Terrifying Study Reveals Our Brains Are Self-Aware After We Die

We are all morbidly curious about what happens to us after we die. As it turns out, a lot happens.

We're not talking about the blinding white light or floating outside your body like a ghost. This research reveals something much more scary. Our brains are still working even after our hearts stop.

Dr. Sam Parnia from New York University Langone School of Medicine and her team sought out to find more answers about death and the unknown. They spent hours looking into studies conducted worldwide on all the strange phenomenons that have occurred after a person has died. They were startled to find how many people have suffered from cardiac arrest and then came back to life.

You've probably heard about people who have flatlined in a hospital, then described feeling their consciousness leave their body and float over the doctors fighting to save their life. Even creepier, they were able to report facts that were verified by those doctors about the details surrounding their resuscitation that they wouldn't have been able to guess. They live to tell their strange tales that only make us more desperate for some answers.

According to doctors, death occurs as soon as the heart stops beating because this is when the blood supply to the brain is cut off.
 

After the heart stops, the brain's cerebral cortex, the area we use to think, slows down immediately until it flatlines. This means that doctors can measure that there is no brain activity happening in the patient. Total brain death occurs 2 to 20 seconds after the heart stops beating.

Parnia and his team wanted to study the effects of cardiac arrest and brain activity. Their mission is to discover the connections inside the body and learn if consciousness is wiped out instantly after the heart stops.

According to their widespread research, brain activity after death is not unusual.
 

One patient at a Canadian intensive care unit was found to have persistent brain activity for an astounding 10 minutes after cardiac arrest. However, 3 other patients under their care who have also been removed from their life support showed no signs of brain activity.

The researchers also uncovered that all of us experience death differently. This is backed by the differing brain wave patterns of each dead person. Each patient had their own unique electrical activity firing in their brain both before and after death. Perhaps this is why their are so many mysterious reports from those who have escaped death.

If you knew you had a few seconds of consciousness left before you died, what would you think about? Ask all of your friends for their opinion on this study.

Kokkadichcholai massacre memorial damaged by military re-opens after restoration

01May 2018

The monument erected in memory of the 87 prawn farm workers who were massacred by Special Task Force officers in 1987 in Kokkadichcholai, Batticaloa was reopened this week after being restored. 

The monument was previously destroyed by government troops. 

On January 27, 1987 STF officers raided a prawn factory in the village, shooting dead the workers, which including seven boys aged between 12 to 14.

According to relatives of the victims, the night before the massacre, government helicopters were seen circling the area.

When STF officers arrived, the workers were rounded up and their identity cards checked, as the officers searched for LTTE fighters. 

Some of the workers were then taken to nearby road and shot dead. Forty people, who had been hiding in a nearby farm, were also killed. 

The bodies of those killed were burnt on old tyres, the relatives of the victims said.

The massacre, known as the 'prawn farm massacre' took place during the then UNP government. No one has been brought to justice for the crime.

Related Articles: 

30 January 2018 : Kokkaddicholai massacre remembered 31 years on

Perpetrators cannot be protectors

May 1, 2018

At this very moment, over a hundred thousand UN peacekeepers are deployed in nearly twenty countries around the world. Their purpose is just as their name suggests: to keep the peace; to stand between civilians and the forces that would harm them; to protect. And, by and large, they do just that, facilitating transitions away from conflict, and preventing the emergence of wars at a fraction of the cost and political energy that would be required to contain them once they begin.

Sadly, however, the noble goal of peacekeeping has too often been belied by the behaviour of peacekeepers themselves. As uncovered by one Associated Press investigation, there have been over 2,000 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by UN peacekeepers against civilians in the last twelve years alone.

Some of the gravest incidents documented in recent times have been committed by Sri Lankan troops. According to a confidential UN inquiry, at least 134 were implicated in the systematic sexual exploitation of children during a deployment to Haiti (MINUSTAH) between 2004 and 2007, leading the UN Secretary-General to call for the biggest repatriation of troops to date. As doggedly investigated by Journalists for Democracy (JDS) and the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP), the punishments against those named in the UN report have been woefully inadequate. Not a single individual has been held criminally accountable. Indeed, some of those involved appear to have been promoted.

Green to blue helmets

Despite this disturbing history – not to mention the outstanding allegations of grave war crimes committed by government forces during the final stages of the civil war – Sri Lanka’s aspirations to become a major contributor to UN peacekeeping forces have grown apace in the last few years. In September 2015, President Sirisena outlined publicly the government’s plans to increase the number of Sri Lankan troops deployed as part of peacekeeping missions around the world. Recent reports have placed the total pledged figure at 3,500. Meanwhile, senior military officials in Sri Lanka have been eager to talk up the financial benefits that such contributions would bring.[1]

Undeterred by the absence of accountability for past violations by Sri Lankan troops, the international community have accepted the offer of increased contributions of peacekeepers from Sri Lanka. According to one recent report, Sri Lankan peacekeeping personnel are now present in at least nine missions worldwide.

