It is with a sense of frustration that I address the simplistic arguments that I see paraded before the public to win support for energy intensive agriculture. Many a word is being written with no awareness of the real situation. This is tragic as these arguments do not address the scientifically known reality, but often reflect some narrow minded personal vendetta against, other Sri Lankans (misguided or not) to bolster the view that, the economically utilitarian view of the world is best. In this, he shares the stage with many of our politicians and bureaucrats who believe that development is only measured by the GDP. Public health and well-being is of little consequence. While much of what has been written can be challenged at many levels the following excerpts will illustrate the shallowness of the arguments.
In a rebuttal to the observation that Mr. Pathirana made about fishes being poisoned by agrochemicals the author states "Mr. Pathirana thinks that our paddy fields are full of toxins. Large numbers of egrets ('kokku') and other birds collect to eat the earthworms and other bugs that get turned up by the farmer's plough. If the soil is toxic, these organisms should be dead. In fact, the soil is rich in worms and micro-organisms, fertile, and yields bountiful harvests."
This statement is a demonstration of the colossal ignorance of the writer in ornithological history and confusion with the soil ecosystem highly fertilized and traditionally farmed fields.
First, it should be noted the diversity of birds in the paddy fields have fallen dramatically over the last twenty years. Once there were at least ten to eleven waders common to the paddy fields. There are only Egrets left (and sometime a few Ibis), these are the most resistant to toxins in the chemically changed paddy fields we have today. All the sensitive species have disappeared.
The earthworms and bugs that are turned up by the farmer’s plough, are again only those species with a high degree of tolerance, the rest have disappeared. The species that remain have highly elevated levels of agro-toxins and the process of biological magnification ensures that all but the most resistant species will die off. Yes, the soil is toxic and the few resistant species that remain are totally unable to provide nutrient for a good harvest, the ‘bountiful harvests’ from such fields are due to the massive quantities of chemical fertilizer applied.
The take home lesson is, ‘Do not make sweeping political statements couched in narrow perspectives’, and I would add ‘do not try to belittle your countrymen who are attempting to address problems, right or wrong’. They are trying and that effort is what we should laud, not pointless name calling and cynicism, especially from so far away.
And to those politicians and bureaucrats who see ‘Development’ only as the growth of the GDP, consider the view of our founding father the Rt. Hon. D.S. Senanayake who said that ‘Development of our nation should be measured by the larder of the poorest of its homes’. These ideals have been totally ignored in the current definition of ‘Development’ being peddled by the political system today.
2019-02-07
‘Ginnen Upan Seethala’ (The Frozen Fire) is a movie that was asking to be made. It’s about the life of JVP leader Rohana Wijeweera and his bid to change the political history of Sri Lanka through armed insurrection.
The resulting picture is so confusing that even the final death count varies widely. It was considerable and the damage to the country’s psyche even more drastic. The simple fact that no two Sri Lankans having a conversation in the street will trust a third party within earshot is the direct result of these two failed rebellions and the counter-terror which crushed them.
That even controlled protest such as trade union action isn’t allowed in many sectors is another blow to the practice of negotiating democratically. That a very powerful military has a say in our semi-democratic form of government is another disturbing result of Wijeweera’s political goals and means. This has its insidious effects of social life as well as the arts. For example, the rule that the depiction of members of the security forces in film needs approval from the censors can hardly be called a democratic practice.
Rohana Wijeweera is the most fascinating political leader and participant in the country’s post-independence politics. More than a participant, he was a mover and a shaker. Much has been written about him, most of it inconclusive and partisan, and a movie was waiting to be made.
Now that it’s finally there, what does it tell us? Director Anuruddha Jayasinghe was a student of Thurstan College, Colombo, when he was arrested as a JVP activist during the late 1980s second JVP rebellion. That he sees the movie from a partisan point of view is understandable. That he’s an admirer of the late JVP leader is quite acceptable. The trouble is that he seems to have made this historic movie with his heart, not his mind.
Kamal Addaraarchchi, easily the most promising talent in film in the 1980s, lost his way. But he has made an impressive comeback in the role of Wijeweera, something which undoubtedly called for great commitment and determination. But his performance is marred by flaws in the character as scripted, and let’s try to see what these flaws are.
What we get here is a soft-spoken and benign Wijeweera. He is a moderate, cautionary figure keeping the hotheads in his inner circle at bay. He is a loving family man. In this version, it’s his attachment to his family which causes his downfall, when he ignores calls by fellow politburo members to flee his last refuge.
All that’s fine, but is that all there is to a man responsible for two very bloody Sinhalese youth rebellions in modern history? According to some sources, the combined death toll exceeds that of the 30-year civil war with the LTTE. How did he hold the volatile personalities of his politburo (PB) together? How did he deal with dissent?
These are questions left unanswered by ‘Ginnen Upan Seethala.’ According to it, the DJV or military wing of the JVP is an independent entity led by its leader Keerthi Wijebahu with a free hand. It’s the DJV’s rash decisions which led to the failure of the second JVP uprising. Was Wijeweera powerless to intervene or did he lack the political foresight and the will to veto the DJV’s disastrous orders to the rank and file? This is hardly credible.
All that’s fine, but is that all there is to a man responsible for two very bloody Sinhalese youth rebellions in modern history? According to some sources, the combined death toll exceeds that of the 30-year civil war with the LTTE. How did he hold the volatile personalities of his politburo (PB) together? How did he deal with dissent?
The ideological rift with Nandana Marasinghe, one of the more politically astute and dynamic PB leaders, is shown but we see only half the story. Marasinghe’s killing was ordered by his fellow PB members including Wijeweera. In the movie, though, the decision what to do with him is postponed by the PB and Nandana Marasinghe isn’t heard of any more. Anyone not familiar with this history would assume that Marasinghe disappeared on his own free will.
This movie leaves more questions unanswered. We see an endless series of PB meetings which dampens the impact of a story which should leave us at the edge of our seats. Less time talking and more time spent with the actual action would have given us the ‘biographical thriller’ which the brochures promise. As it is, both the biography and the thriller have gaping holes.
To the director’s credit, some of the action scenes (such as the ethnic riots, political meetings, and a dramatic scene where military vehicles drive at night through pouring rain) are very well staged. But that’s just not enough, and many scenes could have been better edited, for example the scene where a JVP youth orchestra plays early in the story. It’s much too long.
