Tongue splitting: Surgeons warn of serious health risks

Surgeons say tongue and lip piercings carry serious health dangers

3 August 2018

People who have their tongues split deliberately are putting their health at serious risk, surgeons have warned.

The procedure involves cutting the tongue in half to create a lizard-like forked effect.

But experts said it came with the risk of significant blood loss, infection, nerve damage and problems with breathing and swallowing.

They also warned that tongue and lip piercings carry serious dangers, such as tooth fractures and gum damage.

• Ban on intimate piercings for under-18s
• Illegal tongue splitting procedures exposed

Tongue splitting is popular among body modification enthusiasts - people who make deliberate changes to their anatomy or appearance, often with the use of plastic surgery.

In March, the Court of Appeal found tongue splitting to be illegal when performed by a body modification practitioner for cosmetic purposes, even in instances where consent has been obtained.

The ruling applies to England and Wales.

However, the Royal College of Surgeons of England and the British Association of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS) said that across the rest of the UK its legal status was more unclear.

They said there was also uncertainty about alternative methods of achieving a tongue split, such as using multiple piercings.

"As dental surgeons, we've seen some of the horrific consequences of these procedures," said Selina Master, from the Faculty of Dental Surgery (FDS) at the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

She said there was an "urgent need" for the law across the rest of the UK to be clarified.

"The FDS and BAPRAS are also concerned that despite the legal debate, the demand for tongue-splitting procedures may continue but simply be driven underground," Ms Master added.

Tongue-splitting creates a lizard-like forked tongue

The health bodies also warned that oral piercings, such as those of the tongue and lips, also carried health risks.

These include tooth fractures, gum damage, infection, mouth lesions and swelling that can lead to breathing difficulties.

More than half of tongue piercings and one in five lip piercings performed on people between the ages of 16 and 24 are believed to result in complications, the Royal College of Surgeons said.

Ms Master added: "We would strongly advise people not to have oral piercings or tongue splits.

"However, if they do, it is crucial they see their dentist on a regular basis so that the impact on their oral health can be closely monitored.

"Never try to carry out one of these procedures on yourself, or others."

Tamil families of the disappeared open campaign office in Amparai

The association of Tamil families of the disappeared based in Amparai opened a district office in Thirukkovil on Wednesday.

01Aug 2018

The office will serve as a base for the district's families of the disappeared to organise and campaign.

Related Articles: 

23 July 2018 : Protesting families of the disappeared launch office in Mullaitivu

Black July – Haunting Memories 

By Karikalan S. Navaratnam –AUGUST 2, 2018

Karikalan S. Navaratnam

“I am not worried about the opinion of the Jaffna people… now we cannot think of them, not about  their lives or their opinion… the more you put  pressure in the north, the happier the Sinhala people  will be here… Really if I starve the Tamils out, the Sinhala people will be happy.” – President J.R. Jayewardene, Daily Telegraph (London) , 11 July 1983

Another July has just come and gone – 35th Anniversary of “Black July”. President J.R. made the egregious statement (cited above) in an interview to the “Daily Telegraph “ (which was reproduced in the Colombo “Sunday Observer” of 17 July 1983), just a few days before the July 1983 pogrom erupted. Not only that it foreshadowed the impending carnage and calamity, it had also been a  contributory factor engendering the pogrom.

Racial antipathy against ethnic Tamils was palpably evolving into an explosive situation. The political predator President J.R. had wilfully accelerated the process. 

The die is cast

Alea  iacta  est (“The die is cast”) is a phrase attributed to Julius Caesar as he led his legion across the Rubicon river in 49 B.C. while he set out to take over Rome and became embroiled in a civil war. In crossing the Rubicon, Caesar had made a major military commitment. “The die is cast“- the metaphorical phrase suggesting that an irrevocable choice had been made and the process was past the point of return. Anti-Tamil pogrom in July 1983 was an organized effort, as were the series of massacres  routinely carried out against Tamils in a medieval milieu. In 1983, it was organized on a larger scale. Spiritual and temporal  forces – sections of the clergy, state security agencies, the police, bigoted press  and ‘patriotic’ politicians – had ganged up with the  like-minded rabid rabble to wage  war on the Tamil people. President J.R.’s  bellicose rhetoric was a call to arms addressed to this bloodlusted  nationalist fascist forces. With  his clarion call, the die was cast and the ensuing ethnic war was inevitable.  

