Malinda Seneviratne is very sophisticated in camouflaging his racism and majoritarian mindset. He takes refuge under semantics to play with words, to hide his racism. I want to salute House Leader Lakshman Kiriella for his human kindness and calling for an apology by the Sinhalese knowing well he will be roasted as a ‘traitor among Sinhalese Buddhists’ by the likes of Malinda.
Malinda is accusing the government of harassing and vilifying the intelligent service. He, of course, is referring to the army intelligence unit that operated directly under the former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya’s jurisdiction. The Unit took orders directly from him. And this was the intelligence unit was engaged in abduction, ransom, white-vans and gruesome murders. It is now in the open that this army intelligence unit was responsible, inter-alia, for the abduction and killing of 11 youths in Colombo and also for the dastardly murder of Lasantha Wickrematunga in broad daylight. Therefore, it comes as no surprise Malinda is crying foul over the arrest of members of the army intelligence unit for crimes committed by them.
Not surprisingly, Malinda takes offense for referring to only Sinhalese extremism and not other extremism of Tamils and Muslims. Anyone with a modicum of intelligence will admit the fact that Sinhala extremism is not the same as Tamil and Muslim racism. Sinhala extremism is unleashed against the numerical minority Tamils and Muslims out of jealousy and imaginary fears. The majority community is led to believe that their prosperity lies in destroying the economic base of the minorities. They ruined the economic base of Tamils through pogroms in 1958, 1977, 1979, 1981 and 1983. They succeeded in their mission. Having finished off the Tamils, their attention is now turned against the Muslims.
It should be noted that there were no attacks against the Muslims during the war against LTTE. The attacks commenced only after the war ended in May, 2009. The reason or reasons are too obvious. Deal with your enemy one at a time.
Malinda thinks he is super clever by drawing a parallel between Sinhala Only with English Only. Is Malinda telling us that the Sinhalese have replaced the foreign Anglo-Saxons invaders? There was English only because both the Sinhalese and Tamils/Muslims were under colonial occupation by the Englishmen. In a free country, both Sinhala and Tamil should have been declared as official languages instead of Sinhala Only. That is where the racism of the majority Sinhalese comes into play.
Malinda is plain wrong in comparing conditions under foreign occupation with conditions under a free country. Ceylon would not have gained independence if the Tamils and Muslims did not vote for the Soulbury constitution.
Malinda is claiming that there are more holidays for Muslims than for Buddhists and that the number of Christian holidays is four times more than that of the Buddhists. According to him Sundays are working days for the Buddhists and holidays for the Christians! Is there no limit for insanity and paranoia? When we are discussing seriously about the fundamental rights of citizens in a democratic polity, Malinda is displaying petty mindedness and parochialism.
Malinda talks about the contribution of majority Sinhalese verses Tamils and Muslims contribution in achieving independence. This is revision of history with a vengeance. While the Sinhalese ceded their kingdoms to foreign powers, the Tamils lost their kingdom by fighting the Portuguese on the battlefield. It was none other than the Ponnambalam brothers who pioneered the Ceylon independence movement. It was the Jaffna Tamils who demanded ‘poorana Swaraj’ (Total independence) in 1930.
Even it is conceded for argument sake, the contribution of the majority Sinhalese outweighed the contribution of the Tamils and Sinhalese that is no reason why the majority community should now lord over the minority communities.
In a democracy there is no majority or minority communities, all citizens are equal before law notwithstanding their ethnicity, religion or language. This is not the case with Sri Lanka. That explains why there was a violent war and violent clashes.
Malinda suffers from chronic racism by claiming the superiority of the majority Sinhalese in all facets of life. I have a question for him. How come you have to wage a protracted and destructive war in a Buddhist country? Is not the LTTE a creation of Sinhala racism? Is not Prabhakaran a war hero for the majority of Tamils even now? Is it not a fact that the Tamils hate the presence of the ‘victorious Sinhala army’ who continue to occupy their lands and exploit their resources? Soon after the war was over, Mahinda Rajapaksa proclaimed that he had liberated the Tamils from the clutches of the LTTE terrorists. If this is indeed true, why did the Tamils vote en masse against Mahinda Rajapaksa ending in his ignominious defeat?
When Nazi Germany was liberated by the allied forces the German people thronged the streets to welcome the allied forces with flowers, bouquets, and garlands! But where are the flowers, bouquets, and garlands for the liberated Sinhala army in the North and East?
Of course, there is a border between the North/East and South. The government itself spoke of protecting Sinhalese border villages from attacks by the LTTE like Manal Aru (Weli Oya) in the Vanni district.
There is no comparison between Wijeweera who wanted to capture power by assembling a rag-tag and ill-equipped and untrained armed men, whereas Prabhakaran raised a conventional army and fought a conventional war. He fought to regain the Kingdom his forefathers ruled. He, in fact, ruled 80% of the North/East for well over 26 years!
Finally, after playing with words and twisted arguments he boldly or pathetically claims he want apologise as wanted by Kiriella. That comes as no surprise at all knowing his past.
Image: Sri Lanka Muslims in Kandy praying in open space as their Mosque has been set on fire by Sinhala Buddhist mobs.
12/03/2018
On March 6 2018, Parliament took up an adjournment motion on the issue of the recent violence taking place in Ampara and later, Digana. Speaking after Minister Rauf Hakeem, I agreed with many of the sentiments the Minister expressed concerning these incidents. However, I did not share the disbelief the Minister professed to feel concerning the incidents. Sadly, such incidents involving violence against an ethnic group that is in a numerical minority are an undeniable part of Sri Lanka’s history.
In another speech in Parliament I described how not once, but twice during my lifetime, the Sri Lankan government arranged for me, along with many other Tamils, to be transported to our place of origin in Jaffna during times when violence was being perpetrated against the Tamil community. Not once, but twice the Government acknowledged to me, and to all the Tamil people, that it could not – or would not – protect us in its own capital. We, who were said to be equal citizens, Sri Lankans, were faced with a Government that was unable – or perhaps unwilling – to be responsible for our physical safety in the capital city of what was said to be our own country.