Under pressure, however, these contributions have been accompanied by various processes of vetting and screening to minimise the accompanying risks.  Both as a result of global concerns about violations committed by peacekeepers generally – as well as those committed by Sri Lankan ones specifically – a patchwork of ‘nets’ have been developed and deployed to filter out known and potential human rights abusers. These include:

• An ad hoc process of vetting and screening undertaken by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in relation to 200 Sri Lankan soldiers being deployed to a mission in Mali (beginning and ending in 2016)
• A process of vetting and screening undertaken by the National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, by agreement between the Sri Lankan government and the UN (beginning in 2016 and continuing to the present day)
• Various standard procedures of vetting and screening overseen by the UN Department of Field Support (DFS), including through requirements for troop contributing countries to formally self-certify nominated personnel, as well as through oversight by the Conduct and Discipline Unit (CDU) where known prior misconduct of officials who have already served at the UN is concerned (ongoing since January 2016)

Escaping the net

Unfortunately, this patchwork appears to be failing to prevent civilians in conflict-zones from being placed at risk by Sri Lankan troops. As highlighted in a major new report by ITJP, not only have the nets been applied inconsistently, some of them contain serious holes.

For example, the most effective vetting and screening to date – the process carried out by the OHCHR with support from experienced UN investigators into war crimes in Sri Lanka – was a time-limited arrangement that covered but a small fraction of Sri Lanka’s overall proposed contributions.

Despite the transfer of that mandate to the Sri Lankan National Human Rights Commission in 2016, there remain serious concerns about how effective the new arrangement has been in rooting out problematic troops. Earlier this month, for instance, it emerged that 49 soldiers had been deployed to Lebanon without any vetting whatsoever, nor the Commission’s apparent knowledge. This followed revelations in February that three contingent commanders, whose frontline experience in the final stages of the Sri Lankan civil war ought to have exempted them from any peacekeeping role, had also been sent on the mission.

STF witness, testifying to ITJP (2018)

A wider concern raised by ITJP’s report relates to the criteria that is currently being applied by the Commission – and in particular, it’s adequacy in screening out members of Sri Lanka’s Special Task Force (STF), an elite paramilitary unit within the police widely accused of serious human rights violations both during and after the war. These violations include – as documented by the ITJP through some extraordinary insider testimony – abduction, torture and extra-judicial killing, among others. According to the report, one frontline STF officer alleged to be involved in some of these crimes is currently serving in a country in Africa.

As for the remaining layer of vetting and screening by the UN DFS, the report highlights a number of fundamental flaws in the processes that it adopts that cast serious doubt on its ability to act as ‘back-stop’ to the screening and vetting ostensibly taking place within Sri Lanka. In short, the report concludes, existing “vetting and screening at the level of both Sri Lanka and the UN is completely unsatisfactory.”

Beyond naming and shaming

The naming and shaming of problematic Sri Lankan troops is an important step in ensuring that perpetrators do not assume the role of protectors. To that end, ITJP has prepared a list of 56 individuals who should not be sent as peacekeepers, and has identified the name of one STF officer currently serving as a peacekeeper in Africa, which it has shared with UN officials. But a lasting solution will require much much more than journalists and human rights groups pre-empting troops from making it through the net when they should not, or catching them when they do.

Our view is that no Sri Lankan soldiers should serve in a blue helmet so long as allegations of serious human rights violations committed by them remain unaddressed. This is not simply what we think is the right thing to do; it is also what UN member states have said should happen, according to the terms of Security Council Resolution 2272, adopted in 2016. That Resolution empowers the Secretary-General to “assess whether a Member State has taken the appropriate steps to investigate, hold accountable [perpetrators of sexual abuse and exploitation] and inform him of the progress of its investigations when determining whether that Member State should participate in other current or future United Nations peacekeeping operations.”

Plainly, the fact that no Sri Lankan soldier has ever been criminally convicted for acts of child rape committed during the 2004-2007 Haiti mission constitutes a serious failure of accountability – and ample reason for the Secretary-General to exercise his discretion to refuse any further peacekeeping contributions from Sri Lanka until something is done. The near total impunity enjoyed by Sri Lankan troops in relation to the “widespread and brutal” use of sexual violence during the final stages of the civil war – as well as recent revelations that the Sri Lankan military is now disregarding the agreement entered into between the government of Sri Lanka and the UN enabling vetting by the National Human Rights Commission – should further add to the case for him to act.

Short of such action from the Secretary-General, the international community must, as ITJP urge in their latest report, take the lead and begin to invest resources in a process of thorough and meaningful vetting. To date, it is only the process led by the OHCHR that has effectively fulfilled that role. Unless that same, or an analogous, procedure is developed – with transparent criteria being applied by individuals with relevant expertise – it seems only a matter of time before the nets currently in place fail again and new victims of abuses by Sri Lankan peacekeepers emerge as a result.