Orgy of violence

The  pogrom claimed the lives of several thousands of innocent Tamils. And the orgy of killing was complemented by a host of other acts of atrocity – maiming, rape, arson, looting and what not. Haunting memories of the horrors of Black July 1983 continue to cast  a shadow over ethnic relations in Sri Lanka and tend to define the Tamils’ political  agenda.  

Likewise, the genocidal  killings of 2009 and the post-Mullivaikal experiences have drastically changed our mindscape and pursuits..

Aide Memoires

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” (George Santayana, Philosopher/Poet). Lest we may forget, a brief review of the horrific events of July 1983, as recounted by discerning commentators/ observers may serve as a sort of aide memoires: “Acts of Genocide” – ICJ:

The crimes of July 1983 were a watershed for our country | pic by Chandraguptha Amarasingha – A Tamil boy stripped naked and later beaten to death by Sinhala youth in Boralla gustation – 1983 July

“The evidence points clearly to the conclusion that the violence of the Sinhala rioters on the Tamils amounted to Acts of Genocide.” (The Review, International Commission of Jurists, December 1983)

“Mobs of Sinhala youth rampaged through the streets, ransacking homes, shops and offices, looting them and setting them ablaze, as they sought out members of the Tamil ethnic minority.” 

“… a mob attacked a Tamil cyclist riding near Colombo’s eye hospital  ………..The cyclist was hauled from his bike, drenched with petrol and set alight. As he ran screaming down the street, the mob set on him and hacked him down with jungle knives…” 

“Motorists were dragged from their cars to be stoned and beaten with sticks… Others were cut down with knives and axes.”  (London Daily Telegraph, 26 July 1983)

”All over the city by mid-morning lorries jammed with young men shouting anti Tamil slogans, were moving into Tamil areas and into shopping centres picking out Tamil shops… Petrol was siphoned from cars into  buckets and plastic bowls to speed the work of arson.. By noon Colombo resembled a city after a bombing raid. Smoke obscured the sun, Main roads were blocked by burnt out vehicles.. The rioting surged into the heart of the city. In area after area Sinhalese rioters systematically picked out Tamil homes and shops, whether occupied or empty, and looted and  destroyed them...” (Guardian, 26 July 1983)

“The rioters seeking out Tamil homes and burning them had a particularly detailed knowledge of who lived where and who owned

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Indo-Lanka Accord: 31 years on

Pramod De Silva-Monday, July 30, 2018

It is now exactly 31 years since the Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord was signed in Colombo on July 29, 1987, between Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President J.R. Jayewardene amidst political turmoil in Colombo and military advances in the North.

The Accord was signed “Attaching utmost importance to nurturing, intensifying and strengthening the traditional friendship of Sri Lanka and India, and acknowledging the imperative need of resolving the ethnic problem of Sri Lanka, and the consequent violence, and for the safety, well-being and prosperity of people belonging to all communities of Sri Lanka”.

India always took a keen interest in the ethnic conflict and related developments in Sri Lanka, mainly because of the Tamil Nadu factor. The Tamil populations in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka’s North shared the same linguistic, cultural and religious heritage and it would have been naive to suggest that the Central Government in New Delhi as well as the Tamil Nadu administration would take no interest in developments in Sri Lanka.

It was no secret that secret training camps for Tamil militants in Sri Lanka existed in Tamil Nadu. There was a measure of support for the militants among sections of Tamil Nadu politicians and the populace. The Indian establishment was sensitive to the sentiments of these sections.

By this time, the Sri Lankan Security Forces were on the offensive in Jaffna, recording major successes against the LTTE. India decided to intervene at this stage, resulting in the infamous “Air Drop” of supplies over the Jaffna region on June 4, 1987. There were indications that some sections in India politics were against the ongoing military operations in the North.

