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com -
SUNDAY, AUGUST 14 2022

www.sundayobserver.lk
SRI LANKA’S ENGLISH NEWSPAPER WITH THE LARGEST CIRCULATION
Vol.95 - No 33 Pages 108 Rs. 150.00 

misundErsTood
PAGE sri lAnkAn

14 GymnsAsT
bEAuTy...
EvEryonE musT
PAGE PAGE Covid-19: nEThmi AhinsA,
GET ToGEThEr
04 To GET ouT of
ThE Crisis 17 TimE To GET
sErious AGAin
An olymPiC GAmEs
mEdAl AsPirAnT

Electricity rate twenty-six new projects signeD Yuan Wang 5

hike, a PUCSL here from
initiative - CEB
By Chamikara Weerasinghe
BOI achIeves August 16-22

50 percent Of Its
Ceylon Electricity Board
(CEB) spokesman A.R. Nava-
mani yesterday told the Sun-
day Observer that increasing
monthly electricity charges by

74 percent was not a decision of
the CEB and added that the util-
ity regulator, the Public Utili-
ties Commission of Sri Lanka
(PUCSL) decided to increase
the tariff as per its cost-based
electricity revision.
“But the tariff was increased
in consultation with the CEB,”
he said.
Navamani was responding
to the question as to why the
CEB increased its electricity
tariff by an unexpected 75 per-
cent at a time the people are
facing price shocks when they
go to buy essential consumer
goods, such as bread, eggs,
canned fish, sugar and dhal
among other things.
SEE PAGE 2
Investment targets
The Board of Investment
(BOI) of Sri Lanka has achieved
about half of its investment tar-
gets for the year. The BOI had set
a target of US$ 2000 million for
this year as part of its new Invest-
ment Promotion Initiative, BOI
Director General Renuka Weera-
koon told the Sunday Observer.
The BOI has registered 75
investment projects totalling
1,290 million US dollars and
signed 26 new projects. The re-
maining 49 projects are set to
be expanded, she said.
She said that the country re-
ceived 228 million US dollars in in-
vestment in the first quarter of the
year and that it would not be diffi-
DG Renuka Weerakoon
cult to meet the Board’s set target of
2,000 million US dollars under the
current conditions.
The BOI has brought in foreign
direct investments totalling 2,020
million US dollars to the country
since its inception.
She said the BOI currently
manages approximately 1,500 in-
dustries..
The BOI currently oversees
approximately 1,500 industries.
There are 280 projects in the
Free Trade Zones.
More than 500,000 Sri Lank-
ans are employed by BOI indus-
tries, with 140,000 working in
Free Trade Zones.
The Embassy of the People’s
Republic of China on August 12,
2022 informed the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs via Diplomatic
Note that the Vessel Yuan Wang
5 was scheduled to arrive in the
port of Hambantota on August
16, 2022 and applied for clear-
ance for replenishment purpos-
es for the new dates - August 16
to 22, 2022.
Having considered all material
in place, on August 13, 2022, the
clearance to the... SEE PAGE 2

Election,
no answer
to political
crisis
– Vidura
Wickramanayaka
By Uditha Kumarasinghe