Should that happen, it would be the product of gross negligence on the part of the international community and the UN. In light of the proven failures of the current arrangements, they can no longer be bystanders to the serious risks currently posed by Sri Lankan troops to some of the world’s most vulnerable people.

–

[1] Speaking in April 2018, the Commander of the Sri Lankan army stated that “since 2004, Sri Lanka has been earning a minimum of USD $2.5 million per annum from peacekeeping missions overseas,” revenues which, “are utilised to train more and more soldiers.” While the scale of hard currency earnings accruing from Sri Lankan peacekeeping contributions remains unclear, a reading of one independent analysis suggests that this sum may be exaggerated.

Want to know more? Read ITJP’s latest report here, or check out this op-ed from Canadian MP Gary Anandasangaree on why Sri Lankan troops aren’t ready to be peacekeepers.

Want to take action? Mission:Justice is a new campaign that aims to ensure that countries that fail to prosecute perpetrators of sexual violence cannot contribute troops or police to peacekeeping missions. Get involved here.

Allegations against Judiciary: Sugandika given two weeks to submit evidence

2018-05-01

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) today said that it had given two weeks to Attorney-at-Law Sugandhika Fernando to produce the evidence to prove her allegations against the Judiciary.

BASL Chairman U. R. de Silva PC said BASL’s attention was directed to a statement made by Ms. Fernando last month, where she referred to the injustice caused by some officials of the Judiciary and the Police.

He said, though she had made such a remark, she had not complained to the BASL about such incidents.

Mr. de Silva said the BASL had written to Ms Fernando on April 26, informing her it would take necessary legal action against the wrongdoers irrespective of their positions, if Ms. Fernando could provide evidence to support her claims.

“We do not say that any of the officers are perfect. But criticizing everyone at random can lead to a collapse in the jurisdiction and the rule of law,” he said. (Thilanka Kanakarathna)

Abhaya Issue At Trinco Hindu Ladies’ College; Conspiracy To Pit Tamils Against Muslims?

By Latheef Farook –APRIL 30, 2018

Latheef Farook

The explosive controversy over Muslim teachers wearing Abhaya at Shri Shanmuga Hindu Ladies College at Trincomalee has all the potentials to tear apart relations between the Tamil-Muslim communities to the detriment of both. 

This suspected manipulated issue needs to be sorted out peacefully in the interest of the two communities. Failure to do so means local and international forces in the island with their own evil agendas would trigger a crisis which would not serve either community.

Today’s political environment in the country is highly corrupt, commercialized, communalized and criminalized.

The wounds of the 30 year ethnic war are yet to be healed. They remain complicated and lot need to be done to bring about better understanding between the two communities. In the aftermath of the ethnic war in in May 2009 the whole country expected Rajapaksa government to learn lesson from the past racist politics, bring communities together and move the country ahead.

To the shock of everyone, instead, Rajapaksa government unleashed violence and turned the country into a living hell. To free from this mayhem people voted for President Maithripala Sirisena-Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to power in the 8 January 2005 presidential elections.

However President Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe miserably failed to fulfill their promises .Instead the Maithri Ranil government continue the Rajapaksa era racism-   against Muslims. 

Racist elements in the south implement their own agenda against Muslims while the government turn a blind eye. They would not miss a chance to divide and further destroy the already strained Tamil-Muslim relations.

Under the circumstance Tamils and Muslims in the north and east, whether one likes it or not, need to live together in their own interest. 

Unlike in the past Sri Lanka today is a playground for destructive international forces. They are all here with their own agendas against Muslims to destabilize the country.

For example India’s Hindu fascists Rastriya Swayam Sevak, RSS, whose declared agenda is to wipe out Islam and Muslim from India, is in the island. Their presence is common knowledge. They have suspected to have penetrated sensitive areas such as media.

About two years ago Marawanpulavu Satchithanandan and Tamil National Alliance’s Seenithamby Yogeswaran opened a RSS office in Vavuniya to introduce the RSS-Shiv Sena    agenda aimed at pitting Tamils against Muslims. Their agenda is not to promote Hinduism but to strike at   Muslims.

In fact Marawanpula Satchithanandan had reported to have told the media that the RSS Vavuiniya office was started following consultation with RSS, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Siva Sena.

Many warned of RSS presence here, its agenda against Muslims and its devastating impact in the country. However no one took any notice. Now in the wake of the controversy in Trincmalee Hindu Ladies College parliamentarian Abdullah Mahroof has accused parliamentarian Seenithamby Yogeswaran and pro LTTE elements of being behind the controversy. He had stated that he had tried to contact several Tamil politicians to settle the issue peacefully, but   no one, Tamils and Muslims alike, had responded.

According to reports already an RSS agent posing as a Muslim   wearing black abhaya and trying to throw meat into the college was caught. The RSS agents were also accused of posting pictures and write ups humiliating Tamil women and even Tamil culture under Muslim names to provocateur crisis between two communities.