The similarities between these previous incidents and the present violence are undeniable. The mobs, the burning of homes and shops, and the ever present fear of communities under attack are all too familiar. Perhaps, the starkest similarity however, is also perhaps the most distressing one – the blind eye of law enforcement authorities at the site of the violence.
Among the different sentiments expressed on the violence in Digana and Ampara in Parliament last Tuesday, one thing was clear. Across party lines, there was consensus that a root cause for the violence that erupted was the culture of impunity. In his speech, MP Sampanthan, Leader of the Opposition and the Tamil National Alliance, stated that the role of law enforcement authorities has been called into serious question. He told the House that people seem to have the confidence that they can engage in such acts of violence, and the arm of the law would not reach them, and that the Rule of Law would not be enforced against them.
This culture of impunity is a ticking time bomb, not merely because of the violence it begets, but perhaps, even more importantly, because it forces those victimized by such violence to do the only thing that is left for them to do to survive – to defend themselves.
When a Government shrugs its shoulders and turns a blind eye to the violence being perpetrated against its own citizens; when one is abandoned by the law and authorities merely because of one’s ethnicity, one is forced to defend oneself.
People facing mobs inflicting violence on them, their families and their property cannot be expected to meekly succumb to such violence. People faced with such violence will eventually be forced to defend themselves – violently. The consequences of such a spiral of violence will be unthinkable for a country just now beginning to rebuild itself after a long war spanning three decades.
One hopes that even now, the Government realizes this, and sees the heavy cost of a culture of impunity.
However, just a day after this issue was taken up in the House, on Wednesday March 7, during the debate on the Enforced Disappearances Bill, the Tamil National Alliance was again addressing the issue of impunity. During my speech, while welcoming the effort to enact into Municipal Law an international obligation, I expressed disappointment at the Government bending over backwards in its efforts to reassure perpetrators that they would not be pursued.
Criticizing the fact that the law was not applicable retroactively, the Leader of the Opposition, addressing the Government, stated that if it was not prepared to prosecute such crimes, its position would necessarily be that these were committed with its sanction, explicitly or implicitly. All that the Government does in its attempts to say that this law is only for the future and not the past, is to reassure offenders that they will not be punished.
Numerical minorities, within a political system that denies them the political power that is rightfully theirs, are among the most vulnerable in this country. The Government thus arguably has an even higher moral imperative to ensure that members of such communities are treated as equal citizens before the law, with equal rights and remedies in the law.
As Mahatma Gandhi once said, ‘The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members’.
Mon, Mar 12, 2018, 11:23 am SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Mar 12, Colombo: The United Nations on Sunday condemned the recent attacks against Muslims and their property and breakdown of law & order in Sri Lanka.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman, who concluded a three-day visit to the island on March 11, offering condolences to the affected on behalf of the UN, urged the government to swiftly and fully implement the law to bring perpetrators to the justice.
He urged swift and full implementation of the Government's commitment to bring the perpetrators of the violence and hate speech to justice, to take measures to prevent recurrence, and to enforce non-discriminatory rule of law.
During his planned visit to Sri Lanka amidst the communal violence, the Under-Secretary-General Feltman met with President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe, Speaker of Parliament Karu Jayasuriya, Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana, as well as other political leaders and cabinet and government officials.
He also had the opportunity to meet with the members of Sri Lanka's diverse civil society, human rights representatives, and the diplomatic corps.
Noting the recent appointment of Commissioners to the Office on Missing Persons (OMP), Under-Secretary-General Feltman expressed hope that the OMP will soon be fully operational to help answer questions that haunt too many families from all across Sri Lanka about their missing loved ones
He also commended the Parliament's recent adoption of the Bill for the Protection Against Enforced Disappearances as an important element of the Sri Lankan government's commitment to its citizens.
The Under-Secretary-General underscored the importance of accelerating momentum on other initiatives, including regarding the constitution, truth and reconciliation, reparations, and counter-terrorism, in line with the Government's promise to strengthen the country's democratic principles and practices.
He expressed concern that many elements of the Government's visionary 2015 program seem stalled, despite their importance to sustainable peace, security and prosperity in Sri Lanka, and he appreciated the reassurances from Government leaders of their intention to move forward. He encouraged the Government to communicate their actions and timelines for reforms to the Sri Lankan people.
(Lanka-e-News - 12.March.2018, 6.30PM) The media recently reported on how president Sirisena created a volcanic eruption to raise a tiny mouse pup, which too he failed to realize is paralyzed until it was too late.
The cabinet reshuffle drama took place in the wake of the president Sirisena’s ‘shadow cabinet’. Now Sirisena has a ‘shadow cabinet ‘ which fits more the description , ‘kitchen cabinet’. In this cabinet is a group including Gotabaya Rajapakse , Susil Premajayantha , Weerawansa, Gammanpila, Dallas ,Mahindananda , Shiral Lakthileke, Maithri Gunaratne , Rathane Sadhu , Nivaard Cabraal and Roshan Ranasinghe who are all expected to wash pots and plates , and dirty linen ?The decisions regarding the law and order ministry and the no confidence motion against Ranil Wickremesinghe were all arrived at by this shadow cabinet.
Why was Madduma Bandara allocated the law and order ministry ? There are special reasons behind that…
This mouse pup, president said is paralyzed when the cabinet reshuffle was completed only by the UNP faction. The currently 4 % precariously placed executive president’s faction however has still not followed suit though it was expected and there are no signs of that taking place . Whether the ‘4% president’ will do that or not cannot be said , revealed minister S.B. Dissanayake at a media briefing.
The ‘4 % president’ ought to be reminded , his high handed action according to his own whims is despite his executive power being curtailed under the 19 th amendment .
Why was Madduma Bandara granted the law and order ministry ?
Madduma Bandara is one of those who leads the anti Ranil UNP group . He was one who was in the frontline of the team of hooligans including Sajith , Shiral Lakthileke ( notorious NGO crook) and Maithri Gunaratne when they attacked Sri Kotha .If Madduma Bandara becomes the law and order minister , it is obvious Shiral who will hold the reins controlling Madduma like the Bullock cart driver controlling the bullock.
In the circumstances one can guess whether cases will be filed against the criminal members of the shadow cabinet whose names are at the top of the list of Gota group of the Rajapakse Co. with whom president Sirisena has sought n alliance .