Knowing very well that it would be futile to take on India in the military sense of the word, the Sri Lankan Government agreed to a diplomatic solution, which came in the form of the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord. Among its salient features were enabling the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution and the Provincial Councils Act of 1987 along with the arrival of the Indian Peace Keeping Forces (IPKF) in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan troops were to be withdrawn to their barracks in the North and the LTTE cadres and other militant groups were to surrender their weapons. The Army offensive in the North was halted.

The LTTE later turned against the IPKF, which suffered more than 1,000 casualties. It returned to India in March 1990. By then, Ranasinghe Premadasa was in the Presidential seat and battling a Southern insurgency on the side, he made his displeasure over the IPKF known. Just one year later, the LTTE assassinated Rajiv Gandhi at a campaign rally in Tamil Nadu, which turned the tide against the group in India, even in Tamil Nadu. The LTTE was banned and it was no longer fashionable to support the LTTE.

Final battles in May 2009

This was one of the turning points in the battle against the LTTE. India did not signal its opposition to any of the Sri Lanka Security Forces offensives from then onwards, including the final battles in May 2009. In fact, intelligence provided by India and several other countries contained vital clues that led to the destruction of LTTE floating armouries in the run up to the final battles.

Although the conflict ended in May 2009, the debate surrounding the Indo Lankan Accord still continues. Some argue that it is no longer valid, while others say that it is very much alive and embodied in our political systems. One point forwarded by the former camp is that Sri Lankan Courts have nullified the merger of the Northern and Eastern Provinces which was one of the clauses of the Accord.

Others say that Provincial Councils, introduced by the Accord in 1987, are very much a part of the local political fabric now and hence the Accord is still active. With the demerger if the Northern and Eastern Provinces, there are now nine provincial councils. Elections are due soon for most of the provinces.

The idea behind the provincial council system was that the devolution of power would address some of the grievances faced by people in the North and the East. Critics say that devolution of power has already been achieved through the local bodies which go right down to the Pradeshiya Sabha level and that there is no need for bigger provincial councils. They also say that it is a big waste of Government funds considering salaries, vehicles, telephone bills, power bills etc.

Proponents of the provincial councils say that enough powers have not been devolved to the PCs to make them work properly. One of the most controversial issues is whether police and land powers should be given to the Provincial Councils, as stipulated originally. This has stirred a hornet’s nest, since critics say it would be tantamount to Federalism (the F-word seems to be taboo in local politics) and the PCs could try to break away and seek independence.

However, supporters of the PC system say there are built-m safeguards to prevent that from happening. Besides, they point out separation has not occurred in any of the countries which practice devolution of power in a similar manner. The Governor, who is appointed by the President, has sweeping powers to ensure that PCs cannot break away. Interestingly, even the parties that initially opposed the PCs now participate fully in the PC process, signifying that all parties support the concept of devolution. The debate seems to be rather on the unit of devolution.

13th Amendment

This all comes back to the much-debated 13th Amendment which paved the way for Provincial Councils and several other features. It is very much a part of the Constitution, so the question does not arise whether it is dormant or not. The real question lies in its implementation. Some Governments have pledged to implement a 13th Amendment Plus, which means even greater devolution of power.

However, some said such an interpretation amounts to a betrayal. There is also a feeling among political circles that India is not overly keen on requesting the Sri Lankan Government to implement the 13th Amendment in full, given the current geopolitical realities. At the same time, it should be pointed out that neither India nor Sri Lanka have publicly disowned the Accord. The question also remains whether it is possible for one side to unilaterally abrogate a bilateral accord.

However, there are many who claim that if the 13thAmendment was implemented in full, instead of on a piecemeal basis, the conflict could have been resolved without the thousands of casualties on both sides. Another special feature of the Accord is the recognition of Sri Lanka as a ‘multi - ethnic and a multi-lingual plural society’, a reference that continues to have greater significance. Like everything else in life, the Accord has its good and bad sides and proponents and opponents.

Several Ministers and MPs mentioned it as one of the agreements which, if implemented, would have prevented the enormous loss of life in Sri Lanka in their addresses to the Sri Lankan Parliament on January 9, 2016 while speaking on the resolution to set up a Constitutional Assembly to draft a new Constitution for the country.