It’d be interesting to compare this movie with Stephen Soderberg’s‘Che’ (2008, in two parts). It was criticised for showing mostly Che the public figure, and little of his private life. With ‘Ginnen Upan Seethala,’ the criticism is that it shows too much of the private life. Both portraits are sympathetic, but in the latter case we want to know more about Wijweera than just how much he loved his wife and children.
Soderberg’s Che is played by Mexican actor Benicio del Toro. He’s not an exact look alike, but more importantly he gets under the skin of his character. In our case, Addararachchi doesn’t have much to go by as he follows the script which gives us a moderate figure whose bid to enter mainstream democratic politics is thwarted by the autocratic President JR Jayewardene, the villain of the piece.
In the final analysis, no agreement will ever be reached on that point – if JR didn’t proscribe the JVP, would Wijeweera and his cadres have given up the armed struggle? This is a tricky point. He rejected a peace offer from JR’s successor R. Premadasa when the insurrection was at its height. Experience had undoubtedly taught him to distrust the politicians. What did his own nature dictate?
The movie ends with the arrest of Wijeweera, thus leaving out the harrowing details of his execution. By some accounts, he was shot at the Colombo general cemetery but was still breathing when his body was thrown into the incinerator. This isn’t an episode that the country can be proud of?
By comparison, Abimail Guzman, the Peruvian leader of Sendoro Luminoso guerrilla movement which led a brutal 20-year-old war against the government of Peru, was spared after his arrest. So were his top aides. Guzman is still in prison but was allowed to marry and helped negotiate a peace settlement with his cadres. This is how our story too, should have ended. Instead, we keep taking grim satisfaction in a smug ‘ serve them right’ attitude while the smouldering socio-political problems which created Rohana Wijeweera continue to smoulder.
Nadeeka Guruge has done an effective score while Dhanushka Gunathilake’s cinematography is excellent, especially the outdoor night scenes. The script, editing and some of the acting leaves much to be desired. For example, in a crucial scene where Wijeweera and his PB members react in dismay to the arrest of a colleague, they behave not like hardened revolutionaries but a bunch of schoolboys reacting when their favourite batsman gets out for a duck.
Despite such flaws, this is a historically important film and marks a milestone for the Lankan film industry. Along with ‘Nidahase Piya DS’ screened last year (about D. S. Senanayake), the political biography is now in demand as subject matter for Sri Lankan films. It’s a heartening development.
Following joint communiqué between the democratic socialist republic of Sri Lanka and the Republic of Maldives
Thursday, 7 February 2019
On an invitation by His Excellency Maithripala Sirisena, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, His Excellency Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, President of the Republic of Maldives undertook a State Visit together with First Lady Fazna Ahmed, to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, the bilateral component of which was on 5 February 2019. During the Visit, President Solih also attended the official ceremony held on February 4, 2019, to mark the 71st National Day of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, as the Guest of Honour.
President Sirisena and President Solih held official talks on February 5, 2019 in a warm and friendly atmosphere reflective of the special historic and traditional relationship between the two countries and examined ways for further strengthening the bilateral cooperation and people-to-people contacts. President Sirisena hosted a State Luncheon in honour of President Solih. In addition, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe hosted an official dinner in honour of President Solih.
The two Presidents reaffirmed the deep-rooted friendship, where mutual trust, and respect, recognition of each other’s needs and the desire to support each other underpins the partnership between the two countries. The two leaders agreed to assert further efforts in strengthening trade, economic and cultural ties and reiterated their commitment to work together to promote regional peace, stability and prosperity.
The two leaders reached broad consensus to enhance bilateral prospects, namely intensifying cooperation in political, economic, tourism, youth development, health, education and capacity building for mutually beneficial strategic partnerships.
Reviewing the cooperation programme, President Solih, thanked President Sirisena for the invaluable contribution made by Sri Lanka in the socio-economic development of the Maldives. Further, the two leaders expressed their desire to continue the bilateral engagements within the context of the Joint Commission between Sri Lanka and the Maldives and agreed to hold the Fourth Meeting of the Joint Commission during the first half of 2019, in Colombo.
The two leaders agreed to make further efforts in strengthening people-to-people contact through enhanced trade and cultural ties. They also reiterated their commitment to work together in reviewing the existing visa regime between the two countries to accommodate the concerns of the Maldives with respect to student, parental and guardian visas, and the concerns of Sri Lanka on long term business visas.
Both leaders expressed satisfaction on the ongoing initiatives to strengthen existing cooperation in capacity building and youth oriented development. The leaders underscored the importance of expert’s exchange programmes and to continue the dialogue for cooperation especially in the field of education and health.
While recognising climate change as a significant challenge to developing countries, both leaders agreed to work together to enhance cooperation to address the adverse impact of climate change through global and regional mechanisms and underscored the importance of the swift implementation of the Paris Agreement.
Examining current global challenges, the two leaders reaffirmed the commitment of both countries to cooperate bilaterally to combat the menace of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and to collectively counter threats posed by narcotics and other psychotropic substances.
In addition to the bilateral discussions, a Business Forum was held during the visit in collaboration with the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, where leading businessmen from both countries discussed in-depth, avenues for enhanced engagement. The business leaders acknowledged the potential in reviving economic ties through closer cooperation and agreed to set up an appropriate mechanism that will promote business, trade and investment cooperation, as well as enhance collaboration between private sector operators.
President Solih thanked President Sirisena for the warm and gracious hospitality extended to him and his delegation during the visit. President Solih extended an invitation to President Sirisena to undertake a State Visit to the Maldives, which the President of Sri Lanka graciously accepted.
According to the determinations by the Auditor General, the CMC is responsible for the 32 human lives lost during the Meethotamulla incident – Pic by Shehan Gunasekara
Wednesday, 6 February 2019
Many people are talking about waste management. So much so it has become only a subject of talk shows! The City of Colombo is the prime focus and the centrepiece. It is seen as a debate that has been continuing for decades under different mayors as well as ministers in charge of environment representing various political parties.