Minister of Buddhasasana, Re-

Colombo’s seaside promenade has again become a haven for rest and relaxation for people from all walks
of life and tourists following the withdrawal and removal of Aragalaya protestors and their camps from the
Galle Face Green after nearly four months. With the kite season now in full swing, a young boy flies a kite
at Galle Face yesterday. Pic: Dushmantha Mayadunne
For inFormeD policy Decisions
CBSL sets up Stakeholder
Engagement Committee
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) to broaden
its engagement with key stakeholders of the econo-
my set up the Stakeholder Engagement Committee
(SEC) by replacing the Monetary Policy Consultative
Committee (MPCC) and the Financial System Sta-
bility Consultative Committee (FSSCC) of the CBSL
that were in operation previously.
TheSECischairedbyProf.SirimalAbeyratne,Profes-
sorinEconomics,DepartmentofEconomics,University
of Colombo and comprises the following 17 personali-
ties from the private sector and academia as members.
Ashique M Ali, Chairman, Sri Lanka...
SEE PAGE 2
ligious and Cultural Affairs, Vidu-
ra Wickramanayaka said an elec-
tion will not be the answer to the
current political crisis right now,
adding that the incumbent Gov-
ernment should be given some
time to perform.
“An election means that the
people will have new hope but as
of now, nobody will get a clear-cut
majority in Parliament. Even if an
election is held tomorrow, there
won’t be a clear-cut majority for
any party. Again, they will have
Cannabis plant at to form an alliance or an All-Par-
ty Government (APG). Therefore,
Galle Face protest site there is no use in conducting an
election at this juncture,” the Min-
Drug aDDicts anD criminals ister told the Sunday Observer yes-
terday.
useD camp as cover - police Responding to the comment by
By Leon Berenger the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
(JVP) and certain other sections
An assortment that holding a General Election is
of suspected nar- the only solution to the political
cotic related ma- crisis, Minister Wickramanayaka
terial including asked whether dollars would flow
a Cannabis plant into the country soon after hold-
was seized from ing an election.
the Galle Face “There will be some countries
protest during a which will extend their help, not in
police clean-up operation after the protesters had aid, but in loans but we have to re-
decamped from the area, a senior official said yes- paythoseloans.Eventhecreditlines
terday. The material included needles,... SEE PAGE 2 which have... SEE PAGE 2
2021 DailyNews and SundayObserver epaper -Lanka News E Paper -lankanewsepaper@gmail.com -
2 SUNDAY OBSERVER AUGUST 14, 2022

News

Tight security for former President in Thailand

Former President Gotabaya
Rajapaksa has requested Thai au-
thorities to let him venerate some
of Bangkok’s world-renowned Bud-
dhist temples, Thai media reported
yesterday. Former President Raj-
apaksa flew by private jet from Sin-
gapore to Thailand on Thursday.
Thai Foreign Ministry sources said
his stay in Thailand will be treated
confidentially.
Thai Security authorities have
however advised the former Presi-
dent to confine his stay to the hotel
in view of security considerations.
Thai authorities are reported to be
studying the former President’s new
request.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
spokesperson Tanee Sangrat said
in a social media post that Thailand
had received a request from Raj-
apaksa to enter the country.
Sangrat said that as a holder of
a Sri Lankan diplomatic passport,
Rajapaksa can enter Thailand with-
out a visa for up to 90 days, saying
the ousted leader’s stay is tempo-
rary and he is not seeking political
asylum.

National organisations hail

appointment of new PM
A meeting between national
organisations and Prime Minister
Dinesh Gunawardena was held on
August 10, at the Prime Minister’s
Office.
Ven. Medagoda Abhayatissa
Thera, Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekara,
Wasantha Bandara, lawyer Kaly-
ananda Thiranagama, Prof. R.B.
Herath, Engineer Keerthi Wick-
ramaratne, specialist Dr. Harris
Pathirage, lawyer Madumali Alwis,
Primal Fernando, Yasas Dharma-
dasa, Senaratne de Silva and several
other scholars representing nation-
al organisations participated at this
event.
Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekara
said, “Together with Dinesh Gu-
nawardena then MP, we brought
the real struggles to life in the past.
Today, there are struggles that
Pix by Sulochana Gamage meet the needs of foreign interests
and they are done for money.
They cannot be called strug-
gles. Reactionaries who try to de-
stabilise the country in economic,
social, religious and cultural per-
spectives are working rapidly in
different ways.
In such a situation, on behalf of
all the national organisations, we
thank you for your commitment to
the country by accepting this im-
portant position. We believe that
you will be able to turn the country
in the right direction based on the
mission you have carried forward
on behalf of the nation for four de-
cades. Meanwhile, the combination
of the President and you becomes a
great strength for the country.”
Taking part in the event, Ven.
Medagoda Abhayatissa Thera said:
“It is very important for the country
that you have been appointed as the
Prime Minister since you have com-
mitted yourself to protect the na-
tional identity of the country even
in and outside of the Parliament.
Our organisations have presented
a program for the all-party Govern-
ment that will be implemented in
the future. We hope that you will
study it and take it forward. Reac-
tionaries are engaged in a grand op-
eration of discrediting progressive
characters who voice the needs of
the country.”
Kalyananda Thiranagama said:
“We reversed some unimaginable
laws that were harmful to the coun-
try. You were also with us that day
providing a giant strength. No one
thought that we would win the case
against the Foreign Exchange Act.
But we did it that day. We have re-
gained that confidence today. Let’s
work with the right decision togeth-
er”.
Dr. Wasantha Bandara said that:
“You to be in the office as the Prime
Minister is a great strength and a
beacon light for national organisa-
tions. You are the only person who
can save us if we go into bad situa-
tions on this journey. If public trust
is directed in the right direction,
the struggles will disappear. If they
head towards right path within that
program, we will contribute.”
“You are the only leader who
consistently followed a nation-first
policy,” Prof. R B Herath said and
assured, “we would support you to
implement that policy forward in
the correct path”.
Attorney-at-Law Madumali Al-
wis called for immediate change in
the elections system, which she de-
scribed as corrupt. “We are aware
of your commitment to the princi-
ple of electoral reforms.
I urge you to use your current
exalted position as a weapon for that
purpose. The belief in the country
as well as your belief is that a sys-
tem of elections that is accountable
to the people should be introduced.
We call on you to introduce a new
income tax formula suitable to our
country.
Our appeal to you is to lessen
the cost of living burden faced by
the people,” she said.
Engineer Keerthi Wickrama-
ratne, Yasas Dharmadasa and Pri-
mal Fernando also spoke.
The Patriotic National Move-
ment, National Scholars Monks
Association, 56’ Children Organisa-
tion, Union of National Organisa-
tions, Global Sri Lankan Forum,
Professional Engineers Association,
Vijayagrahi National Organisation,
Buddhist- Christian Brotherhood,
Patriotism Scholars Association and
the Patriotic National Front were
among the organisations that par-
ticipated in the event.