In the midst extremist and short sighted elements in the two communities began staging demonstrating accusing each other.  

The education authorities in the region should step in and sort out the issue as early as possible and as peaceful as possible before the situation gets out of control. 

 An impartial probe will expose the real forces behind this crisis. However in view of the racist politics in the south  under the confused and collapsing  political situation in the country it is highly unlikely that an independent probe will be conducted and truth will be told to the public.

On the other hand Israel, the main architect of wars against Muslim countries in the Middle East and beyond under the guise of fighting war on terrorism, are here.They have come with their own anti-Muslim agenda. It was after their presence in the island since during Rajapaksa presidency that racist elements began to emerge and turned the country into a living hell for Muslims today.

They are hand in glove with RSS in their conspiracies against Muslims not only in Sri Lanka but in the entire region.

Read More

Reporter's diary: the charge of the saffron brigade in Sri Lanka

Bodu Bala Sena leader Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara is a man whose words lead to action. When he threatens Muslims in a speech, mobs ransack Muslim neighbourhoods. And people die. Off the podium, the Buddhist monk remains the ultimate showman.

Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara, secretary of Bodhu Bala Sena also known as Buddhist Power Force, gestures during a protest outside the Indian High Commission in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on July 10, 2013. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) (AP Archive)

2018-05-01

COLOMBO — Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara is a well-fed man. His jowly features and rounded fleshy shoulders belong to someone who has succumbed to at least one of life’s pleasures without too much resistance. Tall and sturdy, Gnanasara is far removed from the time-honoured image of a sinewy Buddhist monk who sustains himself on a bowl of rice daily as he puts his mind to matters that transcend the material world.

The Buddhist holy man is clearly seduced by all things material. His designer glasses, latest smartphone and plush four-by-four, complete with driver, are but superficial examples of this. 

What really gives it away is the fact that he has, over the years, embroiled himself in the fraught world of Sri Lanka’s ethnic tensions to the point where he is now an influential – and many would say dangerous – player in some of the most contentious issues the country is facing. And he appears to be relishing every moment of it.

Gnanasara is the general secretary of Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), an ultra-nationalist Buddhist organisation. Gnanasara and the BBS, also known as the Buddhist Power Force, are blamed by many for inciting deadly violence against Muslims in the Buddhist-majority country over the last few years. 

I’m clearly dealing with no ordinary monk here, and for someone who is about to grill him on some of his most controversial actions, this poses a number of challenges, not least how to keep on the right side of him without compromising the nature of the interview.

Sri Lankan Buddhist monk Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara, (centre) wearing spectacles, leaves with his lawyers and supporters after obtaining bail following his surrender to a magistrate in Colombo, Sri Lanka on June 21, 2017. (AP Photo/Tharaka Basnayaka) (AP Archive)

I needn't have worried. The first time I meet Gnanasara at the mansion-like BBS headquarters in April, he seems delighted that I have a cameraman. The showmanship he displays when he’s the centre of attention lasts throughout the two days we spend with him.

He also appears to be unfazed by the fact that he's been in court all day, facing serious of criminal accusations of hate speeches that target Muslims and other minority groups, and inciting violence. 

Then again, this nonchalance may be due to the fact that he's faced these allegations for years, but has not been convicted so far.

Gnanasara is all smiles as he shakes our hands, and this affable manner remains constant during our hour-and-a-half long interview, even when I confront him with some of the many offensive and provocative pronouncements he has made. Still, it is not too long before the duality of his nature is exposed.

I remind him of the derogatory language he uses frequently when referring to Muslims and Islam, including when he referred to Allah as “an octopus.” 

During the course of the interview, I also bring up a speech he made in June 2014 in which he threatens Muslims and calls on the Sinhalese to “stop loitering, unite and fulfil your duty.” 

Within hours, a group of hardline Sinhalese nationalists stormed a suburb near the town where he made the speech and burnt down hundreds of homes and businesses. At least three men died in this attack.

"How do you respond,” I ask, looking Gnanasara directly in the eye.

He does not flinch or show any remorse as he replies, “Yes, I will say that even tomorrow. It won’t change. What is said there is true. The truth is the truth.”

At times he is openly offensive, but he slips these comments in when I am least expecting them. 

Galagoda Atte Gnanasara says, “If a violent group arrives and starts attacking the non-violent people who are meditating, should we just wait and watch?” (AP Archive)

When I ask him, “Do you believe Muslims are causing problems in Sri Lanka?” he starts off in the most diplomatic of tones. “We have Muslims who are traditional and moderate,” he says, “who have lived for generations in this country. Such Muslims and the Sinhalese lived in co-existence for years.”

But then he hits me with, "What country in the world does not have problems caused by Muslims? There is only one problem, and it is a global problem.”

His manner has been so appeasing that when he reveals what he really thinks, it completely throws me.

He talks about national unity and reconciliation, dialogue and non-violence. But when I ask him if he believes violence is unacceptable, his reply is quick and confident.