Indeed, the first statement made by Madduma after taking oaths was , “the opposition had nothing to do with the anti Muslim attack launched in Kandy’’, though this was totally contradictory to what Rajitha Senaratne disclosed ,and even diametrically opposed to the cogent and copious evidence available with the police. It is deducible from the Madduma Bandara announcement he was aware he was getting the post even before he was sworn in.
It is why Roshan Ranasinghe of the Gota team wished Madduma Bandara well before the media over his new appointment. “He is a very nice person. We expect him to discharge his duties impartially . We wish him well” said Roshan. Yet the group of Basil did not convey any greetings to Madduma. It was the belief of Basil team , until the last moment Fonseka would be appointed to that ministry.
It is well know though Basil and his group collected illicit commissions , they did not commit cold blooded murders after forming murder squads. Hence , if Fonseka became the law and order minister , that won’t be much of an issue to them . However , to Gota and his group it could pose a huge issue, because they would all be hauled up in courts for their heinous crimes.
It is the aim of Basil’s group to destroy the Gota –Sirisena alliance which is most portentous and spells doom not only to the entire population but also to the entire country.
In any case Madduma Bandara who was granted the law and order ministry is suffering from cancer and was undergoing chemo therapy treatment necessitating him to keep away from Parliament for many months. Even now he is under treatment to keep him alive. Surely such a patient cannot shoulder such a ministerial responsibility which demands him to spend all his time on the onerous duties. Madduma Bandara should understand this first . Next Ranil should and providing national security and peace to the country is not president’s or P.M.’s 8 th floor privilege , rather it is a national responsibility. It is not known whether both of them are trying to understand this only after going 6 feet underground ?
No confidence motion to chase out Ranil ….
The UNP members’ name list of the no confidence motion against Ranil was handed over to Gammanpila by president Sirisena. Range Bandara was a key player. The task of collecting the signatures of the UNP members was entrusted to Range Bandara , and the kickback for that was law and order ministry.
What Wimal and Gammanpila tried to do was, first obtain the signatures of the UNPers. Range and his team who were baffled inquired from Gammanpila , ‘the president informed us the members of the alliance will be signing this, hence where are those signatures ?’ and ordered him , ‘first collect your signatures , and then come to us. It is only by showing those that we can obtain the signatures of our group’
Wimal and Gammanpila , have then met Mahinda Rajapakse to obtain permission to collect the signatures of the alliance members. Mahinda who heard of all this ahead and was in a fury had torn the no confidence motion document and thrown it away. ’Are you all doing this in your madness? At this juncture can we take over a government and go on ?After asking whom, are you all doing this ? Mahinda had questioned while launching his verbal onslaught in a fit of rage. Basil who interjected had said , every one of you keep in mind all the votes flower bud polled are because of president Mahinda. Hence don’t get ready to form groups according to your fancies and try to trespass on your limits. In the commotion , Mahinda had taken a phone call to Ranil and openly said ‘ The UPFA has not taken any decision to bring a no confidence motion .That is a move of UNP group and Sirisena.’ Mahinda made these comments publicly to hit at Gota , and to quash the Gota- Sirisena conspiracy.
Wimal and Gammanpila (two notorious crooks) have then met SLFP senior member W.D.J. Seneviratne , when the latter had explained to them , the party had not taken such a decision. ‘ Who wants to chase Ranil out at this moment? I have no such necessity. When the MPs were crying they did not have money even to attend a funeral house and their salaries and perks were inadequate , wasn’t it Ranil who got the salaries and perks increased ? Seneviratne had reminded them , and chased them away saying’ take that and clear out from here’
Under the circumstances no confidence motion against Ranil is not going to be tabled.
Why is Mahinda group fearing to take over the government ?
The Basil group is not ready to take over the government not because of any ‘deal’ with Ranil , but because of the advice proffered by P.B. Jayasundara. ‘ We are fortunate we lost in 2015. Otherwise it is we who would have had to face the opposition of the people. It is this year and next the biggest loan installments have to be paid on the loans we took , in which event the government will be forced to burden the people with more taxes, and make cut backs on reliefs provided’, P.B. has elucidated. Basil listening to this had replied , ‘yes at this moment what we should do is not to embrace the government but exploit the situation to prepare our party for the next elections.’ Mahinda too had concurred in it while saying most angrily ‘ Our Gota cannot understand this. He is swallowing the ‘dead ropes’ of Wimal and Gammanpila.
Though Wimal and Gammanpila are making a a big din about the proposed no confidence motion , it is as sure as the sun rising from the East , that the UPFA will not table a no confidence motion against Ranil or the government within the next 2 years. Yet Wimal’s website which is best noted for the worst falsehoods , is continuing to post all kinds of concocted and malicious stories . Of course there are also the media personnel under the pay of Gota who are giving publicity to these mendacious reports. These are the media scoundrels day dreaming to become the chairpersons of Gota’s government media Institution .
Dejected Sirisena’s call rejected by Mahinda ..
Meanwhile president Sirisena invited Sarath Fonseka and had a discussion pertaining to the ministry of law and order. Mahinda group of curse came to know it was a ploy to frighten Basil. It was the opinion of Basil’s advisors that this situation must be made an opportunity to skirt around , and cripple the Maithri –Gota relationship , and through Mahinda they propagated the view.
The media reported on the 7 th regarding the discussion held by Mahinda with several front line media personnel on the 6 th in this connection At the discussion Mahinda stated , ‘All are saying I am scared if Fonseka is coming. I am not frightened , the prevailing fear is that he will put Gota behind bars. If Gota is to engage in politics he must g to jail. If my young children can get remanded , why shouldn’t Gota?
‘In my future government Fonseka can be the defense minister because he worked with me earlier on. We handled not situations like these’ Mahinda asserted.
Gota’s ‘cabinet ‘ begins to function..
Mahinda is enraged at Gota because the latter is forming committees after gathering various individuals , and going ahead. Recently at such a committee meeting Dr. Nirmal Ranjith of the Colombo University came in for heavy flak from Gotabaya . That was because Nirmal did not carry out a responsibility entrusted to him at the previous committee meeting.
