?

Jul 05, 2017

Last weekend, former commandant of the military police retired Maj. Gen. E.P.J.K. Wijesiri and his family members were expelled on an order by Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka while spending a holiday at the military police bungalow at Giritale in Polonnaruwa. Fonseka has that much of hatred for Wijesiri is because he was the second in command of the team that came to arrest him at his office in 2010. Leading that team was Maj. Gen. Manawadu, who died following a scaffolding collapse at a construction site around a year ago.

It was Wijesiri who took the initiative to build this bungalow when he was the colonel commandant of the military police. The field marshal has become so brutal as to expel a person who himself had built the facility.

Getting to know through a spy of his that Wijesiri and his family were spending a holiday at the bungalow, Fonseka immediately telephoned Maj. Gen. Mahesh Senanayake and ordered him to expel them. Yesterday (04) he was appointed the Army commander, but that weekend, Senanayake was the chief of staff of the Army.

Although severely inconvenienced and rendered helpless by that order, Senanayake reluctantly called Giritale Army camp commander Brig. Gamini Sirisena and told him to explain the situation to Wijesiri and ask him to leave. So, listening to Sirisena’s words, the ex-major general immediately took his leave, well knowing what will happen to Sirisena if he did not.

What implies from this incident is that Fonseka’s improper interference in affairs of the Army. He is a true soldier by both birth and soul. The real soldier respects humanity, but fulfills his objectives somehow. For that, exacting revenge is a must.

Senanayake has assumed duties as the Army commander. Fonseka supported him to the position by going after various politicians. But, if he did that to use him as a puppet, Fonseka should not be allowed to do that. That is because Senanayake is a person who is quite capable of rising up on his own. He has well studied reconciliation. For the past one and a half years, he had been the northern security forces commander and practically implemented reconciliation theories. It is the duty of all to allow such a knowledgeable person to do his job independently and impartially.

Field marshal, learn from the president

President Maithripala Sirisena has given a good precedence to revengeful soldiers who go after enemies and shot them on the head. Recently, a group of Sri Lankans living abroad met with him. While having tea with them, the president was asked by an additional secretary in charge of his diary if the marriage of a former MP was a must to attend. Checking it, he said, “Oh, Oh. This is a must. This is the wedding of a child of our former UNP Ampara MP Chandradasa Galappatti. I should go there for a special reason.”

He related that reason to the guests present. “I first entered parliament in 1989. One day, Mr. Vasudeva Nanayakkara grabbed the mace and created a big scene. Members from both sides had a free for all. Since I am new, I looked on what is happening, with my hand on my cheek. Suddenly, a government member came to me and asked me what I was looking at. I only smiled at him, but he hit me on the face. I fell down with my chair. Before he tried anything again, I ran out of the parliament thanking my mother for the milk she gave me. I got into my vehicle and fled. The person who hit me was this Mr. Chandradasa Galappatti. Therefore, I should go to this marriage somehow. That is how I take revenge from people. Then, they repent their whole life about the wrongs they did to me. But, I have nothing to repent about.”

We compared these two incidents to show that if he wants to become leader of this country one day, the field marshal have to cultivate many true human qualities.

Five policemen to hang after 27 year trial

Kapila Somaratne-Monday, July 3, 2017

Kandy Provincial High Court Judge Sarojanee Kusala Weerawardena presiding at the Panadura Provincial High Court on June 30 passed the death sentence on five policemen who were found guilty of committing the murder of a suspect who was in police custody on July 1, 1990.

The accused were also found guilty of assaulting the suspect while in police custody The Judge sentenced each of the accused to six-month imprisonment and fined Rs. 5000 each for the second charge.

The accused are Mellawathanthirige Padmakumara, the former OIC of the Dombegoda Police post of the Panadura Police Division, and Police Sergeant Namal Priyantha P. Udayakumara, Sarath Kodituwakku, and N. M. Premaratne, who served at the Dombegoda Police post in 1990.

They were indicted by the Attorney General with being members of an unlawful assembly and committing the murder of Mohammed Mansoor Mohammed Munas of Atalugama, Bandaragama by assaulting and shooting him while he was in police custody on June 1, 1990. The trial of the 27-year-old murder case was concluded by high Court Judge Sarojanee Kusala Weerawardena on June 30, 2017 at the Panadura Provincial High Court

All five accused were found guilty of killing Mohammed Mansoor Mohammed Munas, while he was in police custody by shooting him on June 1, 1990.