Dialog supports Sri Dalada
perahera for 16th year
As a key contributor and advo-
cator of the major cultural and re-
ligious festivals in the country, Dia-
log Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka’s premier
connectivity provider, once again
extended its support to the Kandy
Esala Perahera (also known as the
Sri Dalada Perahera or the Festival
of the Tooth) which was held from
August 2 – 12.
One of the oldest and most ven-
erated religious festivals in Sri Lan-
ka, the Sri Dalada Perahera is held
in the month of Esala (July or Au-
gust) to commemorate the first ser-
Yuan Wang 5 here... From page 1
.. Embassy of the People’s Re-
public of China was conveyed for the
deferred arrival of the vessel from
August 16-22, 2022, a media release
issued by the Ministry of Foreign Af-
fairs stated yesterday.
The Ministry reiterated Sri Lan-
ka’s policy of cooperation and friend-
ship with all countries.
“Security and cooperation in the
neighbourhood is of utmost prior-
ity. It is Sri Lanka’s intention to safe-
guard the legitimate interests of all
countries, in keeping with its inter-
national obligations. The Ministry is
deeply appreciative of the support,
solidarity and understanding of all
countries, especially in the current
juncture when the country is in the
process of addressing severe eco-
nomic challenges and engaging in
multiple domestic processes to en-
sure the welfare of the Sri Lankan
people.”
On June 28, 2022, the Embassy
of the People’s Republic of China in
Colombo informed the Ministry via
Diplomatic Note that the Chinese Sci-
entific Research Ship Yuan Wang 5 is
scheduled to call at the port of Ham-
bantota from August 11 to 17, 2022
Election, no answer to... From page 1
...been extended by different coun-
tries, we have to repay that as well. So,
the burden on us will be more.”
The Minister said right now, an
enormous amount of money will be
needed to conduct an election.
“If we need political, economic
and social reforms, can’t we do it with
this Legislature? Why go for an elec-
tion spending huge amounts of mon-
ey again?”.
He said, “I feel some people think
this is the best time to hold an elec-
tion so that they will be in power. The
greed for power has not taken us any-
where. There are enough examples in
mon of the Buddha after he attained
enlightenment. A 10-day event, the
Kandy Esala Perahera pays hom-
age to the Sacred Tooth Relic and its
four guardian deities, Gods Natha,
Vishnu, Kataragama and Goddess
Pattini. The procession appeals to
the Gods, seeking their blessings
for rains that will aid the cultivation
of crops and the prosperity of the
country.
While large crowds of specta-
tors travelled from near and far to
witness the procession, Dialog en-
abled its customers with the facility
for replenishment purposes. While
no rotation of personnel was to take
place during the port call, the Gov-
ernment of Sri Lanka was requested
to provide assistance and positive
consideration to the request by the
Embassy of the People’s Republic of
China.
The Ministry, as per accepted
practice related to such requests for
‘diplomatic clearance’, circulated the
request among relevant stakehold-
ers in Government for approval - the
Ministry of Defence, the Sri Lanka
Navy and the Telecommunications
Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka
(TRCSL), the release stated.
Following receipt on July 7, 2022
of security clearance from the Minis-
try of Defence for the visit of the ves-
sel for replenishment purposes dur-
ing the stipulated period, as well as a
No Objection Letter from the TRCSL
for the use of frequencies and com-
munication equipment subject to
non-interference and non-protection
basis, diplomatic clearance was con-
veyed to the Embassy of the People’s
Republic of China by the Ministry on
July 12, 2022 for the vessel to make a
port call at the port of Hambantota
our own country as well as in other
countries.”
The Minister said this is the worst
ever crisis we have had. To a certain
extent, an APG will be the medicine
for the ailments that we are undergo-
ing. We have been always treating the