To our great dismay there is no tangible solution to this national problem in sight. Instead it has become the mausoleum of the swindlers and those bargaining for making the best out of garbage. Proposals and visionary statements made one after the other have vaporised leaving no residue but only the garbage for our consumption. Those new players who come to the arena from time to time appear to get submerged in the same ongoing prostitution before even settling down in their esteemed positions. As a result the people have to live with garbage around!
History of garbage handling and the sordid affairs connected to the subject are so scandalous and disgusting but we are compelled to talk about these overcoming a great repugnance in the public interest. Recently there was murmur and muttering in the circles of the Colombo Municipal Councillors about a handsome hand-out that was being doled out by a garbage contractor among a few selected leading personalities. It was also indicated by those involved in the gossip that this has been a perennial phenomenon and the chosen beneficiaries eagerly await the opportunity on account of certain abstruse services rendered by them to the contractors.
However incomprehensible such services are, it is not difficult for anyone to logically conclude that such ex-gratia payments obviously come from the rate payers’ base. Ironically many whom I met talking about the incident were expressing their dissatisfaction for not being considered in the package! What a world? True nevertheless!
President Maithripala Sirisena appointed a one-man commission following the greatest tragedy we witnessed in the recent history of this country on the eve of the 2016 Sinhala and Hindu new-year day due to the Meethotamulla garbage dump devastation. Several startling revelations have been made by the Commissioner Dr. Chandradasa Nanayakkara, retired Appeal Court Judge, in his report submitted as far back as October 2017. But it is more appalling to note that it has ended up as many other such reports in the graveyard of history for some Thomas
Grey to write an epitaph one day!
Be that as it may, we have to focus on some of the extremely relevant issues highlighted in this report in the context of the subject we are discussing. It is also noteworthy that the Auditor General Gamini Wijesinghe in a report dated 16 March 2018, titled ‘Special report on the solid waste management of the Colombo Municipal Council’ has confirmed these facts from the point of view of an official government audit. Both the Commission Report and the Audit report are voluminous and too lengthy to be dealt with in an article like this. But it would suffice to convey the recommendation part of these two reports for the citizenry to understand the plight they are in. Hence the following:
Extracts summarised from the Commission Report;
There has been no coordination between the related Government agencies over a period of four years to identify the disastrous situation that was building up around the Meethotamulla Dumping Yard prior to the tragic event on 14/4/2017. The CMC which was entrusted with the responsibility of dumping garbage to this place and the management and administration of the associated activities have completely failed in their duty and no satisfactory action has been taken by the CMC and its administration including the Municipal Commissioner.
The following Government/Statutory institutions are jointly and severally held liable for neglecting their statutory responsibilities for the failure to appropriately monitor the operations of the Meethotamulla Garbage Dumping Yard;
Colombo Municipal Council
Kolonnawa Town Council
Disaster Management Centre
Solid Waste Management Authority of the Western Provincial Council
Central environmental authority
The management and the administration of this place has been under the CMC by a staff with two engineers and a number of labourers assigned to the project under the overall supervision of Director Engineering (waste management) of the CMC.
The hazardous situation has gradually developed from 2013 and from time to time and as alternate relief measures the CMC has paid compensations to the identified victims amounting to Rs. 606,814,020.70 from its funds.
The peril has been aggravated due to permitting outside parties to irregularly dump garbage to this place by illegally recovering payments from them.
The machinery of a project set up at this place at a cost of Rs. 90 million granted under the auspicious of the Central Environment Authority to produce compost has been submerged under the garbage due to careless and irregular dumping of garbage.
The following reasons for causing this hazard have been identified by the Commission:
Failure to introduce successful measures to minimise garbage generation
Failure of the CMC to create a system of separating bio degradable waste at the source as well as at the dumping place
Failure to introduce effective measures to control private dumping to the yard
Not taking effective alternate remedial actions that were recommended Despite of the availability of a large number of engineers at the CMC it has failed to subject the dumping yard to suitable satisfactory supervisory control
Commission has also pointed out several other lapses, shortcomings, procedural violations as well as irregular practices on the part of the CMC in this regard. All those remain as valuable historical records for some action some day in the future by someone.
The Auditor General in his report inter-alia has reported as follows:
nAlthough CMC had made adequate provisions annually to purchase transport and other equipment required for the operation of Waste handling, the funds have not been utilised for the purpose {not even 40% of the provisions used}.
nVehicles and equipment have been hired for this purpose from private parties at a very high cost on a regular basis. The percentage increase in the cost has been estimated as 9.7% (2010 as base year) to 462.9% in 2016.
nAuditor General has observed that the provisions under the procurement procedure of the Government has been violated in certain instances under this private hiring.
The table illustrates this audit query.
Determinations by Auditor General
The CMC is responsible for the 32 human lives lost during the Meethotamulla incident
Waste is an asset of the CMC but the CMC has failed to identify and treat so. Therefore the Municipal Commissioner and the Officials are held responsible for the loss created thus
The payment of compensation to victims has not been computed on a scientific basis hence the officials should be held responsible for the extra cost to the State
Officials have failed to take adequate measures to reduce the volume of Waste generated, recycling and effective use of waste and have not paid due attention to introduce measures in this regard. Therefore they should be held responsible for the loss and the prejudice caused to the Council.
The Commissioner has done his part by submitting a report as requested. He cannot be held responsible for the report being consigned to abeyance by the authorities. Fact of the matter is several human lives have been lost. Properties damaged. People displaced. Country disgraced. Several obvious irregularities established and pointed out. Alas! No one is to be held responsible! What a country! While the Guinness record keepers take note of this extraordinary situation shall we ask whether the Auditor General’s role is also concluded with his reporting? What a pathetic situation if it is so.
Finally, the new Governor of the Western Province Azath Sally, was a sitting member of the Colombo Municipal Council when he was elevated to this Brobdingnagian status. Will he use his good office, we appeal to him to use his personal background information and his commitment to a corrupt free administration to address this issue with an open mind in order to;
Punish the wrongdoers already authentically identified,
Induce positive thinking to the policy makers in the CMC to bring a permanent solution to the waste management problem
Address the ongoing colossal wastage and pilferage associated with this subject at the CMC level
Use his good office to give a leadership to find a solution to this social responsibility of helping to create a liveable environment worth sustaining for future generations
We will hope for the best and await some focus to originate from some Samaritan quarters without further delay as all of us are aware of the limited time ahead of us.