“If a violent group arrives and starts attacking the non-violent people who are meditating, should we just wait and watch?”

The threat is thinly veiled, and could very easily get lost because of the manner in which it is made, but human rights groups dispel any doubts about his real intentions.

“They have been open about their hatred towards many minorities, not just Muslims but also towards others,” says Omar Waraich, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for South Asia, referring to Gnanasara’s organisation BBS.

“We certainly believe elements of the BBS have been inciting hatred that has led to violence."

It is clear that incitement to hatred is having a pernicious effect within Sri Lanka, which is leading to minorities to being targeted.”

Waraich articulates a widespread concern but despite this, BBS’s popularity seems to be growing among more moderate sections of Sinhalese society, in particular those who fear their ethnic identity may one day become sidelined.

As Kalana Senaratne, a senior law lecturer at the University of Peradeniya in Kandy, explains, “Some of his speeches have been clear cases of inciting violence. But he also advocates a more moderate position."  

"He knows the politics of Sinhalese nationalism and also how to respond or talk to a wide segment of Sri Lankan society.”

Gnanasara employs this tactic during the interview. He is articulate and charismatic, so it’s not too difficult to see why many are drawn in by him.

But when my questions get direct and uncompromising, and there are times during the interview I worry he might throw us out. Instead, Gnanasara offers us tea and I get the sense that he’ll just about do or say anything, as long the spotlight remains on him.

It’s the same showmanship on display when I meet him a few days later at one of his temples. 

I spend half a day filming him and he’s happy to do take after take under the blazing sun, to the point where my crew and I are certain that if I ask him for another three weeks’ worth of filming with him as the focal point, he would drop everything and oblige.

Our filming is interrupted at regular intervals by young monks who greet him with absolute reverence. He responds with an air of aloof grace usually seen in the mannerisms of royalty. 

He also stops every now and then to cuddle and cajole the young children who are attending Sinhalese cultural classes at the temple. They, in turn, look to him with adoring eyes, as if their favourite uncle is visiting with armfuls of gifts.

Gnanasara has close ties with sections of Sri Lanka’s political establishment, in particular with members of nationalist opposition parties. This has considerably elevated his status and given him more than a veneer of respectability across large swathes of the country. (AP Archive)

His love of life manifests itself particularly at lunchtime, when he tucks into a plethora of dishes that include various kinds of chicken, at least half a dozen types of vegetables, a variety of salads and a generous choice of desserts and fruits. 

All this is provided by Sinhalese families with recently deceased relatives in the belief that feeding monks is a way to ensure their loved-ones will achieve eternal peace. Judging by the manner in which Gnanasara tucks in, it’s clearly a belief he readily subscribes to. 

There’s another reason for this exuberance. 

Gnanasara has close ties with sections of Sri Lanka’s political establishment, in particular with members of nationalist opposition parties. This has considerably elevated his status and given him more than a veneer of respectability across large swathes of the country.

“These groups have had links with politicians, are invited to parliament to have discussions with the president and various ministers,” Senaratne says. “So it is difficult as an observer to say if this is a classic hardline Sinhala Buddhist movement or if it is one of the broader Sinhalese nationalist groups.”

This also explains why Gnanasara is addressed as thero –  venerable –  by everyone, why his group is so well-funded and why he is often invited to give talks overseas.

As my crew and I leave, Gnanasara shakes our hands and tells us he’d be happy to talk to us any time. 

He is amicable to the end, most likely in the knowledge that he is virtually untouchable and nothing I or anyone else can do or say is likely to change that anytime soon.

Debauched drunkard Gnanassara invited secretly to deliver sermon at State Wesak event ; Rupavahini halts live telecast !

(Lanka-e-News - 01.May.2018, 9.15PM) In conjunction with the State Wesak celebrations , religious ceremonies were organized  on the Poya day at the Bingiriya Devagiri  Rajamaha vihara , Kurunegala with the participation of several ministers and  MP’s including the president , Buddha Sasana minister Gamini Jayawickrema Perera  and Daya Gamage.  However to the consternation of all , notorious Gnanassara the drunkard hooligan monk gatecrashed the event as though to deliberately desecrate the holy premises , contaminate the religious proceedings and disgrace the ceremonies. 

The Buddhist leaders of the order who were offended by this have urged that the law abiding and civilized Buddhist of the country must be made known who were the conspirators behind this plot designed to insult  the holy religious ceremonies by getting down the drunkard debauched hooligan monk Gnanassara   to deliver a Buddhist sermon ,and   thereby commit an unpardonable sacrilege on that holy day.

When this event was being telecast  live by the National Rupavahini TV channel , because Gnanassara best noted for disgracing and degrading true Buddhist tenets preached by Lord Buddha , was trying to deliver a sermon , the Rupavahini staff who were rudely shocked had sought the advice of the Rupavahini officials . When the latter had consulted with the media minister , he had told since this satanic monk can make explosive sermons inciting racism and plunge the country into a holocaust ,  to halt the live telecast forthwith . Based on these instructions the live telecast was stopped.