‘Don’t think of working with me that way. If Ranil loses in the no confidence motion , it is we who will have to run the government . We must have our plans in place from now on. Don’t come to brag and lie in the way you mislead my brother,’ Gota threatened Dr. Nirmal
Subsequently ,the views expressed by Nalaka Godahewa received a huge applause. It was Dilith Jayaweera , owner of Derana media chain who spoke next after almost forcibly wresting the microphone . His speech was not well received by the audience , and provoked many criticisms.
‘He was with us and then aligned with Ranil. Now he comes here to tell us how to make you (Gota) the president in 2020. If Flower Bud has not won , he would still be with Ranil.’ When he was so criticized Dilith was in a most embarrassed situation. Gotabaya then said ‘ that is the way with businessmen’ in a lighter vein to calm the audience.
President Sirisena announced recently , ‘two Presidential Task Force ‘ for North East development , over and above the P.M. who has the majority in parliament . Interestingly that was a decision taken by Gota’s ‘cabinet’ which also stated this should be implemented in line with ‘Uthuru Wasanthaya’ of Basil.
Sangha underground criminals split into two….
When Mahinda did not fall into any of the traps of Sirisena, the latter in anger and anguish put in place another plan. That is to win over the Sangha underground criminals of Mahinda, and thereby split the Sinhala Buddhist racists and religious extremist forces , to take them into the fold of Gota.
These were decisions reached by Sirisena’s ‘Shadow cabinet’. The first step in this direction was summoning Batticaloa Mangalaramaya Sumanaratne Lankara. The latter challenged Sirisena and hoisted black flags based on a copy of a letter written by Shiral Lakthileke. Thereafter Sirisena under the pretext of protecting the life of underworld criminal Sumanaratne went and met him with an ‘atapirikara’ and worshipped him as never before. That was on 3 rd March.
Sirisena thereafter stooped so low as to do all the sordid biddings of underground criminal Sumanaratne including implementation of every plan of the latter , however evil and sinister.
The second inning of the criminalities started on 5 th March with an anti Muslim attack in Kandy . The video footage and photographs vividly revealed what Sangha underground criminal leader Sumanaratne did and said after arriving in Teldeniya from Batticaloa
Gnanassara considered as Sangha underworld godfather and an old friend of Gota , and Sangha underworld criminal leader Sumanaratne met to plan the attack on the Muslims. The disgraceful disdainful video footage of what Sumanaratne , other Sangha underworld leaders , and leader of Mahason Force leader Amith Weerasinghe did and said after assembling at Teldeniya police can also be viewed with your own eyes.
President’s former security chief S.M. Wickremesinghe is currently the Central province senior DIG. Since the combined dream of Sirisena –Gota is to make Gota the president in 2020 ,and to curry favor with the sinister Buddhist forces , the Sangha underworld and Mahason Balakaya found the right climate an opportunity to go on their rampage setting fire to Muslim establishments and launching attacks on Muslims unhindered for several days in spite of the curfew in force. In the circumstances , the sinister Sangha underworld is undoubtedly going to be more bold and strong in the future in the evil direction.
After all this mayhem, who were the companions in Sirisena’s helicopter journey to Kandy? It was none other than the lyricist ,another Sangha underworld criminal Elle Gunawansa who wrote military poems for Gota’s war . The other was Weerawansa’s Ravanabalakaya’s Ittekande Sadhatissa. The third sangha underworld criminal was ,Gota’s lackey Medagoda Abayatissa.
The current despicable friendship between Sirisena and Weerawansa as well as Gota’s atrocious schemes can be gauged by viewing the website of Weerawansa.
It is significant to note though Lanka e news which is for racial amity and against racism in the best interests of the country is forbidden within SL , Weerawansa’s villainous website openly and most outrageously stoking racism and communal hatred thereby deliberately driving the country into a holocaust has not been banned.
Three corner contest
There is an information chain of Mahinda that conveys all the information and plans of Sirisena-Gota. Acting on that Mahinda through the Asgiriya chapter had met all the Buddhist prelates of Kandy with Lohan Ratwatte and proved the latter was innocent. That is why Mahinda is accusing the government and not the police as responsible for this racial violence.
No matter what Maithri has only one and half years left . Besides he is on a precarious 4% popularity . Now that his mask is getting torn off and his true colors are becoming known , Buddhist prelates who steered him to power are themselves forced to use the epithets ‘pathlolaya’(worthless useless being) and murderer to describe him and even go as far as to tell him ‘ if you cannot do your job properly , please get out.’ If patholaya heeds the request ,the people too will heave a sigh of relief because they are earnestly waiting for the day to say GROBR (good riddance of bad rubbish) to Patholaya Sillysena.
By Dunusinghe
Translated by Jeff
Vide the relevant video
--------------------------- by (2018-03-12 12:48:44)
HARIM PEIRIS-
It is an interesting phenomenon in Sri Lanka that the very same people who bristle at the very suggestion of deficiencies in the Sri Lankan State and most vehemently argue against the need for either state reform or reconciliation, that through their uncivilized and indeed illegal actions, make the strongest case for both the urgent need for reforms and reconciliation in Sri Lanka. What we witnessed in the past two weeks, puts us to shame as Sri Lankans, makes the need for state reform more important not less and in the failure of the Sri Lankan state to protect the person, properties and community (religious) infrastructure of her citizens, increases the severity of international community voices that question the ability and capability of Sri Lanka’s state institutions of law and order, justice and governance to ensure basic civilized behavior within our borders. Having mini pogroms against ethnic or religious minorities is not the best advertisement for Sri Lanka at the UNHRC in Geneva.