(The writer is a Colombo Municipal Councillor.)
To mark the seventy-first anniversary of Sri Lanka gaining dominion status.
One of the most insightful pieces of writing one would read this year is scholar-activist Senel Wanniarachchi’s excellent account of encountering Tara, a Buddhist and Hindu mother goddess of mercy and generous compassion at…the British Museum. Several excerpts of Wanniarachchi’s article are worth quoting at some length, and in this ‘independence month’, these words are absolute food for thought to all Sri Lankans:
Her [Tara’s] bronze statue plated in gold was stolen from Sri Lanka’s Kandyan Kingdom when the British colonized the island in 1815. Tara’s upper body is completely naked with a sarong draped around her hip concealing her body waist down. Her right hand is in the gesture known as varadamudra – of granting a wish.
At the museum, almost everyone passing by stops to take a look at Tara. A young white couple stands adjacent to me. The young man whispers something in his female companion’s ear. They both giggle. I’m inclined to assume it was a joke laden with some sexual innuendo. Many aren’t aware of Tara’s genealogy or her divinity. Many wouldn’t care. She fulfills an exoticized oriental fantasy. The audio explains that Tara was ‘given’ to Robert Brownrigg, the third Governor of Ceylon (as the British referred to Sri Lanka) who ‘donated’ it to the museum ‘perhaps finding her voluptuous form rather out of place in his English country home’. However, Tara was considered to be too obscene and perverse to be exhibited to the public. Her exposed bronze breasts too big, her waist too narrow and her hips too curvaceous for the respectability of the white gaze. As such, she was locked up in a discreet storeroom, aptly named ‘the Secretum’ for nearly thirty years. The Museum was mandated to create the Secretum, colloquially known as ‘the porn room’, through the 1857 Obscene Publications Act which gave the state power to destroy material it deemed offensive and obscene.
Here was a Sri Lankan mother Goddess worshipped by her devotees, stolen and taken by force to a foreign land where she is treated as some pornographic knick-knack only to be locked up in a storeroom along with phallic antiquities and European erotica that display orgies, bestiality and whatever else was deemed too indignant for the holy white gaze. Only adult white male specialists of ‘mature years and sound morals’ who constituted the very apex of the social hierarchy had access to enter the ‘Secretum’ for their pathologizing intellectual gaze. These scholars probably used Tara to enrich their knowledge system of ‘scientific’ racism that drove colonialism — the libidinous, ‘out of control’ non-humans were vice-indulgent and so were their vain gods. For the natives in the ‘Orient’, she represented mercy and compassion. The brown devotees who wanted to escape the illusion and suffering of the endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth of samsara would stare into her bronze eyes and meditate. This would have perplexed the white missionary slave masters for whom she represented a sinful profanity. How could a naked woman be a God? A God so religiously venerated that even the most powerful of men would kneel before her image, join their palms and pray? They were convinced that these queer emasculated leaders weren’t capable of governing their lands and people and as such, colonialism was not only justified but also inevitable.
Colonialism is a destructive and criminal act. It destroys peoples, communities, social, cultural and economic traditions, knowledge systems, protocols and the humanity of peoples of rich heritage. This is the one and only truth. There is no space whatsoever for any counter-argument. Nowhere in the world did colonialism bring anything even remotely positive or beneficial to the colonised peoples.
38-year-old Saraswathi wakes at 5.30 am to send her children to school before she heads to work.
In this video, produced by Selvaraja Rajasegar of Maatram, she readies her children for school, in doing so addressing issues highlighting the obstacles to education that the Malaiyaha Tamil community is faced with.
Parents often find it difficult to provide the meals required for children under the government’s stipulated school-feeding plan – the roti they eat regularly has almost no nutritional value, but is often the only thing they can afford.
Saraswathi’s story highlights some of the challenges faced by the community, who have lived and worked in this country for over 150 years.
Estate workers have been calling for an increase in their daily basic wage to Rs. 1000 for years. The Collective Wage Agreement – between trade unions and Regional Plantation Companies – was recently signed, which set the daily basic wage at Rs. 700. This has been met with widespread strike action by estate workers, as well as with solidarity protests in Colombo.
Regional Plantation Companies say that providing Rs. 1000 is impossible. Although Ceylon Tea is one of Sri Lanka’s top exports, the industry has suffered heavy losses for a number of reasons, including climate change. However, as Saraswathi’s story shows, the wages she earns are nowhere near enough to bear the costs of living for her family, and increasingly, the younger generation of estate workers are choosing to leave and look for work elsewhere.
Read more about the difficulties facing estate workers in our series marking 150 years of Ceylon Tea here.
Sri Lanka is a country that’s blessed four times over with the hallowed teachings and tenets of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Islam. But sadly though, these four major world religions have not had that much of an impact when it came to liberating this country from the clutches of narcotics.
There have been several awareness programmes and anti-narcotic marches organised by religious leaders while Narcotic Bureau officials assisted by Police, STF and Navy personnel continue to crack down hard on the smuggling, trafficking and distributing of narcotics such as Heroin, Marijuana, Cocaine, Ice and Ecstasy, but the use of these deadly drugs is seemingly spreading at an alarming rate making one wonder whether enough is being done to eliminate this menace.
The following is a cross section of recent drug detections culled from media reports: Up to July 27 this year, 48,129 suspects, including 22 foreigners from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Maldives, Bolivia, and Germany were arrested and 173 kilograms of heroin and 2,975 kilograms of cannabis seized;two suspects were arrested on December 12 and 231 kilograms of heroin worth Rs.2,778 billion seized on the seas off Beruwala;two Bangladeshis were arrested on December 31 and 200 kilograms of heroin and five kilograms of cocaine worth more than Rs.3 billion seized and on the same day 988 Ecstasy pills worth more than Rs.3.5 million meant for party goers on New Year’s Eve seized.
On January 22this year, five suspects among whom were two Americans, an Afghan and two Sri Lankans were arrested and 95 kilograms of heroin worth more than Rs.1,141 million seized at Kollupitiya; on January 31, an Iranian woman was arrested at the BIA while attempting to smuggle some 400 grams of a narcotic known as ‘KUSH’ into the country while two suspects transporting 41.530 kilograms of Kerala Ganja were arrested in Jaffna and on February 2, six suspects were arrested in Mirigama and Veyangoda and 14 mobile phones and 402 grams of heroin worth more than Rs.5 million seized.