According to Rupavahini officials,  a number of  discussions were held  by the organizers prior to the telecast , and on no occasion was it informed that Gnanassara was going to deliver a sermon(bana) at the ceremony. Besides it was another monk who had been selected to deliver it.

It is significant to note there are 7 to 8 criminal cases pending in courts against Gnanassara who is a robed devil incarnate and the very antithesis of genuine Buddhism . In one of the cases against him the charges are contempt of court . In another case he had fled the scene after meeting with an accident while driving a lorry without a license under the influence of liquor .He was arrested and fined Rs. 15000.00 .

This is the robed devil incarnate who is the first respondent in the attack against Muslims in Beruwala , and even in the attack launched  in Kandy  recently targeting Muslims , he was the leader.  Interestingly and intriguingly it is such a robed racist rascal , president chose to travel with  to Japan which drew heavy flak from one and all.  Despite being the president of the country, when he was  questioned on this while he was in London, the president instead of furnishing an answer flew into a rage and  threatened to leave the venue and wind up the meeting .

The shameless  group with the president of present consensual good governance government having close links with the shameless rascally racist monk is   no secret , but this despicable abominable robed monk who is a disgrace to Buddhism and genuine  monkhood being invited to  preach bana  at this ceremony by the ministry of Buddha sasana of minister Gamini Jayawickrema Perera is a serious  issue , mot reprehensible and detrimental to national interests. 

If the UNF group of the government is running with the hare and hunting with the hounds , certainly those who are pro good governance cannot go on any longer with such conspirators. It is therefore the inescapable responsibility of Jaywickrema Perera to expose who are these saboteurs behind this.

 ( In one photograph are the bhikkhus who were present to conduct the ceremonies without Gnanassara. The second photograph  depicts the undisclosed discussion held by SLFP secretary with Gnanassara before the incident)  

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by     (2018-05-01 15:46:20)

Tamils defy Sri Lankan govt to mark May Day

TNPF rally in Jaffna

01May 2018

Tamil political parties and supporters defied the government's decision to postpone May Day celebrations after the Buddhist festival of Vesak, holding their rallies today on May 1. 

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) held rallies in Vadamarachchi and Batticaloa, whilst the Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) held its rally in Nallur. 

TNA, Vadamarachchi

TNPF, Nallur

TNA, Batticaloa 

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) and the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) also held their May Day rallies today. 

Related Articles: 

25 April 2018 : Sri Lankan troops in Jaffna disrupt local May Day plans with Vesak preparations

07 April 2018 : Sri Lankan president postpones May Day following pressure from Buddhist clergy

04 April 2018 : Ceylon Teachers Union condemn postponement of May Day events due to Buddhist pressure

Live – JVP May Day rally in Jaffna

May 1, 2018

The May Rally organized by the JVP in Jaffna is being held now at the UC grounds.

Leaders of the JVP including its Leader Anura Dissanayaka, its General Secretary Tilvin Silva and several other leaders are participating.

The JVP May Day rally in Jaffna could be viewed online:

New Cabinet sworn in

By Yusuf Ariff-May 1, 2018  

The new Cabinet of Ministers was sworn in before President Maithripala Sirisena at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo today (1).

This is the fourth Cabinet reshuffle of the National Government.

Several ministerial portfolios have changed hands while some ministers have retained their previous portfolios.

UPFA General Secretary Mahinda Amaraweera, who was the Fisheries Minister, has been sworn in as the new Agriculture Minister.

SLFP General Secretary Duminda Dissanayake, who serves as the Agriculture Minister, has been appointed as the Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Management and Disaster Management.

Meanwhile former Justice Minister Wijedasa Rajapakshe was sworn in in as the Minister of Higher Education and Cultural Affairs.

Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka has been sworn in as the Minister of Sustainable Development, Wildlife and Regional Development.

Minister of National Co-existence and Official Languages Mano Ganesan has received the portfolio of Reconciliation, which was previously held by the President.


New Cabinet: 

Wijedasa Rajapakshe -  Minister of Higher Education and Cultural Affairs

Ravindra Samaraweera - Minister of Labour and Trade Union Relations

Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka - Minister of Sustainable Development, Wildlife and Regional Development

Daya Gamage - Minister of Social Welfare and Primary Industries

Mano Ganesan - Minister of National Co-existence, Reconciliation and Official Languages

Sagala Ratnayake - Minister of Project Management, Youth Affairs and Southern Development

D.M. Swaminathan -  Minister of Rehabilitation, Resettlement, Northern Development and Hindu Religious Affairs

Vijith Vijayamuni Zoysa - Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development and Rural Economy

Faiszer Musthapha - Minister of Sports, Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government
Thalatha Athukorala -  Minister of Justice and Prison Reforms