They were found guilty of assulting the suspect who was in the police custody on the same day.

The judge reading out the judgement in open Court at 3 p m on June 30 stated that the accused attached to the Dombegoda Police Post arrested the suspect Mohammed Munas on June 1, 1990, while he was coming out from a mosque in Atalugama.

He was taken to the Police post and questioned. Police said that he agreed to show the place where he had hidden the stolen items and policemen took the suspect to recover the stolen articles.

While walking along a gravel road along School Road around 12 midnight on that day, the suspect had attempted to escape. The suspect was not in handcuffs. The first accused Sub Inspector Padmakumara caught him and struggled with him. The suspect and the first accused fell on the ground and accidentally the revolver gave way. The suspect was injured and rushed to the Panadura Hospital. On the way, he died. But there was no evidence to prove the defence story.

Dambulla’s Golden Temple Faces Global Disgrace

BY GAGANI WEERAKOON-2017-07-02

A fresh tug of war has erupted between State authorities and Bhikkhu hierarchies over the ownership of Golden Temple in Dambulla which is recognized as the largest, best-preserved cave-temple complex in Sri Lanka with Buddhist mural paintings (covering an area of 2,100 m2) and 157 statues, being dropped off the list of World Heritages by the UNESCO.

The administration of Dambulla Temple has apparently not allowed the officials of the Central Cultural Fund (CCF) who had been deployed for maintenance at the world heritage site to enter the premises.

The paintings of the Dambulla Cave Temple, thus in danger due to unnecessary involvement into the activities of the Archaeology Department, acting Director General of Archaeology Prof. P.B. Mandawala alleged.

He said the murals at the cave temple in Dambulla were peeling off; paintings had faded and were exposed to the mercy of Mother Nature, due to lack of proper programme to protect them. He also said the layer between the stones and plaster has become wet and is on the verge of collapse. The increased level of hydrogen and uncontrolled gathering of pilgrims inside the temple and high humidity had aggravated the situation. Plaster on the walls was falling and high voltage camera lights had endangered the paintings.

"The people who had been employed for the restoration work at the Dambulla cave temple have been withdrawn on the orders of the Temple authorities. The intervention of the Central Cultural Fund and the Archaeology Department was necessary to preserve this temple but all officials of the two public institutions have been withdrawn by now," Prof. Mandawala said while warning legal action would be taken against those responsible if things get worsened.

Assuring that the historic Dambulla Rock Cave Temple will not be taken over by the Government, Secretary, Ministry of Education Sunil Hettiarachchi said a confrontation was not necessary for that issue and all parties involved in it must realize the situation and work accordingly as the preservation of the Dambulla Cave Temple was a duty towards the nation.

"It was incumbent upon Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, the Ministry, the Director General of Archaeology and the Director of the Central Cultural Fund to preserve the Dambulla Rock Cave Temple and that they should not be deviated from the process," Hettiarachchi said responding to remarks by Chief Prelate of Rangiri Dambulu Raja Maha Viharaya Ven. Dr. Godagama Mangala Thera.
The chief prelate who is also a senior member of the Karaka Sangha Sabha of Asgiriya Chapter addressing media accused the government of attempting to acquire the temple.

Anunayake Thera of Asgiriya Most Venerable Wendaruwe Sri Upali Thera, Secretary General Asgiriya Chapter Venerable Medagama Dhammananda Thera and Viharadhipathi of Dambulla Raja Maha Vihara Venerable Dr. Godagama Mangala Thera opposed what they called a government plan to entrust the management of the Dambulla Raja Maha Vihara to the Central Cultural Fund (CCF).

What happened?

The World Heritage Committee of UNESCO at its 40th session in Istanbul, Turkey held in 2016 expressed "serious concern" about, the lack of implementation of an agreed management plan for the Golden Temple of Dambulla.

It directed Sri Lanka, as the State party, to submit to the World Heritage Centre by 1 December, 2017, an updated report on the state of conservation of the Golden Temple and of the implementation of prescribed recommendations. The report will be examined by the World Heritage Committee at its 42nd session in 2018. Similar reports were studied at its sessions in 2014.

The Golden Temple of Dambulla has been under scrutiny for several years because of modern developments taking place in close proximity to the ancient caves.

The World Heritage Committee decision expressed serious concerns about the lack of clear management structures and clear lines of responsibilities, and in particular the lack of implementation of the Management Plan which increases the problematic of conservation/visitor management of the property.