Violence against the Muslim Community is both organized and calibrated
The past week witnessed the anti-Muslim violence in the Kandy District, which was preceded the previous week by similar, though lesser scale attacks in Ampara. This violence again, was no flash in the pan, the steady hate mongering campaign against the Muslim community has been in the making for at least five years, beginning most notably and seemingly benignly as an anti halal campaign. Both the Government, through the Honorable Prime Minister and law enforcement have acknowledged that the attacks on the Muslim community has been premeditated and organized. The so-called provocation in Ampara, that of orally administered (or mixed in food) impotency medication is a product non-existent in the world and the contrived paranoia would be laughable if it was not tragic. The violence, especially in Kandy was also carefully calibrated to not result in the loss of life and limb but to destroy the economic assets of the Muslim community. Hence their homes, shops, vehicles and goods were targeted. In a particularly barbaric manner, Muslim places of worship, their mosques were attacked, vandalized, damaged and destroyed. It is a particularly distressing aspect of Sri Lanka’s political violence that the sanctity of places of worship is not observed. In the very same Kandy, where during the war years, terrorists attacked the hallowed Sri Dalada Maligawa, to the condemnation of the whole world, in post war Sri Lanka, a new breed of terror was unleased on other places of worship. What we are witnessing in these attacks is not communal violence. It is not the Sinhala community against the Muslim community. Most Sri Lankans of all ethnicities and religions long for a peaceful and prosperous post war Sri Lanka, undergirded for many by the most tolerant and non-violent noble precepts. What we are witnessing in Sri Lanka, are small fascist movements, intent on violence to achieve their socio-political objectives.
The Malwatta Mahanayaka speaks out
The rather unfortunate and distinguishing feature of our own variety of fascism, as opposed to say the German Nazi or Italian fascists movements is that while European fascism was purely ethnic, Hitler being obsessed with his pure Aryan race, Mussolini with his new Romans, post war Sri Lankan fascism mixes in the added toxicity of a religious veneer into its characteristic, making it even more dangerous and fearsome than the European variety of yester year. It is in that context, that the statement of the Most Venerable Tibboutuwawe Sr Siddharatha Sumangala Mahanayake Thera of the Malwatta chapter should become a guide post. The Prelate has observed that when there are state armed forces and the police to protect the country and the people, there is no need for auxiliary Balakayas and Balasenas to offer them protection. A thinly veiled reference to the Ravanaya Balakaya and the Mahason Balasena, which are at the center of investigations into the anti-Muslim violence, given their use of social media to spread their hate and publicize their violence. Video clips of the clergy rather than the laity, associated with those organizations, inciting people to mass murder no less, rests now on many servers, hard drives, sim cards and phones, making it virtually impossible to deny culpability. The Venerable Mahanayake moreover clearly articulated his vision for the venerable Maha Sanga, by stating that if every temple guided the people of their devotee village on the correct path, the moral and social upliftment of the village would occur. The two ideas, namely that the Sanga should provide moral and spiritual guidance to the village community and that state and democratic processes and institutions are there for social and political objectives, taken together completely debunk any religious, spiritual or moral basis for the fascist campaign of political terror being engaged in by the “Balakayas and Balasenas” of Sri Lankan fascism.
Electoral gains by the Pohotuwa opened the space for new violence
There is little doubt that the recent local level electoral gains of the Pohotuwa, opened the door for a fresh wave of anti-minority violence by the small fascist groups, drawing their inspiration and energy from the thinly veiled racism and ethno-religious nationalism, which are the hall mark of the tribal politics which the Rajapakse comeback project employs. It opens up the space and opportunity for the kind of ethno-religious violence we observed. The fascists groups, their predecessors and embryos were also nursed both covertly and overtly during the Rajapakse second term.
The Government has promised swift compensation to the victims of the violence, a Presidential commission or at least a committee to investigate the attacks and the Army to be deployed to rebuild homes and mosques which were destroyed. But the real loser from the events of the past several weeks, was post war reconciliation in Sri Lanka. Developing a new Sri Lanka, where we have a unifying identity which overlays our ethnic or religious identities and a state which protects all her citizens irrespective of caste, creed or class were the fundamentals which was seriously damaged these past two weeks. Rebuilding those is harder work and not solely the preserve of the political leadership, but is a responsibility, for all of us.
By Uditha Jayasinghe and Chathuri Dissanayake- Tuesday, 13 March 2018
The State-imposed thorny ban on social media looks set to drag on till at least Thursday (15 March), after a high-level meeting yesterday failed to agree on a timeline for restrictions, despite numerous pleas from the private sector, rights activists and top diplomats.
The Presidential Secretariat hosted a meeting of all stakeholders, including Telecom Regulatory Commission (TRC) officials, who issued a directive to telecommunications companies to ban social media apps such as WhatsApp, Viber and Facebook last Wednesday (7 March) as the country reeled from violent communal clashes in the Kandy District. The move cut access to about six million users, including many hundreds of businesses, self-employed and entrepreneurs, who depend on the platforms for their business.
The Presidential Secretariat meeting, which was largely expected to announce a date for lifting the ban, nonetheless ended inconclusively with no decision being taken. Participants said the blanket ban would remain till the Government formulated a proposal to address concerns that the platforms were extensively used to spread hate speech and incite violence.
“Discussion was held about what action can be taken to relax the situation. There will be a change soon, but not within the next 48 hours,” President’s Secretary and TRC Chairman Austin Fernando told the Daily FT.
He also said that although concerns were raised with the Regional Head of social media giant Facebook, the organisation had failed to adequately address the situation and deal with the concerns raised by the Sri Lankan Government. One key concern is that Facebook is often unable to identify virulent posts, videos, and memes as they do not have the capacity to understand Sinhala and swiftly flag or remove offensive posts.
“We accept there are a few technical issues and the Sri Lanka Telecom and the TRC is working on addressing those,” he said, but failed to give a definitive time frame on when the ban would be lifted.
One voice for lifting the ban came from within the Government ranks itself. National Policies and Economic Affairs State Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva, who told the Daily FT that during discussions he had called on the Presidential Secretary Austin Fernando to lift the ban as its continuance would have economic and social implications.
Dr. de Silva also called on the Government to deal with illegal usage of social media platforms separately. He also characteristically took to Twitter to express his support for lifting restrictions.
“Pres @MaithripalaS agreed with me and appointed 3-member PCoI on recent racial violence. The 72-hour social media ban passed. Best to unblock now,” he tweeted, adding: “Had long discussion with Secretary to President also Chairman TRC. Explained at length of negative impact on economy. Hope he can convince President to unblock.”
Industry body, Federation of Information Technology Industry Sri Lanka (FITIS), has also called on the Government to speedily remove restrictions pointing out that the economy would face repercussions from a prolonged ban.