The foregoing clearly indicates the gravity of the situation Sri Lanka is faced with and that a concerted effort needs to be made to eliminate this menace from spreading its tentacles and ensnaring the vulnerable.
In such a scenario, an important question that needs to be asked is what happens to the narcotics which are regularly seized by law enforcement agencies? Is it necessary to await the conclusion of court cases to destroy the drugs? We have rarely if at all seen reports of the drugs seized being publicly destroyed after a proper and efficient system of accounting and auditing so as to prevent them seeping back into circulation proving true the proverbial, ‘many a slip ‘twixt the cup and the lip’ and nullifying all the hard work done by our valiant drug busters.
There is no doubt that the spread of narcotics is gathering momentum in Sri Lanka and is not too far-fetched to assume that while on the one hand,a large quantity of narcotics entering and circulating in the country are detected and seized, on the other hand there may be similar quantities reaching the addicts, who are craving for a few moments of escape and in the process ruining themselves.
It must have been with the intention of underscoring the need for increased vigilance at all entry points that Aviation Minister Arjuna Ranatunga last week obtained Cabinet approval to import 20 specially trained sniffer dogs at a cost of Rs.46 million to be deployed at the Airport to thwart narcotics being smuggled into the country.
It also goes without saying that we also need an elite unit of committed personnel, well trained in anti-narcotic operations to gather drug-related information from all available sources and neutralise and deactivate the drug cartels and their remote-controllers,who are directly or indirectly linked to bribery, corruption and money laundering.
Meanwhile,let us also point out that no worthwhile purpose will be served by killing narcotic distributors and addicts while the kingpins remain ensconced beyond the long arm of the law and roaming around disfiguring and despoiling our beloved country.
Spewing out empty rhetoric will not get us anywhere, what we need and need right now is action and uncompromising action at that. There is no time to waste.
Reference the article "Pesticides then, now and toxin free nation" published in your newspaper on Feb. 04, Point 1- Blame is levelled against activities of multi-national pesticides companies for the excessive sale of this group of chemicals. What we need to realize is that companies are doing their normal business activity on which we should not have a grouse. Rather, what is critical is that our regulatory system and channels of communication with the farming community have become much less effective. The laws and regulatory system have been confined to the book only, which is an extremely sad state of affairs. Why is the government sleeping on this grave issue? Why does it not bring about a good level of coordination between manufacturers/traders and the farming community?
Point 2- The article quoting WHO recommendation states that DDT is safe to use on domestic pest control and not in agriculture. However, we know quite well that it is extremely difficult to control its use in agriculture for two reasons: first, farmers are not quite informed and educated about this issue and, second the control mechanism administered by the government has been so weak that it is virtually impossible to restrict DDT use by farmers.
Point 3- There is a wealth of information on the adverse repercussions caused by the use of pesticides on our farmland. The adverse impacts include the death of fish and aquatic lives, development of resistance in both pests and weeds to applied chemicals, water and soil pollution, human poisoning and so on. As a child I recall the huge volume of a variety of fish species that were found in our paddy fields in the 1960s that is almost completely extinct now. The leech (diya kudella) which was abundant in streams and paddy fields in the 1960s is no more. In fact, I don’t recall seeing a diya kudella in a wet zone area since 1970s. The same applies to goda kudella. Accordingly, there is no dispute about the loss of fish and other beneficial insects and creatures as a result of indiscriminate use of pesticides on our farmland, inclusive of paddy fields. The author of the referenced article makes reference to the presence of egrets in paddy fields and uses this observation to prove that chemical residue level on paddy fields is still not high enough. This is based on insufficient scientific evidence? Do we know the type of creatures picked up by these birds now compared to before? Remember we have lost almost all fish and other useful creatures in our paddy fields. Do we know whether the birds have developed resistance to chemical residues and that continued dependence on paddy field creatures do not make adverse impacts in the short term?
In contrast, the paddy fields in Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia are full of fish and other edible creatures beneficial to human beings. Paddy fields creatures are a rich source of protein, minerals, etc. by way of fish and insects that provide a number of employment, food and income opportunities to local people. Early in the morning, paddy fields are full of people (boys, girls and women in particular) who catch fish, insects and other creatures for sale in the market. In the meantime, insect sorting, cleaning and packing provide productive engagement for the disabled people. The level of use of pesticides in paddy fields in the above countries is still far below compared to fields in Sri Lanka.
Point 4- The import of fresh plant and animal matter into Sri Lanka is controlled in theory by relevant legislation. Unfortunately, the import of such materials by the public is not effectively controlled and monitored. The import of fresh material by big businesses and organized groups of people is altogether another critical issue; the level of control exercised by authorities on such activities is a matter the author does not want to comment on. The author has witnessed that individuals can bring in any such item possibly concealed in their luggage and evades being inspected by authorities. It is no secret that every piece of luggage brought by a passenger is subject to either physical inspection, X-ray search or both in other countries, inclusive of both developed (New Zealand, Australia) and developing (Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, Tajikistan). This is a good practice to curtail the introduction of foreign pests into the country at port of entry. It is sad this good practice is not implemented in this country in spite of the presence of legislative mechanism.
Point 5- The relaxed style of Customs inspections (mentioned under point 4), absence of regular field monitoring, and co-ordination of all relevant agencies, documentation and reporting activities should be blamed for the proliferation of pests and diseases on Sri Lankan soils.
Point 6- The lack of training and research should also be pointed as reasons that have contributed to the surge of pest and disease populations. One special case is that the cause for CKDU is remains to be identified.
Point 7- The use of organic methods of pests and disease control that our ancestors utilized before, are almost extinct. However, there are several agencies and few farmers who have successfully implemented organic methods of crops and animal protection. The experiences that are around us should be evaluated and knowledge made known to the public. Such technologies should be further researched, knowledge dispersed for the benefit of farming community, facilities provided for them to adopt and results documented. There is an extremely lethargic attitude toward such activities on which the relevant public agencies should be blamed.