It draws attention to a monitoring mission made to the Golden Temple by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS).

The ICOMOS mission that was at the Temple from 11 to 15 March 2015 requests the State party to implement following recommendations:

1) To continue with the research and identification of solutions for the problematic issues affecting the property, with the help of local and international experts in the relevant fields.

Currently, the State Party needs to designate a stone and wall painting conservator. ICOMOS, ICCROM and the World Heritage Centre could assist the State Party in identifying appropriate international experts.

2) To revise and update the Management Plan based on a clearly defined governance and communication structure that sets out the interface between the State and Temple authorities, and which includes short-, mid- and long-term strategies for both Conservation and Visitor Management, as well as budget planning (except for the long-term aspect).

3) To improve the management of the site, a site management committee should be created which includes representatives of the government, the Temple authorities and the local community, as well as experts. This committee should meet at least bimonthly, to discuss and decide on all matters related to the conservation and management of the World Heritage property of the Golden Temple of Dambulla. In the case of an emergency, the committee could meet spontaneously. The State Party should inform the World Heritage Centre on the establishment of this committee once in place.

4) To establish a tourism management strategy within the coming year, especially including the maximum number of persons allowed entrance into the caves at once. The five caves are all different in size, and the control of visitor numbers allowed in each is crucial to managing the area.

5) To introduce and enforce, as soon as possible, a policy prohibiting visitors from using flash photography inside the cave, as this is one of the main causes of the change in colour of the paintings.

6) To set up security checks in order to prevent visitors from entering the property with any potentially harmful items.

The conservation and management of World Heritage and other cultural heritage properties is controlled by 'Antiquities Ordinance'.

In its January 2015 report on the state of conservation, the State Party had indicated several threats including working relationship and coordination between the temple authorities and the principal heritage management authorities; continued deterioration of the paintings due to lack of system for monitoring of the elements and features; misunderstanding and lack of confidence in the Temple Authorities on the approach to mural painting conservation by the principal heritage management authorities; the rapidly decreasing traditional skill and talent of the direct descendants of the Master Painters suggests that if this trend continues, the traditional knowledge of preparing paint using natural materials will also be lost in the near future and lack of focus in conservation and presenting the attributes of the property.

Is it all about money?

Following a visit by Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam to the Temple, Ven. Dr. Mangala Thera who assumed duties as the Viharadhipathi in a letter dated 21 February 2017 stated that, an immediate investigation should be conducted into it and legal action taken against those responsible, irrespective of their status or position, if a sum of Rs 7,300 million to Rs. 10,950 million accrued from the sale of tickets to visitors at the Rangiri Dambulla Viharaya over the past two decades have been misappropriated as alleged.

In his letter, Venerable Thera clearly stated that the said amount has not been credited to the temple Fund.

Meanwhile, then Director General of Archaeology Prof. Senarath Dissanayake in a written complaint to the Minister Kariyawasam on 21 February 2017 requested an investigation into illegal construction within the archaeological site against UNESCO recommendations and on the revenue generated by issuing tickets to foreigners who visited the site since 1996.

"Even though our department charged a visitor fee as per the powers by the Section 40 (e) of Antiquity Ordinance to levy an entrance fee where it is considered necessary at selected sites or visitor centres; the Viharadhikari of the Temple Ven. Inamaluwe Sumangala Thera stopped the department from doing so since 1996. Venerable Thera started charging that fee and the newly appointed Viharadhikari (has also commenced collecting fees since 12 February 2017," he stated in the letter which, has also been forwarded to IGP requesting to carry out an investigation.

Responding to these complaints, Commissioner General of Buddhist Affairs Nimal Kotawalagedara in a communique dated 2 March 2017 to the Secretary of Education Ministry has informed that collection of funds and carrying out auditing of finances is a subject falls under his purview as per the Buddhist Temporalities Ordinance.

He also pointed out that the Department is in possession of account details of Golden Temple of Dambulla, thus the accusation by the Director General of Archaeology was misleading public.
However, due to this confusion Prof. Dissanayake has sought legal advice from the Attorney General's Department in February 2017 and the AG's Department has, according to sources, informed that as per the Antiquities (Amendment) Act No. 24 of 1998 the DG has powers to levy a fee.
According to statistics the daily income of the Golden Temple of Dambulla is approximately Rs 1.5 million. However, the Department has been given only Rs 280,000 by the temple authorities to carryout preservation activities. Rest of the expenses were borne by the department and the CCF alone.