“The IT industry is a vital component of Sri Lanka’s economy. This ban has badly affected the tourism industry, small businesses and others. We extend the fullest cooperation of the industry to resolve this issue as soon as possible,” said FITIS Chairman Dr. Kithsiri Manchanayake. FITIS has also reached out to the Facebook office in India and talked to their policy planning head to coordinate a country-to-country agreement, similar to what is already in place for Bangladesh and Singapore, Dr. Manchanayake said.
“We hope to compile a report on possible steps the Government can take to restrict hate speech, but allow the platforms to function, and expect to hand it over to the Presidential Secretariat in the next day or two,” he added.
As Facebook is restricted, many people turned to Twitter to express their frustration on the ongoing ban and engaged with the Government on how it could better tackle the situation.
Joining in the voices to lift the ban was Australian High Commissioner Bryce Hutchesson’s succinct post read: “Time (overdue) to lift Sri Lanka’s blanket blocking of key social media platforms- blunt instrument.”
U.S. Ambassador Atul Keshap tweeted, “Social media is an imperfect, evolving, and fluid platform that uses new technology to connect and reflect human societies as a whole, including the good and bad. Hate-filled people who exploit new ways to fan the flames of intolerance and violence are the real main culprits.”
Members of the public also used #socialmediablock to express their views, including speculation as to how President Maithripala Sirisena’s Facebook page had continued to be updated despite the restrictions since last Wednesday (7 March), including a post of him meeting officials and religious leaders in Kandy, a Women’s Day message, and photos of the swearing-in of new Law and Order Minister Ranjith Madduma Bandara last week.
Many social media users had also pointed out that the Government ban had limited impact on the spread of communally charged posts. Popular liberal users suggested the Government use posts by people on the ground to improve accountability as well as spread positive messages of inter-communal assistance to improve harmony, using the reconstruction of the torched Muslim shop in Anamaduwa as an example.
“Completely illegal and illogical. It makes no sense. It is like prescribing Panadol for three days to treat cancer. It does not address the underlying issue. It looks as if the Government is trying to avoid criticism on how they are managing the country rather than a genuine concern to prevent the spread of hate speech. They could have used a different mechanism to monitor and report on social media activities. It has to be done in a way that ensures that the rights of the people are least affected. Social media is not illegal, therefore legal users cannot be restricted because of illegal users,” said Attorney-at-law Thishya Weregoda, who specialises in Intellectual Property and Technology.
“Social media ban is a deadly blow against common people’s involvement in political affairs. The Government seems to be using this opportunity to curb this public sphere par excellence to drive away the people from using the democratic space,” said Executive Committee Member of the Federation of University Teachers’ Association (FUTA) Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri.
Last week, when I wrote about the looming danger of fringe Sinhala Buddhist extremism, it was all quiet in Kandy, at least on the surface. But, those who were privy to local intelligence should have known about simmering tension in the area after the death of a Sinhalese lorry driver who succumbed to injuries after being assaulted by a group of drunken Muslim youth. The government as usual did nothing to sooth the unrest. Only after Digana was burning, and local thugs were on rampage, attacking Muslim shops, residences and mosques that it finally decided to act. Then it was too late. The damage was done. A young man was found dead inside a burnt out shop, another succumbed to injuries due to a grenade attack. Muslims had sleepless nights, ethnic relations were damaged. The government handed a propaganda coup to the Eelam lobby and their assorted accessories, which are hell bent on projecting Sinhalese as barbarians. The tourism industry is likely to take a beating. Economy will suffer. All of that is due to the incompetency of this government to meet even a peripheral threat, which could have been defeated with a single dose of political will and common sense.
Now the police have gone on an overdrive, arresting around 200 suspects. Though belated, still, it is better being late than never, because, what the country witnessed last week was only a teaser of what the Sinhala bigotry is capable of producing, if it is given space and time.
However, arresting suspects in drove and then releasing on bail would not address the problem. This is not a bar brawl. This is hate crime. Judicial measures should reflect upon the security risk these individuals pose to the peace and order. The country is better off if those folks are behind bars. When a national security and hard won peace are at stake, the laws ought to take a utilitarian perspective, rather than overly emphasizing on individual liberties.
The government should also act proactively to fight this emerging threat. The rising Sinhala Buddhist extremism is still an incipient threat. So were the JVP and Tamil separatism in the early 80s. The then government’s failure to determinedly meet those challenges led to decades of carnage in the north and the south. This government seems to have not learnt lessons from the mistakes of its predecessors. In some ways, its complacency before an emerging threat is more sinister than white vans. The latter is selective in terror; this complacency is robbing the future of the nation as a whole.
Apprehending suspects in drove and then releasing on bail would not address the problem. This is not a bar brawl. This is hate crime
It is mind-boggling as to how a so called ‘ Mahasohon Balakaya’ a fringe racist group could operate an office in Kandy and very publicly propagate hate against Muslims for years. Whether that is a matter of incompetency of the police alone, or whether the police had been forced by politicians and top brass to look the other way, in order to avoid confrontation with powerful individuals and monks is also a moot point. It is also worth probing what follow- up actions have been taken against the perpetrators of previous attacks. Any commission that investigate lapses into the government and police handling of violence should also dig into why bigotry had gone unchecked so long.
Incidentally, Ampitiya was also the home town of Col. Fazly Lafir, one of the founding officers of Sri Lanka Special Force, who died while leading a rescue mission after the LTTE overran the Mullaitivu military garrison in 1996. He was posthumously awarded Parama Weera Vibhushanya, the highest award for military valour. There is many an anecdote about his bravery; in the last mission, he insisted to proceed, even after the chopper pilot initially refused, knowing that it was a near dead mission.Those brave men and many thousands of youth in the South and North had to die because successive government played politics with the future of this country. Now, it is an affront to many Muslim officers who paid with their life and limb to protect this country, when these racist fanatics keep on spewing hate in public and burn down their home towns.
Recently, two young Tamil men who posted pro-LTTE propaganda in facebook were arrested and placed in remand custody. It might not have pleased the NGO captains who themselves have a twisted view on things, skewed against the Sinhalese Buddhists, however, Sri Lanka’s past and current security vulnerabilities warrant such measures. Same measures should also be applied against Sinhalese extremists. Anyone who considers majoritarian extremism as a sign of patriotism is a closeted bigot.