Point 8- The farmer education and monitoring of pesticide use by them were mentioned above. In fact, farmers in this country practice harmful methods of pesticide use that are not observed in the developed world. Farmers still use pesticides on their crops just a day prior to the crop being harvested. The author, during a recent visit to the Jaffna Peninsula, observed that the use of pesticides by farmers is not monitored. Few local people informed the author that the unregulated and ignorant methods of chemical use are a big problem that is going on unregulated and unmonitored. The use of pesticides in the developed countries is well monitored, and the author has not come across a single farmer in New Zealand who uses harmful chemicals on crops 1-2 days before harvest. The chemical use is stopped at least 10-14 days before the crop is harvested.
There is always the question, what have our universities contributed by way of research towards national needs and to the cause of development? This question is asked in many ways in many a forum.
I am quite sure that most of those who question have not taken much effort in engaging researchers or even staff from universities in trying to get an answer. If one obviously cares and one seeks an answer to this question, one may find some quite interesting contributions and data – not only on a national scale but on a global scale as well.
One aspect I would readily agree – Public sector universities have never been very good at marketing themselves even if they teach marketing. A paradox but understood in some way when you find out that the students are simply sent to all the universities with universities really having nothing to do with the process.
No one needs to market themselves as students simply have to fight it out for the places on offer and then join in. Some try to increase the intake without much effort in providing additional resources as there is a steady demand and we have significantly more unsatisfied students due to quite limited entry opportunities.
Unlike in other countries, once increased there is also no chance of reducing intakes if the job market has changed in the years to come. The stress being on undergraduate enrolments and teaching, our universities have not been able to position them as research universities.
This vital aspect today is receiving serious attention by policy makers. A welcome change, which hopefully will not be late in materialising, as it is important to Sri Lanka. It is not again waking up to find suddenly the university has been transformed into a research university but one has to work hard and smart in getting to this position.
One must not forget that better awareness creates better engagement and chances for ideas to reach market exponentially increases. Some impactful research and strong positive communication is thus the order of the day for our public universities. R&D spending
Sri Lanka is not a well-known spender in research and development and still spends a meagre 0.16% of our GDP on this endeavour. This is woefully inadequate to support a strong R&D program. As one should know this 0.16% is well below what is required of an economy of our size. Only when we see the breakdown of our economy do we see that R&D has precious little to do with the economy of our country. Well definitely at present the two are delinked.
The battle of the Fall Armyworm is an interesting saga playing out in the open right now. The battle with asbestos, MCPA and glyphosate and also on plastics – the normal, biodegradable and the oxobiodegradable – too is playing out in the open though some of these fires may be smouldering to different degrees today.
Of course we do have the long standing CKDu which recently is not exactly occupying the centre pages and headlines and when we have to depend on an unscientific media, evidence-based decision making is always at a low point. There is always an opportunity and a need for research as can be seen. Hantana Vision
When a copy of Hantana Vision landed on the table, it was quite refreshing reading. One certainly is informed of happenings – both past and present – of what is going on at University of Peradeniya. This is just the type of communication needed and UoP is perhaps the only university doing a publication like this. We do have normal newsletters but they cover quite general events and this is specifically on research – the most important.
The International Research Affairs Office of UoP publishes Hantana Vision biannually, features research, discussions with researchers and specific project groups and brings out these stories to the general public. As UoP is the most diverse of our universities in Sri Lanka, the magazine too discloses the diverse multidisciplinary research that is taking place in the university. Hopefully the e-version of the magazine too has an extended circulation list. Now corporates including other media can use this disseminated knowledge to further use.
As per Dr. Shameen Jinadasa, Hantana Vision is the symbol of the proud research culture of University of Peradeniya. Today among all universities and research institutes UoP leads in research analysis in terms of overall quality and is a close second to University of Colombo on quantity.
Comparing countries it is heartening to note that the research quality has been well above the global average as well as better than some of the economically stronger countries. What if more support is given and the decision makers make an effort to connect? Issues of Hantana Vision can be accessed from https://www.pdn.ac.lk/uop/iao/rm/v4i2/index.html Communication is key
Prof. Nandalal who is Editor-in-Chief of Hantana Vision acknowledges the need and the issue in his editorial – “Communication of research findings to the general public is a prime responsibility of researchers though they are not sufficiently trained for that task… Their ability to communicate science to the general public is questionable.”
UoP’s activities in internal training for its staff in communications is indicated. Hantana Vision is quite specific about communicating to the general public in simple language. Hence this effort is to be appreciated very much. One must note that in universities today, of course outside Sri Lanka, there are specific teams available to convert research findings of researchers into specific journal publications and other communications.
External communications are held in such a high value because international ratings matter a lot. These teams receive incentives when the papers are published and ratings achieved. Specific content managers too exist considering the need to be present in the all-important social media space another weak aspect of our researchers. Well you cannot excel in research if you are to stay glued to a mobile screen!
The local researcher constrained in many ways in doing research is also constrained somewhat in the communication side as well due to these recent developments elsewhere not being executed in the local system. Though professional firms to support research communications do not exist in Sri Lanka as yet, shady thesis and project writing on demand has taken root in supporting the mushrooming higher education sector. We obviously excel in areas where one should not excel! Inter-disciplinary research
Reading the news I found that UoP has given birth to inter-disciplinary research in Sri Lanka through the initiative of earth scientists. The findings listed under that are quite interesting.
A landmark research paper had been the one by Dissanayake and Senaratne (1982) revealing for the first time in history that incidence of cardiovascular diseases is relatively less in people who drink hard water.
National water supply schemes had been forever impacted by the research and the publication of the Hydrogeochemical Atlas of Sri Lanka. All these work had led to pioneering the subject of Medical Geology. The international publication (of Prof. C.B. Dissanayake and Prof. Chandrajith) is a best seller with the eversion downloaded around 9,200 times and a recommended textbook externally.
Knowing the expert knowledge available in our institutions of this nature, considering the infamous incident at Rathupaswala perhaps is an indication that the gap that exist between the local decision makers and the universities can only be declared as significant.
A lighter yet instructive write-up is the discussion with Prof. Ranaweera – Old Morris Minor takes him places. His unique structural engineering contributions to analysis of ancient stupas is interesting where he uses modern analytical techniques and confirms the shapes selected by the ancient builders to be the most appropriate.