ailments, but not to the cause of the
cancer. There should be sweeping po-
litical, economic and social reforms.
For that Parliament should be one
but what we have observed it is always
divided based on political lines.
Minister Wickramanayaka said ac-
cepting or rejecting Ministerial portfo-
lios is not supported wholeheartedly.
to watch the festival from the com-
fort of their homes by broadcasting
it on Dialog Television.
In its efforts of preserving and
promoting Sri Lanka’s heritage
and culture, Dialog has been a
long-term patron of a multitude of
events across the country, contrib-
uting to the uplift of Sri Lanka’s rich
cultural history. This year will was
the 16th consecutive year Dialog
Axiata has extended its support to
the historical Kandy Esala Festival
and the procession of the Temple of
the Sacred Tooth Relic of Kandy.
for replenishment purposes.
The following conditions high-
lighted by the Ministry of Defence
were also stated – keeping the Au-
tomatic Identification System (AIS)
switched on within the EEZ of Sri
Lanka and no scientific research to
be conducted in Sri Lankan waters.
Subsequently, in light of certain
concerns raised with the Ministry,
the Government of Sri Lanka re-
quested the Embassy of the People’s
Republic of China, by Diplomatic
Note dated August 5, 2022, to defer
the visit of the vessel to Hambantota
Port until the conduct of further con-
sultations on the matter.
The Government has since en-
gaged in extensive consultations at a
high level through diplomatic chan-
nels with all parties concerned, with
a view to resolving the matter in a
spirit of friendship, mutual trust and
constructive dialogue, taking into ac-
count the interests of all parties con-
cerned, and in line with the principle
of sovereign equality of states. In
light of concerns raised, the Ministry
also sought further information and
material that could assist in consulta-
tions on the matter.
Paying mere lip service will not help.
When politicians are in front of a mi-
crophone, they will say they can sup-
port the Government wholeheartedly
but they have to show that in practice.
“Let us get together and choose the
best idea for the sake of the country,
people and future generations. If we
miss this opportunity, there may not
be a future for the country. At pres-
ent, we should forget our political dif-
ferences and divisive ideas, thoughts
and utopias that we have. As Cabinet
Members, we have taken up the chal-
lenge of bringing this country out of
this mess,” he added.
Adopting children
Over 5,000 on waiting lists
BY S.M. WIJAYARATNE,
KURUNEGALA CORR
Over 5,000 local applicants
are on the waiting lists to adopt
children legally and have sought
permission from the Department
of Probation and Child Care.
Cannabis plant at Galle Face... From page 1
...empty syringes and capsules,
medicine cards used by drug depen-
dants to inject themselves with vari-
ous narcotic substances, he said.
He said one person was also ar-
rested by the Fort Police along with
a Cannabis (Ganja) cigar during the
operation.
However, it is also possible that
the material seized could also have
been used by volunteer medical per-
Electricity rate hike, a PUCSL... From page 1
He said that the CEB spends
about Rs. 54 to produce a single
electricity unit but sells a unit at Rs.
16.50.
The regulatory body is empow-
ered to increase the electricity tariff
in accordance with the actual cost of
electricity, he said.
The Sunday Observer learns that
some stakeholders who sat with the
PUCSL at the electricity revision
meeting consultations recently said
that it was not the best time to revise
tariffs as people’s economic condi-
tions are difficult.
According to PUCSL sources, the
stakeholders have said that the CEB
and PUCSL have not proved the costs
that are to be covered were reason-
able and it is unfair to revise tariffs
to cover costs that arise as a result of
CBSL sets up Stakeholder... From page 1
Association for Software Servic-
es Companies, Kapila P. Ariyaratne,
Chairman, Sri Lanka Banks’ Associa-
tion, Sanjaya Bandara, President, In-
stitute of Chartered Accountants of