(PIX BY CHARMINDA RODRIGO)

Act swift for a greener and cleaner tomorrow!

The construction industry should be guided by the capacity to supply renewable energy

2017-07-05
The need for feasible environmental friendly approaches for development projects and policy planning has been felt as vital elements, especially in the facet of addressing issues related to natural disasters including garbage management in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, preserving the biodiversity of ecosystems has today become quite a challenge as illegal constructions including development projects lacking a proper EIA report are currently on the rise. It is within this context that Chairman at Rainforest Rescue International and Systems Ecologist Dr. Ranil Senanayake elucidated  Daily Mirror on how best to address the challenges of climate change and related phenomenons and on how to minimize the risks of natural disasters. Adding more essence to the subject, he spoke on the concept of Analog Forestry, the need to promote cleaner and greener energy while stressing on the need to adhere to proper environmental standards when focusing on development projects. Excerpts of the interview are given below. 

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• The impact of possible, toxic marine sediment into the lungs of the citizens of Colombo is not considered
• The laws are there, it is the unwillingness to execute the law that has created this apathy to defend 
• the country
• There are also credible reports that the Chinese are dredging outside the nominated areas
• The port city is a glaring example of the government acting against the well being of its 
• own citizens
• All of the packing material winds up as garbage.  The packing industry must take a proactive stand. 
•  If Colombo is to be a Green City, it must recognize the Kelani Watershed as being its major source of ecosystem services
• We adhere to Buddhist principles, doing the total opposite at home
• A city can gain through a proper planting design
•  In many parts of the world temperatures are rising well above the danger line. This is a central reason why we have to contribute to maintaining the global temperature below a 1.5-degree rise.
• Get ready for extreme episodic events from heat to drought to flood. Begin working with international climate modellers to develop predictive models for our area. 

Q How do mega development projects in Sri Lanka have an impact on natural disasters?
Mega or Mini, the first thing is to understand what ‘development’ means. It is a word that should denote progress and social growth, but has been perverted to mean an increase of individual greed and economic growth. A few politicians such as Jose Mujica the Ex president of Paraguay, or religious leaders like His Holiness the Pope have tried to enlighten their people on this perversion, but most so-called ‘leaders’ choose the easy path to individual power and fortune by joining the ‘Economic Development’ bandwagon without a second thought of future cost. The mini-development that led to illegal logging, sand mining, rock blasting, and wetland filling that we have witnessed during the last decade or more, has brought the consequences that we are experiencing as ‘natural disasters’ today. If mega development merely means activities that stimulate individual greed aimed at obtaining economic growth in a bigger and larger manner, we should certainly expect greater natural disasters as a consequence.

If mega development merely means activities that stimulate individual greed aimed at obtaining economic growth in a bigger and larger manner, we should certainly expect greater natural disasters as a consequence

Q In your opinion, is it true that the recent flood situation was further intensified as a result of the poor drainage system in the country and due to the construction of illegal buildings blocking waterways?

That is a fact, it is not only unplanned construction that blocks the waterways, the increase in impervious surfaces (area where the rainfall cannot soak into the ground) creates increased outflows that are constricted by the small drainage channels, creating local flooding. The small plastic debris aggravates this situation by rapidly choking drainage systems.

Q It has been reported time and again, that illegal constructions are on the rise along riverbanks and most of these constructions are taking place without a proper Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) being conducted. What are your views on this?

There is an ordinance that sets out the river reservations, but because of official inaction or political aggression such reservations have mostly been cleared and even passed into individual ownership. If the government begins its development planning on a watershed basis and has clear and common sense plans on how we intend to develop each, then all river reservations can be marked and developed, so that the impact of extreme climate events can be mitigated.
The laws are there, it is the unwillingness to execute the law and the impunity with which the lawmakers treat the law that has created this apathy to defend the country.

Q The Port City Project has come under much criticism by environmentalist for the damage it could cause to the environment. Environmentalists have already pointed out that coastal erosion, damage to coral reefs and changes in sea wave patterns have happened as a result of soil excavation. In the long term, how would this affect the country’s urban geography including that of coastal areas?