The present effort by the Government and many others to enact a new Constitution is the best opportunity to arrive at a broad consensus that can satisfactorily resolve this national issue and set Sri Lanka on the path to peace and reconciliation.

There is no doubt that they will be taking on board the lessons learned from the Indo Lanka Accord in this regard. Devolution of power is still a pivotal concept for resolving the national question but they should arrive at a viable unit of devolution. It is also vital to forge a truly Sri Lankan identity that shuns communalism.

Thirty one years after 1987, we are still searching for some of the answers to these issues. We have won the war, but the battle for peace must begin in earnest now if we are to avoid another dangerous slide down the path of discord and rancor. 

US embassy Colombo sidesteps query on Haley’s assessment of HRC as UN’s ‘greatest failure’-Bogollagama praises previous govt arranging Paisley visits 

Nikki

by Shamindra Ferdinando-August 1, 2018, 11:55 pm

The US embassy in Colombo sent The Island a statement that reiterated US commitment to ensure the full implementation of the 2015 United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution 30/1 on Sri Lanka in spite of the superpower finding fault with the Geneva-based UNHRC in June 2018.

 That statement was in response to The Island query: Against the backdrop of Geneva body addressing accountability issues and taking tangible measures in respect of Sri Lanka in accordance with 2015 Resolution spearheaded by the US (co-sponsored by Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration), don’t you think Ambassador Nikki Haley’s assessment of the UN agency is not fair?

 Sri Lanka defeated the LTTE militarily in May 2009.

In March 2011, three- member UN Panel of Experts (PoE) on the basis of information received from ‘credible sources’ accused Sri Lanka of killing at least 40,000 civilians on the Vanni east front.

 US Ambassador Nikki Haley recently described the Human Rights Council as the ‘greatest failure’ of the United Nations. Haley told the Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington that the Geneva-based body had "provided cover, not condemnation, for the world’s most inhumane regimes. Judged by how far it has fallen short of its promise, the Human Rights Council is the United Nations’ greatest failure," she said.

The following is the text of June 21, 2018 dated US embassy statement headlined US Embassy Colombo Statement on US-SL Relations: Secretary Pompeo has announced that the United States withdrew from the United Nations Human Rights Council effective June 19, 2018. Ambassador Keshap met senior Sri Lankan officials to convey the assurance of the United States Government that we will remain fully engaged with the Sri Lankan Government to help it meet its continuing and standing commitments to the international community to advance the cause of reconciliation and lasting peace for all Sri Lankans.

"Sri Lanka co-sponsored with the United States two UN Human Rights Commission Resolutions: 30/1 in 2015 and Resolution 34/1 in 2017, and the United States continues to extend its support to Sri Lanka to fulfill these important commitments and obligations as articulated and reaffirmed in these resolutions. Sri Lanka’s continued progress toward fulfillment of these international commitments will facilitate further growth of our bilateral relations and enhance Sri Lanka’s ability to engage with friends and partners around the world.

We will follow Sri Lanka’s progress closely and look ahead to engaging with Sri Lanka between now and March 2019 in the spirit of friendship that has marked our recent relations. As Sri Lanka takes further steps outlined in the Geneva resolution, the United States will also support and expand our bilateral partnership."

 Eastern Province Governor Rohitha Bogollagma, who had been Sri Lanka’s wartime Foreign Minister, recently urged the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government to unilaterally renounce the Geneva Resolution. Bogollagama asserted that there was absolutely no justification in expecting Sri Lanka to subject herself to Geneva Resolution in the wake of the very country that led the project quitting the UN body in disgust.

 Asked whether he approved of the previous government’s attempt to influence the UK Government not to press Sri Lanka at the UNHRC through lawmaker Ian Paisley’s intervention, Bogollagama called it a wise engagement. Bogollagama said that Ian Paisley in particular coming from a Northern Irish political background and origin has quite a value to reflect on the separatist war that was waged in Sri Lanka as much as the IRA experience. "All countries do engage in such practices and this is part of diplomacy."

 Bogollagama pointed out how the LTTE sought the expertise of internationally known persons to target successive Sri Lankan governments.

 Responding to another query, Bogollagama said that the failure on the part of those who had undertaken such visits to declare them to relevant authorities was a matter for ethical assessment by the giving authority. Bogollagama said that perhaps all such visits should come under equal scrutiny.