Ranjith Maddumabandara - Minister of Public Administration and Management,  Minister of Law and Order

Kabir Hashim - Minister of Highways and Road Development

P. Harrison - Minister of Social Empowerment

S. B Navinna - Minister of Internal Affairs and Wayamba Development

Lakshman Kiriella - Minister of Public Enterprise and Kandy Development

Sarath Amunugama - Minister of Science, Technology and Research, Skills Development and Vocational Training, and Hill Country Heritage

Mahinda Amaraweera - Minister of Agriculture

Duminda Dissanayake - Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Management and Disaster Management

There’s no respect for foreign women in Sri Lanka

A conversation with hotelier Paloma Scott  

2018-04-26 

Mirissa made headlines for an unpleasant incident earlier this month and the authorities immediately reacted to it by taking actions like suspending the activities of the restaurant and removing unauthorised establishments along the Mirissa coastal belt. Hence, work is in progress to safeguard the tourism industry in the country, with special focus on the South. Having been in the tourism industry for six years, Unawatuna Beach Resorts (Pvt) Ltd Managing Director Paloma Scott recently expressed her concerns about the attitudes men have towards white women. She was born in England (London) to Sri Lankan and Scottish/English parents. When her brother discovered Unawatuna, Paloma was determined to change her career plans and get involved in the tourism industry instead. In a candid interview with the Daily Mirror, Paloma expressed her views about how the beach culture has changed over the years, the disgusting attitudes of Sri Lankan men towards foreign women and offered a few tips to foreigners who travel to Sri Lanka in future. Excerpts :

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• The moment people see a white face in their shops their prices start skyrocketing
• Young children should be taught how women should be respected since this problem should be addressed from the grassroots level.
• English is the language of the law in this country and it is a sign of education
• The idea of service in Sri Lanka has gotten mixed up with the idea of servitude
• I guess Thailand does a better job in keeping people safe
• Three-wheel drivers ask the most intimate questions the moment I step into a three-wheeler
• Therefore the availability of technology and porn videos in particular, changes people’s attitudes 

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 Q  From when you first discovered Unawatuna what changes have you seen in the beach culture?
Unawatuna is a very particular case because when you go to the hotel the curve of the beach was a bit like Mirissa. In 2012 we lost the beach when the coastal conservation department, with the guidance of the Rajapaksa Government, decided in their wisdom to build a breakwater. It was ideally to protect the corals destroyed by the tsunami. None of the villagers knew about it and when it started in June or July in 2012 the beach started to disappear.

I still have friends in London who would text me and ask whether I’m safe in Sri Lanka. I don’t think that the people around the world look at Sri Lanka in a positive way. Every time there is a bad news in Sri Lanka it spreads so fast and gets the attention of international media in a matter of seconds

They built the breakwater very quickly, but their calculation proved to be slightly wrong because the water came in with great speed and took all our sand towards the Western side of the reef. Nobody speaks about such incidents, but I decided to voice out my concerns because nobody can take away anybody’s beach and it affected the industry. I started getting help and eventually the Rajapaksa regime immediately attended to the matter. They pumped the sand in and within two weeks we had the biggest beach in down South. So Unawatuna went from being an intimate coast to an enormous beach and it attracted a different group of tourists. I market my hotel as a family oriented hotel and 50% of guests are Sri Lankans and the rest are from all over the world. I hear of various incidents around the coastal belt in the South, but so far I haven’t heard of such incidents happening in Unawatuna.

 Q  How have ‘beach boys’ become a menace in the area?
I personally haven’t had any serious incidents with beach boys, but there have been incidents with various drug dealers. There are one or two wandering around, but they keep clear when I’m around. There are guests who attract them as well. There are no incidents of beach boys harassing women in Unawatuna, but I see that Mirissa has a big problem.
Mirissa has many night clubs along the shore, but Unawatuna mainly has restaurants and bars except for one or two night clubs with loud music even after 11.30pm. But if I have a party at my hotel I have to finish it off by 11.30pm and its sad how one rule works for me and there is another rule for the rest. I feel that if I was a man this wouldn’t have been so. But because I am a woman it doesn’t really matter and that is one example of bullying.

 Q  In your recent write up on socail media you have mentioned about authorities lagging behind in their duties. What are your observations on how they respond to incidents involving violence and harassment?
I think part of it is to do with liquor and cigarettes because men speak that language. They trade in that and the authorities turn a blind eye to these incidents. But when there’s a woman involved they can’t do that and I definitely will not give them liquor or cigarettes. Most of these officers are not well educated and they don’t speak English.
English is the language of the law in this country and it is a sign of education. They hide behind their inability to speak English and use it as a tool to bully and harass people like me. What I find is that they do understand English although they can’t speak and it’s a useful mechanism for them to hide behind it and act as if they knew nothing. Most of the forms we get to fill are in English or Sinhala, but not Tamil.