The first consideration for the proposed port city is that all activities fly in the face of the Sri Lankan Law. The Initial EIA (phase 1) dealt only with the filling up of the sea in front of Colombo. The legality of this action should be considered, especially as there is no study of the affect of this action on the city of Colombo, beggars’ belief. By dragging the red herring of fisheries before the public, the impact of possible, toxic marine sediment into the lungs of the citizens of Colombo is not considered. If the sand transport models presented to demonstrate the innocuous nature of sand mining claimed by the EIA are proven wrong, who will be financially responsible? The massive fracturing of the overburden on rock cliffs as a consequence of the blasting required for the rock material,  has not even been addressed.  It will be good to examine how many rock quarries were in the vicinity of the areas that experienced earth slips.
There are also credible reports that the Chinese are dredging outside the nominated areas. There seems to be no Sri Lankan Government Institution interested in checking their work or following up on public complaints.

Further, any construction on the reclaimed land needs a Phase 2 EIA. If any construction or selling of future constructed space is made before the Phase 2 EIA is approved, it is a clear violation of Sri Lankan law. No one has seen such a report and if work is progressing without a phase 2 EIA, then the Attorney General should take note.
A real tragedy of the Port city mess is that it is the Sri Lankan Government that has agreed to get the clearances on behalf of the foreign investor. If the government is acting in the interest of the investors who is acting in the interests of the citizens of Sri Lanka?

The port city is a glaring example of the government acting against the well being of their own citizens. If this fiasco of ignoring the well being of the citizens of this nation continues for the financial benefit of some multinational, it can only be interpreted as traitorous and we should watch those individuals who are pushing the project secretly, with no transparency or accountability.

Garbage management in Sri Lanka is still very rudimentary. The public has not been sensitized as to their responsibilities and dumping has become a business. 

Q In your view, how unregulated is garbage management in Sri Lanka? Also, in a scale of 0 - 10, where would you place Sri Lanka in it’s efforts to maintain effective garbage management? 

Garbage management in Sri Lanka is still very rudimentary. The public has not been sensitized as to their responsibilities and dumping has become a business. While it is obvious that we have to invest in a better-organized garbage collection and disposal system, we should also consider the composition of garbage. There is a rapid increase in non-degradable packaging materials due to the tendency of packing consumer goods in smaller and smaller packs in order to increase sales volumes. All of the packing material winds up as garbage.  The packing industry must take a proactive stand. At a scale of 1-10, I would suggest that we are around 5. We have the infrastructure, but not the political will to educate our public and begin a rational program of waste management.

Q Can you explain the concept of Analog Forestry?

The idea of Analog Forestry began when the massive destruction of our forests by mono cultures of Tea, Rubber and Coconut became evident. There was no talk of restoration, only replacement through the planting of even - aged mono cultures by the Forest Department. This was a bad idea, as in the plantations the need to address      both the structure and the functions of the original forest was forgotten, even the biodiversity. Forestry was to follow the western model blindly. The western model is clearly stated by the pioneers of the US Forest Service:
‘The first and foremost purpose of a forest growth is to supply us with wood material; it is the substance of the trees itself, not their fruit, their beauty, their shade, their shelter, that constitutes the primary object,’ (Fenrow the Head of US Forest Service 1920).
Since international funding was tied to this description of a forest, the bureaucrats followed the money, looking at forests as things only to produce wood; forgetting  what we knew as the forest from the Buddha who stated , “The forest is a peculiar organism of unlimited kindness and benevolence that makes no demand for its sustenance and extends generously the products of its life activity; asking nothing in return, it affords protection to all beings, offering shade even to the axeman who would destroy it” - Gautama Buddha (460 BCE)

As a Systems Ecologist the words of the Buddha confirmed my personal experience of a forest in Sri Lanka. Even the aged mono cultures of Pinus and Eucalyptus were imbeded in timber plantations, as much a forest as a Rubber plantation is.  But they sucked up all the funds that were earmarked for re-forestation.  It was clear that we needed an approach different from timber production and extraction to restore forests. So I set about designing a system that was analogous (similar) to the original forest in architectural structure and ecological functions, but comprised of economically valuable species that would encourage the farmer to care for the planted stock.  It also addressed our native biodiversity as a critical design feature; it is a system that strives to maintain a high Biodiversity to Biomass (B: B) ratio and provides for a very high level of Ecosystem Services. More information about analog forestry can be obtained from www.analogforestry.org .

Q Can the concept of Analog Forestry and Green City go hand in hand in the context of Sri Lanka and if so, how effective would it be in addressing the issues of climate change both locally and in a global scale? 