WHO felicitates SL’s health minister who revolutionized the health sector as never before ! (Video)

(Lanka e News -02.Aug.2018, 9.00AM) The ceremony to felicitate Hon. Minister of health , nutrition and indigenous medicine Dr. Rajitha Senaratne on his appointment as the new Vice president of the World Health organization (WHO)  was held at the Colombo Nelum Pokuna hall last Tueday (31) .

This function was attended by  president Maithripala Sirisena , Prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe with Dr.Ms.  Rasiya  Pense the local representative of the WHO as the chief guest.

A number of invitees including minister of state enterprise  , Kandy city development and leader of the house Lakshman Kiriella , minister of Christian affairs and tourism development John Amaratunge , minister of transport and civil aviation service Nimal Siripala De Silva , minister of Western province and Urban  development Patalie Champika Ranawaka , minister of Buddha sasana Gamini Jayawickrema Perera, ministers and guests  were present on the occasion. .

The function was organized by the ministry of health , nutrition and indigenous medicine , the World Helath Organization and  the  Health service trade union federation .

The decisions and actions taken by the health minister since he became minister were lauded at this function. Even the WHO acknowledged that the present health minister had done a lot for the public and introduced many measures for the immense benefit of the health of the people which none of his predecessors has been able to accomplish .

The National drug Bill  which was delayed for 40 years  was enacted , prices of drugs were drastically slashed after  defeating  the drug mafia, stents were provided free of charge . It is the consensus during the short period of 3 years the minister had been able to accomplish a lot. There is a long list of them . In short  he revolutionized the health service in SL.

The WHO in recognition of the   yeoman services minister Rajitha rendered towards the health service of the country , has by now taken action to donate a colossal  sum of US dollars 200 million (Rs. 32 billion !) (not a loan) to the country .

Rajitha was appointed as Vice president of WHO in May at the last annual session of the organization in Geneva.

It is the view of political analysts that minister Rajitha has the eligibility , capability and suitability and much more even to be the president or prime minister of the country .

Herein are photographs taken during the ceremony and Video footage of Rajitha’s speech in Matara 

---------------------------
by     (2018-08-02 04:00:40)

Assassinated young journalist remembered 11 years on

01Aug 2018

Sahathevan Nilakshan, the up and coming Tamil journalist who was shot and killed by suspected Sri Lankan military intelligence personnel on August 1st, 2007 was remembered today eleven years on by fellow media workers and his family.

Nilakshan was 22 years old when he was gunned down outside his home in Jaffna. 

At a time when the Jaffna district was on lockdown due to military-imposed curfew, and the city’s streets were heaving with troops, so-called unidentified gunmen were able to approach Nilakshan’s home in Kokkuvil, a busy suburb less than 5km away from town.

The perpetrators forced a friend of the journalist to accompany them to Nilakshan’s home and call him outside, before gunning him down.

Speaking at an event earlier this year, Nilakshan's mother called for the killers of her son to be brought to justice. 

My son was innocent,” said his mother Selvarani Sahadevan. "The culprits who were behind this killing should be punished. Many Tamil journalists were killed but still there is no justice."

Related Articles: 

10 April 2018 : Mother continues struggle for justice for murdered Tamil journalism student

02 August 2017 : Young journalist Nilakshan remembered on tenth anniversary of murder

This Govt. is a bad advertisement for democracy

• The latest by the Railway trade unions is a classic case of blackmail
   
• The problem with this Government is that it neither has determination nor decisiveness to play the role of a catalyst in developmen