Sri Lanka witnesses three to four citizens succumbing to oral cancer every day and the agent is the traditional habit of betel chewing. The significance of the research by the Centre for research in Oral Cancer at UoP is globally recognised. I can only give a glimpse to its contents. It provides some answers to the question that I indicated at the beginning. A great effort
UoP with much history definitely has research one can boast of. As indicated they are taking steps to support the current needs. The rest of the university community too should take notice. The question raised had been a general one asked from all!
There is definitely a need for change in the way research carried out by the local universities and ensuring impact should be kept in mind. Selection, ideation, research and execution and finally communication perhaps has to be elevated a notch higher. The more recent universities definitely need support in balancing the significant education demand while having to allocate some quality time for research.
Thank you Hantana Vision – it was pleasant reading on important matters and hope it can be a quarterly. I know that the collective effort must be acknowledged as the expenditure of time and energy is to communicate to the public and knowing very well that there are not much rewards for this effort other than the happiness of serving the common man.
When Israeli occupation forces shot three secondary school students, critically injuring two of them, last week, it was hardly an isolated incident.
The students were injured after soldiers raided Tuqu village near the West Bank city of Bethlehem, surrounding a high school. The military fired tear gas and live ammunition after being confronted by youths.
The frequency of such violence in or near Palestinian schools in the West Bank has increased during the current academic year.
“Incidents of interference in schools by Israeli forces” include “threats of demolition, clashes on the way to school between students and security forces, teachers stopped at checkpoints, and the violent actions of Israeli forces and settlers on some occasions,” according to a statement by United Nations officials.
The bulk of the 111 “interferences to education” in the West Bank documented by the UN in 2018 took place in the last four months of the year.
“More than half of the verified incidents involved live ammunition, tear gas and stun grenades fired into or near schools by Israeli forces, impacting the delivery of education or injuring students,” according to the UN officials.
Israeli forces demolished or seized five Palestinian schools in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, last year, and 50 more are under threat of demolition.
“Orief secondary school for boys near Nablus has also been forced closed twice due to settler violence, and children from this school have been hospitalized with multiple injuries, including from gunshots,” the UN officials add.
Regular violence in Hebron
In the H2 area of Hebron, where Palestinians live in close proximity to hostile Israeli settlers, “tear gas is regularly used around schools, and new measures are being applied at checkpoints that expose students and teachers to violence – at one particularly affected H2 school, more than 20 such incidents were documented in 2018.”
Video published by the human rights group B’Tselem shows heavily armed Israeli Border Police forces apprehending students in Hebron’s city center as they were leaving school in December:
Two of the students detained by the Israeli officers were under the age of 12.
One of the boys, 13 years old, was taken to a police station, where he was “interrogated with no parent or other adult acting on his behalf present.”
He was held overnight without being given food or drink until the morning. He was released that afternoon after his father posted bail at a military court, deposited by the soldiers far away from his home.
Soldiers drove the boy to the entrance to al-Arroub refugee camp and removed his handcuffs. One of the soldiers punched the child on the head, causing him to fall to the ground, before they drove off.
Demolitions on permit pretext
Human Rights Watch also emphasizes Israel’s violations of Palestinian children’s right to education in its shadow report to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights review of Israel.
Israeli forces have demolished or confiscated Palestinian school buildings or property in the West Bank at least 16 times since the beginning of this decade, according to the rights group.
“Israeli authorities have justified the destruction or damage to schools on the basis that they lacked building permits from the Israeli military, but the military almost never grants Palestinians building permits in Area C, the 60 percent of the West Bank where it exercises exclusive control,” Human Rights Watch states.
More than a third of Palestinian communities in Area C do not have primary schools and some 1,700 children are forced to walk five or more kilometers to school due to road closures and lack of infrastructure.
“The long distances and fear of harassment by settlers or the military lead some parents to take their children out of school,” Human Rights Watch adds.
Gaza schools attacked
The Israeli military also disrupts Palestinian children’s education in Gaza.
Schools in both Gaza and southern Israel were closed for at least one day during a three-day military escalation in the coastal enclave last November and some incurred severe damage.
More than half of Gaza’s schools were damaged during Israel’s 51-day assault on the territory in summer 2014.
“Israeli restrictions on the delivery of construction materials to Gaza and a lack of funding have impeded reconstruction of damaged or destroyed facilities,” Human Rights Watch notes.
During that military offensive, Israel hit three schools administered by UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestine refugees, being used as shelters, killing 45, including 17 children.
“The Israeli military alleged that Palestinian fighters were operating near the school, or had fired mortars ‘from the vicinity’ of it, but it has offered no information or evidence to support that claim,” Human Rights Watch adds.
One rocket fired from Gaza during that offensive hit a building used as a daycare in southern Israel, but caused no casualties.
The green slopes of Mashariya have long been a refuge for Silwad residents - but the Israeli army's killing of a teenager is the latest reminder of the absence of safe spaces for Palestinians
Ayman Hamed's mother, Inas (pictured), said her son loved riding motorcycles and was passionate about his studies (MEE/Shatha Hammad)
Published date: 5 February 2019 15:05 UTC | Last update: 6 hours 4 min ago
Flipping through the pages of her eldest son’s schoolbooks, Inas Hamed stops to read the notes he scribbled in the margins, encouraging himself to finish his final year of high school.
A moment later, the 35-year-old mother of six reaches for his closet, rummaging through her son's clothes and other belongings to inhale his lingering scent.
"I still cannot believe it. My son had just been with me," Inas told Middle East Eye.
'He was fine. He was telling me about his dreams to finish university and he was playing with his brothers and joking with his father'
- Ayman's mother
On 25 January,Ayman was shot and killed by the Israeli army one kilometre from his home in the village of Silwad, east of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank.
That was the last day the 17-year-old spent with his family, his mother said.
It was a Friday, and Ayman, his parents and his siblings decided to take advantage of sunny skies to have a picnic in one of the village's lush areas, known as Mashariya.
Inas said she prepared Ayman's favourite lunch for the occasion.
"We had lunch together and Ayman brought chocolate with him, which he shared with his siblings. We went home after two hours, but Ayman decided to return to Mashariya with his friends to hang out," she said.
Blooming with olive, almond and cypress trees, Mashariya is one of the natural extensions of Silwad and is a popular destination for families of the village.