Kinetic measures alone would not help in fighting extremism. The government should foster national reconciliation and ethnic co-existence; at the same time it should actively delegitimize bigotry of all kinds. It should start with school textbooks. Sunday religious school should also be told to promote some kind of multi-religious understanding. Also, the government should also take active measures to increase the minority representation in the civil service, as well as police and security forces. And community leaders also have a responsibility to highlight the commonalities, rather than fretting about differences.
KANDY: The recent unrest in Kandy was not only sudden and unexpected but it also brought the whole district to a standstill for over a week as violence ensued in various areas. The unrest which eventually took a communal turn however all began with a mere personal dispute between a lorry driver and several youth travelling in a three wheeler in Teldeniya.
According to the family members of H.D Kumarasinghe, a father of two, the event that led to all the destruction happened on February 22. A lorry driver by profession Kumarasinghe had just arrived at the Sinha fuel station in Teldeniya owned by his employer around 12.30 am with a truckload of milk powder when a group of men in a trishaw had attacked him. As narrated by the victim to his cousin, Kumarasinghe had claimed the dispute had arisen as he did not allow them to overtake the lorry. While he had refused treatment after the beating, he was later found unconscious and sprawled near the lorry. The injuries led to his eventual death on March 2.
Mohamed Fayaz
His wife Thilaka Padmakumari says she is unable to fathom the fate that has now befallen her family. “He was the only breadwinner of our family” she says adding that they were also taking care of Kumarasinghe’s elderly parents. “I am unable to work as my 10 year old son is autistic” she said claiming he needs constant care.
According to the family Kumarasinghe was loved by all with his best friends from school even being a Muslim. “He did not have any enemies and was a hard worker” she said. However his family also says they feel guilty about those who have been arrested for inciting violence following Kumarasinghe’s death. As one family member put it those arrested were standing up for them and therefore should not be penalized for it.
“Some individuals tried to convince us to take my son’s body to the Digana town but we did not agree to it” Kumarasinghe’s father H.D Gunasena said adding that he did not personally know any of these individuals, he now believes were outsiders to the village.
However remarkably none of the family members or villagers took part in any violent incident within the village. According to the villagers any such acts were prevented by the village’s Buddhist temple priest, Keenapalassa Gnanissara Thera.
Speaking to the Sunday Observer, the Thera said he dissuaded the villagers from such actions as he wanted to prevent them from landing themselves in trouble with the law as a result. “However now I am being attacked as a Muslim sympathiser” he said adding that his only aim now is to financially stabilize Kumarasinghe’s family. “Various organizations visited them but no one has so far provided them with any financial help other than the Karaliyadde Trade Association” he said.
Despite no incidents of violence erupting in Kumarasinghe’s village however charged by this event, violence erupted in Teldeniya when two shops were set on fire two days later which further spread during the following days which led to the death of yet another innocent.
When the mobs rampaged through Digana village, on March 6 Abdul Basith had placed a call to his Uncle, Mohamed Malik to inform him of the ongoing situation. “He said the house was on fire but the Police prevented us from entering the area and therefore we could not help them” he said. It was only the next day that his ailing and aged father Mohamed Fayaz discovered his body inside the charred house.
According to the Police, Basith had died of smoke inhalation.
“My son had big dreams and had just joined an FM channel as a provincial reporter” Fayaz said adding that despite the objection of his parents, this was Fayaz’s dream. “I told him it was no good but he wanted to become a reporter” he said claiming Basith had recently even attended a training camp in Mawanella. A young boy who loved his town and had many Sinhala friends including Buddhist monks, Fayaz is yet to come to terms with the manner of his son’s death.
But the trail of destruction by the random mobs could be seen throughout Kandy district in many areas such as Wattegama, Katugastota, Menikhinna, Teldeniya, Karangalla, Digana, Madawala and the list only goes on.
In Madawala while Mohamed Malik, owner of a vehicle spare part shop completely lost his business when it was burnt down with an estimated damage of over Rupees 15 million, 36-year old Fathima from Wattegama now hides out every night in a neighbours house with her three young children.
“I built this business over the last 15 years and now I only have goods worth Rupees 100,000 left” he said. But determined to re-establish business he is unable to understand why he was targeted.
As for Fathima, tears well up as she expresses her constant fears regarding the lives of her three young children. “Our house was petrol bombed twice and we hide out another house every night” she said. While they have not slept in days Fathima shows us the damage done to her house. “This house is not secure” she says as she points out how they have barricaded the windows for more protection. While these are just two stories from the recent mayhem however hundreds of similar stories have emerged during the last week.
As curfew was declared and schools closed, security reinforcements were called in to control the situation while all these incidents brought daily life of the Kandy district to a standstill. But the question that has been asked mainly since then was as to who exactly was behind these attacks as many witnesses have alleged that the groups seem extremely organized.
Strings and strings of white flags to mourn Kumarasinghe’s death spanned the area between his house in Teldeniya and all over Digana, a good 20 kilometers apart. Some shops and houses had a white flag and an orange flag side by side, which eyewitnesses said was odd, because orange flags were usually used to mark the passing of a Buddhist monk. “It was like a state funeral,” remarked Minister Rauff Hakeem, after touring the region affected by the violence. Busloads of people attended the lorry driver’s funeral in Teldeniya on Monday, and controversial Bodu Bala Sena Chief monk Galagoda Aththe Gnansara Thero visited the funeral house for three hours on Sunday (4) evening, shortly before the attacks began. The controversial Mangalaramaya Chief Monk from Batticaloa, Sumana Thero was also present in Teldeniya on Tuesday, leading the agitation against the police station in the area, and demanding the release of 24 suspects arrested in connection with the previous night’s violence. Once Mahason Balakaya leader Amith Weerasinghe was thrown into the mix, it was the perfect storm ofethno-religious hatred and fear-mongering converging on the District.