---

 2018-08-02

The role of the Government as a catalyst for social and economic modernisation of the state is as old as any notion of the Government. Though the academic interest in it was reawakened in the mid 80s with the publication of ‘ Bring the State back in’, the real go-getter states existed much before. And interestingly, the majority of them were authoritarian or quasi authoritarian. The founder of modern Turkey, Kemal Ataturk, rebuilt the disintegrated Ottoman empire into a modernist secular state, even while the overwhelming majority of its rural folks remained religious and backward. Their degenerating influence on the state that he feared more than any external enemy, so the modern Turkey was built on the back of a shadow state of a secular military, judiciary and press. 
Elsewhere, developmental dictators of Taiwan and South Korea transformed their states from near nothing to future technological powerhouses. Others, such as Mahathir Mohammed and Lee Kuan Yew, though held choreographic elections, were hardly democrats. 
In contrast, the track records of democracies in economic and social modernization have been abysmal. India remained a bad advertisement for democracy and colossally squandered opportunities that existed for its people during the first five decades of independence. The vast majority of developing world democracies are worse off today than their relative position vis-a-vis developed world at the time of their independence in the 1940, 50s and 60s. That they were victims of predatory elites and military juntas during some time in their independence worsened their miseries. However, subsequent elected government didn’t perform any better.

Irrespective of white vans and 18th Amendment, Mahinda Rajapaksa would be remembered as the one who won the war and built highways   

Democracies’ incapacity to deliver rapid development is inbuilt in its structure. Democracy is a slow consultative process involving too many stakeholders with competing interests. Existential conditions of polarisation often make a compromise is painstakingly slow, if ever. The advocates of democracy have often overlooked the fact that for a society to develop cooperative behaviour it also has to reach a certain threshold of shared interests, which are often undermined by a plethora of competing interests and political affiliations, aggravated by low economic and social conditions of their respective societies. Developing states nonetheless have immediate economic and social priorities which can not be overlooked and in order to address them, a state needs a strong government.
After all, that is why executive the presidency was introduced in this country. 

Developing world democracies

That may also explain why whenever a developing world democracy records an impressive growth that had happened under a renegotiated social contract between the government and the society, under which, a pro-growth government has staked claims for a greater control of the trajectory of the state and society. Take for instance, the two Governments that had made a significant contribution to the economy in Sri Lanka; the first few years of J. R Jayewardene Administration and the two term presidency of Mahinda Rajapaksa. Both were quasi –authoritarian and confronted the social dissent and competing vested interests through the recourse of their own constitutional and unconstitutional means, be it sacking July strikers in en messes, banning the political left or operating white vans. 
Similarity could be seen in India, where the pro-business prime minister Narendra Modi is more in the mould of Mahathir Mohammed, than of type of his slow- moving procrastinating predecessors of Nehru-Gandhian variety. Parallels could also be seen in Bangladesh, where Prime Minister Sheik Hasina has overseen an economic revival. They are also power maximisers in their own ways. However, their countries are not Sweden or Denmark. The developing world is poor and disorganised not just because of resource scarcity, but also because their societies are less enlightened in a modernist sense. Rather than being guided by these societies, a forward looking government should guide them. That is however untenable without the government having sufficient autonomy over the society. 

 The developing world is poor and disorganised not just because of resource scarcity, but also because their societies are less enlightened in a modernist sense. Rather than being guided by these societies, a forward looking government should guide them

Meagre growth 

The problem with this Government is that it neither has determination nor decisiveness to play the role of a catalyst in development. Its contribution to the revival of democracy is not a supplement to its inability to forge ahead in economy. On any account, such democratic gains achieved in a low social and economic development have proved to be short lived. Four years since its election to power, and after much hype about an export led growth, export has grown only by meagre US $ 0.2 billion ( from US$ 11.1 billion in 2014 to 11.3 in 2017). FDI inflow has either stagnated or declined. Economic growth has hovered below 4 per cent for three consecutive years. 
And the Government’s vacillation in the economic front is aggravated by its spinelessness, which has led to wild cat strikes. The latest by the Railway trade unions is a classic case of blackmail. And the myopic demands by the Railway unions for a relocation of a technological hub , Trace Expert City, is not just a case of competing interests, but a manifestation of backwardness of certain entities. It may be to drive a point that J.R. Jayewardene sacked strikers in drove or Thatcher responded with an iron fist. 