But the area’s proximity to Highway 60, which runs north-south through the West Bank, has turned it into dangerous territory, particularly due to the continuous presence of Israeli soldiers and settlers there.
Ayman's father, Ahmad Othman Hamed, holds up a photo of his son (MEE/Shatha Hammad)
On that calm Friday, after only a few hours in the area, the group of boys was approached by at least three Israeli soldiers. The soldiers fired live ammunition and Ayman was shot in the chest and fell to the ground. One of his friends was shot in the arm, while the others fled.
Less than 15 minutes later, the Israeli army said Ayman was dead, accusing him of throwing stones towards Highway 60.
A shock
Between 2014 and 2016, Palestinians say they witnessed an escalation in confrontations between residents of Silwad and the Israeli army, with clashes often taking place at the entrance to the town.
During this time, Inas said she tightened her control over Ayman, preventing him from leaving the house when confrontations would break out, usually on Fridays.
"I would sit with Ayman at home to make sure he would not leave the house. I was afraid that they would detain him like they arrest other children in the villages," she said.
Inas said she would even check her son's Facebook posts, fearing that he would write something that Israel would consider to be “incitement” - and that could get him arrested. But it was normal for Ayman to go to Mashariya with his friends.
I never expected that he would be killed. There is no reason for them to kill my son and to deprive me of him
- Inas, Ayman Hamed's mother
"I never expected that he would be killed," Inas said. "There is no reason for them to kill my son and to deprive me of him."
Inas described her son as social, saying he loved to help those around him. She recalled how he once borrowed money from her to help a friend whose family was in a difficult financial situation.
"Ayman was not a desperate teen. He took his studies very seriously and wanted to succeed, he said he wanted to be someone important one day," his mother said, adding that he had a cheerful disposition.
His father, Ahmad Othman Hamed, said Ayman took after-school classes and achieved an 85-percent average in his first semester this year. His son planned to attend the prestigious Birzeit University near Ramallah, he said.
Ayman also loved to ride motorcycles and Ahmad said he promised to buy him one once he graduated from high school this summer.
"I was looking at him through the rear-view mirror when we went out for the picnic. I never expected that that would be the last time Ayman would come out with us. I never expected to lose my firstborn like that - and that quickly," his father said.
Ahmad said the doctors who examined Ayman's body said he was shot in the chest from a distance of about 200 metres. The doctors said the bullet "pierced his arteries and lacerated his liver before exiting his body, leading to severe internal bleeding," Ahmad said.
The Israeli army justified the killing of Ayman, claiming he was in an area near Highway 60. But Ayman’s father says his son was with his friends on land that belongs to the family in Mashariya.
Other incidents in the area
This isn't the first time a Palestinian youth has been shot in Mashariya.
On 23 July 2013, Ahmad helped take a 14-year-old Palestinian boy, Jihad Hammad, to a hospital after he was shot twice by Israeli soldiers.
Hammad, who is now 20 years old, said he and his friends were herding sheep in the area when three Israeli soldiers approached them.
“We were afraid so we ran," Hammad told Middle East Eye.
"The soldiers then began firing live bullets from a distance of no more than 25, 30 metres. I was shot with a bullet in my neck and another in my hand. Both bullets entered and exited my body and I suffered a severe haemorrhage.
"My friends helped to get me out of the area and after a little while, Ahmad [Ayman's father] came and transferred me to the emergency centre in Silwad, then to a hospital in Ramallah," he continued.
The lush green area near the Palestinian village of Silwad has been the site of several shootings by Israeli soldiers and settlers in recent years (MEE/Shatha Hammad)
In the aftermath of the shooting, Hammad lost about 80 percent of his ability to speak because one of the bullets struck his pharynx and burned his vocal tendons. He also couldn't move one hand for several months before undergoing a number of surgeries and doing physical therapy.
Hammad said he continues to suffer from his wounds - he still feels pain in his hand - but most of his speech has returned.
The psychological trauma of the shooting persists, however. He said he faints when he sees blood and refuses to go to the area where he was shot, fearful that the painful memories will come rushing back.
Israeli settler violence
Israeli soldiers are not the only danger for Palestinians in Mashariya, as settlers have also descended upon the nature area and attacked Palestinian youth.
In addition to Highway 60 adjacent to Mashariya, the settlement of Ofra lies just south of Silwad on confiscated village lands, while an army base sits to the east.
On 17 June 2017, Ibrahim Othman was shot at by settlers in Mashariya, who claimed the 20-year-old had been throwing stones.
His mother, Alia Hamed, said her son was shot in the back by the settlers and then detained by Israeli soldiers, who later took him to Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem.
"We were forbidden from visiting him or taking care of him. It was a very difficult time. I was on the verge of going crazy out of fear of losing him. The day after, our lawyer was able to visit him," Alia told MEE.
Palestinian teen shot dead by Israeli forces in West Bank town of Silwad
After being detained for six days, Ibrahim was tried at Israel's notorious Ofer military court and subsequently released off the side of the road near Qalandiya military checkpoint, which cuts Ramallah off from Jerusalem.
His mother said Ibrahim managed to call his family to pick him up and take him to a hospital to deal with his serious health condition. He underwent surgery two weeks later.
Twenty days after the shooting, however, Israeli soldiers raided the family’s home and arrested Ibrahim once again. During the raid, soldiers also subjected his father to a severe beating.
“Despite Ibrahim's injury, they forced him to walk to an Israeli military post, some two kilometres from the house. He was then taken to the Russian Compound detention centre [in Jerusalem], where he endured intensive interrogation for 35 days," said Alia.
Ibrahim remains in detention in Israeli prisons. While he has not been convicted, he has been accused of throwing stones near Highway 60, based on the testimony of the settler who fired at him, and faces a prison sentence of up to seven years.
That settler has not faced any accountability for shooting her son, Alia said, despite an Israeli army report revealing that the settler did not have a licence to carry a weapon.
While the green slopes of Mashariya have long been a refuge for Silwad residents to momentarily escape the hardships of life, Ayman's death stands as the latest reminder of the absence of safe spaces for Palestinians under the occupation.
February 5, 2019, 12:00 pm 
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Israeli forces shutter a school in the West Bank city of Nablus in October 2018.