 The Tamil diaspora is very powerful and the world outside already views Sri Lanka as an unsafe destination to travel to. The Sinhalese community has failed to counter argue about the war and in Britain, Canada and Norway there is a bias towards a minority interest

But they have to be written in Tamil as well since this is a trilingual country. In Britain documents are available in over 10 different languages although it is a monolingual country. The third reason is the male chauvinist attitudes towards a white woman. They have this incredible habit of being rude in front of me and most of them can’t even look at me and shake my hand. That has nothing to do with language and they are basic manners which are lacking in most people. This is why I have mentioned in my article that a white woman is viewed as a peculiar aberration and they don’t have any respect towards foreign women. This is my experience.

 Q  Does this also go in line with the belief that men have a tendency to harass women because they watch a lot of pornography?
Quite interestingly I too have had a theory as to why Sri Lankan men, particularly three-wheel drivers ask the most intimate questions the moment I step into a three-wheeler. They ask if I would like to come back to their house and similar questions. I’m old enough to be their grandmother and they just think that because you are in a foreign land and since you are alone, you are ‘up for grabs’. I would never even dream of asking them or their wives these questions. So yes, because they look at all these videos and because there is a liking for white flesh and because they see a lot of white women in porn videos they believe that we do it all the time. Therefore the availability of technology and porn videos in particular, changes people’s attitudes towards white women.

 Q  The Sri Lankan tourism industry is still in its developing stages. Don’t you think that incidents such as what happened in Mirissa will put a black mark against the country?
I think the Government, big hotel owners and operators should lead this mission. As I understand that many tourism-related businesses are owned by ministers or they have their hand in it. The best thing they could do is promote Sri Lanka as a safe destination for tourists to travel to and take action against the culture of objectifying women. Since Sri Lanka is a Buddhist country and people are heavily inspired by the Buddhist culture, young children should be taught how women should be respected since this problem should be addressed from the grassroots level.

Another observation is that the moment people see a white face in their shops their prices start skyrocketing. A Sri Lankan coming to Britain would pay the same price as the person next to him, but this is not the case in Sri Lanka

The Tamil diaspora is very powerful and the world outside already views Sri Lanka as an unsafe destination to travel to. The Sinhalese community has failed to counter argue about the war and in Britain, Canada and Norway there is a bias towards a minority interest. I still have friends in London who would text me and ask whether I’m safe in Sri Lanka. I don’t think that the people around the world look at Sri Lanka in a positive way. Every time there is a bad news in Sri Lanka it spreads so fast and gets the attention of international media in a matter of seconds.
 Q  Countries such as Thailand for instance also have a beach culture, but tourists are safe there. What makes this difference?
I think there may be incidents in Thailand and because it is a large country they have a very sophisticated tourist industry. I see that they have a culture of service. The idea of service in Sri Lanka has gotten mixed up with the idea of servitude. No one wants to be a servant or be in servitude. I think another problem for politicians and the tourist industry is how to inculcate the idea of service and how do you inculcate the fact that tourists should be treated in the same hospitable manner as how you would treat a guest who visits your house. I’m sure you would immediately ask ‘have you eaten?’ This should be the benchmark for the tourist industry. In that case people would spend money and come here rather than going to Thailand. I guess Thailand does a better job in keeping people safe, it may be that they are clever at covering any problems they have.

 Q  What tips could you offer foreigners who travel to Sri Lanka?
I would say that they should dress appropriately. It is not about covering themselves from head to toe, but a lot of them should dress properly. This is because most white women are viewed differently to Sri Lankan women and white women tend to emphasize all the wrong bits in their body. If you are wearing something that’s revealing your body parts, it would draw the attention of people around you irrespective of whether you are walking down a street in London or in Sri Lanka. Other than that it does help to know a little bit of the language and it does help that you shouldn’t haggle on the smallest amount of money. I see this mostly in foreigners and a little Rs. 100 is nothing.  Another observation is that the moment people see a white face in their shops their prices start skyrocketing. A Sri Lankan coming to Britain would pay the same price as the person next to him, but this is not the case in Sri Lanka. Also just like anywhere don’t go out at night and don’t get involved in drugs or booze until you don’t know where you are.

I started getting help and eventually the Rajapaksa regime immediately attended to the matter. They pumped the sand in and within two weeks we had the biggest beach in down South. So Unawatuna went from being an intimate coast to an enormous beach

 Q  As a hotelier do you see a bright future for the tourism industry?
Not at the moment. I say this simply because there are many opportunities to not repeat the same mistakes as in other parts of the world. I think this should start from kindergarten. Children should be taught not to throw rubbish and pollute the environment. We are heading towards a crisis because there are many plastic bottles that get washed onto the shore. The authorities have turned a blind eye on these issues once again. Sri Lanka is a fabulous country and we don’t have to do much. We are far ahead than India because you don’t fall ill. The ‘male collective’ should change their attitudes towards women and women should be encouraged to enter the workforce as well. We have all the natural resources in abundance and we need to protect them before the country turns into a desert.