Indeed it can. A Green City must be identified within the watershed it is in. The City should accept responsibility to provide clean water, clean air and clean food to its inhabitants. This can be done easily if the city recognizes the ecosystem services by the rural component of that watershed and move to protect and enhance those services. In terms of climate change and temperature rise, the fact that a large tree provides a cooling factor equivalent to eight room sized air conditioners working eight hours a day, gives us the benefits that a city can gain through a proper planting design.
Many cities the worlds over are beginning to feel the drop in oxygen concentration in the air. Cities like Mexico City, Delhi and Beijing often have days when the oxygen concentration drops below 16 percent. At 15-19 percent a person has impaired thinking and attention, reduced coordination, decreased ability for strenuous work; below this heart disease becomes manifest. If we allow the huge unplanned barriers built by the port city, can we expect the oxygen concentration in the city to be affected ? Has such critical environmental impacts, been studied and reported on ?   If Colombo is to be a Green City, it must recognize the Kelani Watershed as being its major source of ecosystem services and move to sustain it and it must recognize that the clean, oxygen rich sea air it currently enjoys, must be sustained by its green element.

Q Despite being a party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol, Sri Lanka continues the use of coal, which has a direct impact on climate change. Do you think that Sri Lanka can contribute in maintaining the global temperature below a 1.5 degree rise under such conditions? Also, can you elaborate on the importance of maintaining global temperature below 1.5 degrees?

Temperature is a very critical thing for all living things, as we are kept alive by enzymatic reactions and as enzymes have critical thresholds beyond which they cannot function, high temperatures lead to ‘Heat death’.  In addition to the direct impact that we are seeing, with heat related deaths  in Pakistan and India; there is also the fact that food production will diminish with rising temperatures, as the temperature threshold for chlorophyll (the green in the leaves) is 39 degrees; beyond this, productivity will be impacted as the chlorophyll  ceases to be effective. In many parts of the world temperatures are rising well above the danger line. This is a central reason why we have to contribute to maintaining the global temperature below a 1.5-degree rise.  The tragedy of Sri Lanka is that while the President makes a policy statement on international stages, the fossil fuel lobby is busy working with some complaint bureaucrats insisting on a share of fossil fuel (coal, oil or gas) in the national energy futures scenario. Such greedy thoughtless action by the nexus of corrupt bureaucrat - businessmen-politicians  (BBP) will endanger generations.  When the whole world is moving to reduce their dependency on fossil fuels, we seem to be the exception, by wanting to increase our dependency on fossil fuel to sustain this ‘development’.

We have become a nation of international hypocrites. We preach about our concern for the environment, our concern for public health and our adherence to Buddhist principles, on all possible international stages, while doing the total opposite at home. Our ecosystems are in tatters and we crow about sustainability; our biodiversity restricted to tiny patches in a sea of mono cultures and we shout about the wonderful biodiversity Sri Lanka possesses, our seas are so polluted that a simple cut can get infected in many locations and we talk about having clean, unspoilt beaches.

Q How can renewable energy cater to maintain a cleaner and greener environment in Sri Lanka?

By ensuring the development of technologies that do not need fossil generated energy and by creating a production capacity to market the technology.  Look at the value added to products that promote a cleaner and greener environment. Ensure that growth predictions consider the need to have a renewable energy input consideration in all development projects. Building massive edifices without considering the drain on the national energy production system, forces (or encourages) the bureaucrats to project a huge energy demand scenario and frighten us into accepting fossil energy.  The construction industry should be guided by the capacity to supply renewable energy; in that way we could have a more sustainable form of development. If we work to realize the value of Ecosystem Services (ES) in our GNP accounting, not only can we rise out of debt, but it will  also move us rapidly into a greener environment in Sri Lanka.

Q Overall, what message would you like to convey to the local authorities and the public on how they should help mitigate the risks of natural disasters, both locally and in a global scale? 


Appreciate and understand the nature of the lands around you. Understand your situation on the landscape. If in a flood prone area, plan for floods. In earth slip areas plan good drainage. Protect your local watershed. At a global scale we should be serious about the pledge that the President made at CoP 21.  Fossil fuel as an energy source should be discouraged.  Place a lower priority on mindless consumerism. Get ready for extreme episodic events from heat to drought to flood. Begin working with international climate modellers to develop predictive models for our area. Develop Protocols so that one can respond to oncoming extreme episodic events. Know your neighbours and know some basic responses to disaster situations in your area.  In events of disaster it is always the individual citizen who is first to respond. The Government must be prepared, but the first response is always the private citizen, the Government should strive to build up this capacity.