Digana mastermind nabbed
Amith Weerasinghe
The question as to who was behind these organized attacks were somewhat answered this week when Amith Weerasinghe, known as the leader of a hardline group who call themselves ‘Mahason Balakaya’ was arrested with nine others. According to the Police many of those arrested appeared to be from areas outside Kandy which only goes on to prove the premise these attacks were organized and orchestrated by an invisible arm. While the Terrorism Investigation Division of the Police made these arrests this week, Police Spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said evidence of social media videos of the suspect which shows him inciting these attacks were used as evidence to nab him.
But with Weerasinghe being known for hate speech and similar acts through widely spread videos on social media when questioned as to why he was not previously noticed by the Police, SP Gunasekara merely said the TID is however now investigating these claims.
But however there are now calls for the Police to reveal the real faces of those behind this group believed to have incited these incidents that eventually spiralled out of control till Weerasinghe was arrested by the Police. Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka in particular has said those behind this organization must be revealed. “Their intentions must be found out” he stressed.
According to Minister Ranawaka the real individuals behind these attacks have blood on their hands and are trying to gain power in this manner. He also pointed out that certain Rajapaksa loyalists tried to create chaos in the country by claiming that the recent explosion in a bus travelling in Diyatalawa was orchestrated by LTTE sympathisers. “They put great effort to mislead the people by attempting to show that terrorism is alive in the country” he said. He also attributed the recent Ampara incident to the same groups.
With the situation in Kandy now returning to normal the Police has promised to reveal this information once investigations conclude. “All those who controlled this group and even those who financially supported them will eventually will be revealed” SP Gunasekara said adding that the TID will continue to investigate and bring everyone who is responsible before the law soon
If justification be needed for this diatribe against the political establishment of Sri Lanka (read Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR1) AND Maithripala/Ranil (MR2) the utterances by a very senior member of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces, the Chief of Defence Staff of that body of “war heroes,” provided it on the English language television news on March 7th.
What was horrendous about it was the fact that it was a clear indication that the Sri Lankan Establishment still operated within a paranoid mindset harking back to the darkest days of the 30 years of civil strife in this country.
What did this worthy have to say that raised the ire of someone who thought he was beyond provocation by bigots, racists and “Sinhala Buddhist” supremacists in this country?
In a priceless utterance this very senior armed forces officer, acting as a spokesperson for the army navy and air force, stated unequivocally that the Muslims should not be sentenced to a racist hell because they had been active allies of the (Sinhala) army in which he had served. He went on to say in what specific ways they had helped in the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the Tamils with whom they shared a language (Tamil).
The implication was that the Tamils were the real enemy, if there was one in the current Sri Lankan context, and the Muslims, because they had supported the Sinhala army were allies.
Let’s be clear, at no point did this relatively lengthy (by TV standards) presentation by this individual so much as suggest that violence directed at a group by virtue of their “ethnicity” was totally unacceptable, totally abhorrent. It simply indicated that the Muslims were not “the other,” but, by obvious implication, the Tamil community was. One didn’t have to have a PhD in psychology to understand, very clearly, the message that was sent out to those parts of the “Sinhala Buddhist” majority community who subscribe to the concept of total “Sinhala Buddhist” superiority in this country.
Was this simply yet another act of stupidity on the part of an inept Yahapalanaya coalition or the arrogance of a government that took total Muslim support for granted ever since the previous MR1 government had overseen an anti-Muslim pogrom in southern Sri Lanka, during which mosques, homes and places of business, not to mention lives, were lost.
In either event, neither political stupidity nor cynicism is in any way acceptable at a time when this country is being torn asunder by the soldiers of hell.
A few days ago, a British friend of mine, recounted a couple of very interesting events in which he was an unwitting participant on his way to the local petrol station. He was obviously unaware of the declaration of the all-day curfew because he had to traverse a public highway for several kilometers to obtain fuel. On the way, he had a run-in with a van driver who, typically, had parked on the middle of the road to pick up passengers. Taking umbrage at my friend’s sounding his horn, he stormed up to the driver’s side window and berated my friend because, “You f…ing Britishers are the ones who created all these f….ing problems for us, etc. etc.” For starters, how this (Sinhala) man could ply his trade when there was a curfew in force, is a matter of some interest. However, what is most significant is that all the conspiracy theories that have been bandied about over the years to justify murder of and mayhem against “the other” appear to be very much alive and well among a population that is not exactly learned in the matter of history, colonial or otherwise.
My friend continued his journey to the local petrol station where he was greeted by the sight of the employees standing around outside it with an army guard in attendance. The latter used his assault weapon to make threatening gestures at my friend. My friend, to whom military activity was not alien by virtue of his service in the British armed forces over many years, was rather taken aback. I suggested that all of this might have stemmed from his contravention of the curfew of which he was unaware and which was, as a matter of fact, “round-the-clock” since March 6th.
I suppose I could try and sell the tale I’ve just related to the Keystone Cops producers with a view to earning some pocket money but all of this is not funny, it’s downright tragic.
Since there was no way of really knowing over what hours the curfew was operative, I phoned the local police station to be enlightened. The Officer-in-Charge confirmed what we’d heard on a TV news broadcast the night before: there had been a curfew in force from 6 a.m. on the 7th and it was still operative when I spoke to him mid-morning on the 8th. Since there appeared to be only a two-hour “window of opportunity” for people to get around at the time I spoke to him and since both my partner and I have had open–heart surgery and are under the care of cardiologists (and other consultants as well!) I inquired how we could seek assistance if a medical emergency arose. He said there would be no problem issuing us a pass if we came to the Police Station for one. Despite the fact that this would mean driving about five kilometers along a highway without authority to do so, it seemed like the only practical response to any emergency that might occur. A little glimmer of light at the end of a tunnel of ignorant and callous darkness!
Malinda is accusing the government of harassing and vilifying the intelligent service. He, of course, is referring to the army intelligence unit that operated directly under the former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya’s jurisdiction. The Unit took orders directly from him. And this was the intelligence unit was engaged in abduction, ransom, white-vans and gruesome murders. It is now in the open that this army intelligence unit was responsible, inter-alia, for the abduction and killing of 11 youths in Colombo and also for the dastardly murder of Lasantha Wickrematunga in broad daylight. Therefore, it comes as no surprise Malinda is crying foul over the arrest of members of the army intelligence unit for crimes committed by them.