The founder of modern Turkey, Kemal Ataturk, rebuilt the disintegrated Ottoman empire into a modernist secular state, even while the overwhelming majority of its rural folks remained religious and backward

A government that shies away from difficult economic and social decisions in favour of its political calculations does more harm to the nation than one that used white vans to silence its enemies. Such countries - Pinochet’s Chile, Chiang kai Shek’s Taiwan, South Korea, etc, emerged as viable economic and democratic entities partly thanks to difficult decisions made in the past. Where as, those who pussyfooted and let the gutter impulses run the country, perpetuated the miserable status quo. 
Irrespective of white vans and 18th Amendment, Mahinda Rajapaksa would be remembered as the one who won the war and built highways. If this Government keeps vacillating on the economy, history would place Messrs. Ranil Wickremesinghe and Maithripala Sirisena on a long list of passengers who rode the gravy train down the precipice . 
@RangaJayasuriya on Twitter

Rotarians and Lions: Demand unqualified apology from Mangala

AMRIT MUTTUKUMARU-July 23, 2018, 8:57 pm 

Among the current crop of politicians in Sri Lanka, Mangala Samaraweera, in relative terms, stands tall on matters of integrity, despite some perceived blemishes. Of course, this is not saying much of the calibre of politicians in Sri Lanka today. Nevertheless, his suitability to hold public office, particularly that of Finance and Media Minister, has to be questioned in the context of the harm he does, on a regular basis, to his own credibility.

This includes (i) his allegation that the Rajapaksa family may have "siphoned off" as much as US$ 18 billion from the coffers of the country during the MR presidency (ii) his strident allegation at a press conference few days ago claiming "PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE" that Sri Lanka’s top dealers in illicit drugs are not those languishing in jail, but some of those holding high posts in social service organizations.

A day or two later Samaraweera in a press statement SELECTIVELY and CONDITIONALLY clarified matters inter alia as follows:

"Inadvertently, I also mentioned Rotarians and Lions Clubs, which I deeply regret."

Readers can LISTEN to his words at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EYkM_tJYI0 (3:27 onwards) and decide for themselves whether there is any likelihood of "inadvertence"?

There was no "inadvertence" from Samaraweera as far as ‘Buddhist organisations’ were concerned.

It is curious as to why after claiming "personal knowledge" he has singled out "Rotarians and Lions Clubs" for an apology, while effectively confirming his damning allegation against ‘Buddhist organisations’? The silence of ‘Buddhist organisations’ and even "Rotarians and Lions Clubs" is deafening. It must be emphasized that Samaraweera has on his own volition unilaterally softened his stance on the Rotary Movement and Lions Movement.

One wonders whether strong bonds of ‘friendship’ have influenced Samaraweera to selectively soften his ex cathedra edict, which he asserted is applicable to Rotary and Lions? This is the man who stridently made the allegations with "personal knowledge"!

It must be noted that Samaraweera, now Finance Minister, has neither taken any credible action in the public domain to recover the US$ 18 Billion he alleged was "siphoned off" under the MR presidency nor offered an apology to MR. As to why the MR camp have not filed a defamation suit against Samaraweera remains a mystery.

Silence of Rotary and Lions

It must be noted that although Samaraweera now states, "Inadvertently, I also mentioned Rotarians and Lions Clubs, which I deeply regret", he has not completely let them off the hook when he asserts:

"There may be some individuals in society that join various organisations for such reasons. "

To date neither the Rotary or Lions leadership have issued any press statement. Why?

For the credibility of Rotary and Lion, which, over the years, have done commendable social service and have had and still have decent well-meaning persons as members, should not its leaders demand that Samaraweera forthwith identify those he claimed with "personal knowledge" holding high posts as "Presidents" were allegedly "Sri Lanka’s top dealers in illicit drugs"?

Their failure to do so will result in immeasurable harm to the credibility and respect of the Rotary and Lions organisations. The Rotary movement in particular owes it to the youth of the country who are members of the Rotary fraternity through its ‘Rotaract’ and school-based ‘Interact’ clubs.

The silence of the parties concerned has the potential to encourage people to surmise there is a vestige of truth in Samaraweera’s allegations.

Is it not incumbent on the parties concerned – Rotary Movement, Lions Movement and Buddhist Charities (i) At least now to issue a strong press statement demanding an unqualified public apology from Samaraweera? (ii) If he fails to do so to file legal action for defamation?

Although hackneyed, it is relevant to cite the quote attributed to Edmund Burke:

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing"

AMRIT MUTTUKUMARU