Sri Lanka, Dhamitha Cooke, Chief
Financial Officer, Stassen Group of
Companies, Dr. Priyanga Dunus-
inghe, Senior Lecturer, Department
of Economics, University of Colom-
bo, Priantha Fernando, Chairman,
Sri Lanka Tourism Development
Authority, Murtaza Jafferjee, Chair-
man, Advocata Institute, Christo-
pher Joshua, Managing Director,
Access Engineering, Rohan Masa-
korala, Founder, Shippers’ Academy
Colombo (Pvt) Ltd, Reyaz Mihular,
These requests have been re-
ceived at provincial level and the
applicants have been waiting for
over five years.
Most of the requests have
been made to the Department
from the Western Province and
the number exceeds 1,000, Senior
sonnel that had pitched up camp at
the site, the official said.
“We were aware that several un-
desirables had infiltrated the protest
camp including drug addicts and
other criminals since it served as a
perfect cover for their activities.
However, we were forced to ig-
nore them owing to the prevailing
tense situation at the protest site.
Raiding the protest camp would
CEB inefficiency. They had spotlight-
ed unreasonable salary costs and the
high number of CEB employees, and
also that the CEB is corrupt and its
processes and accounts should be
thoroughly audited.
According to PUCSL sources,
they are working with the CEB to
resolve issues related to the CEB
not encouraging renewable energy-
based electricity generation and the
action needed to promote the same.
According to sources, the CEB
has not conducted cost of service
studies, making it impossible to de-
termine whether the tariffs are fair.
The CEB has not sought economists’
advice or followed well-established
tariff revision procedures.
According to consumer protec-
tion organisations, the CEB must
Non-Executive Chairman, Bairaha
Farms, Ashroff Omar, CEO, Bran-
dix Lanka, Lakshman Silva, former
CEO, DFCC Bank, Rohan Tenna-
koon, Chairman, Finance Houses
Association of Sri Lanka, Rajendra
Theagarajah, Past Chairman, Cey-
lon Chamber of Commerce, Prof.
Lakshman R. Watawala, President,
Institute of Certified Management
Accountants of Sri Lanka, Dr. Gane-
shan Wignaraja, Senior Research As-
sociate, Anushka Wijesinha, Econo-
mist and Co-Founder, Centre for a
Smart Future.
The primary role of this high-
level consultative committee is to
represent the views and sentiments
Probation Officer of the Kurune-
gala district, Mrs. K.M. Kamala
Herath told the Sunday Observer.
The Department has found
it difficult to meet all these de-
mands as it has only a limited
number of inmates in its orphan-
ages.
have triggered-off a major public
outcry, an adverse reaction from
human rights activists and possibly
even a reaction from the interna-
tional community,” he said.
The protesters who occupied
the Galle Face Green on April 9,
demanding a ‘system change’ fold-
ed up their camp earlier this week
following assurances from the au-
thorities.
stop paying bonuses and other perks
to its employees parallel with the
tariff increase. CEB employees have
threatened to strike if their bonuses
are not paid or their overtime hours
are reduced.
When asked asked whether CEB
executives had considered cutting
bonuses and other allowances paid
to employees to save the organisa-
tion, as most other institutions had
done. CEB spokesman Navamani
said that the CEB has nothing to do
with threatened strikes by CEB trade
unions because they have the right
to freedom of expression.
When the PUCSL Chairman
Janaka Ratnayaka was contacted to
inquire about the tariff increase, he
declined to comment saying it was
not the right time.
of the private sector and academia
on economic conditions and the out-
look, considering the overall eco-
nomic development, particularly
in the monetary and financial sec-
tors of the economy. The SEC is ex-
pected to provide feedback from the
viewpoint of the stakeholders of the
economy on the policy measures ad-
opted by the CBSL, thus enabling the
CBSL to make informed policy deci-
sions in a more consultative manner.
The inaugural meeting of the
SEC was held on August 10 at the
CBSL with the participation of the
Governor of the CBSL, Dr. P. Nanda-
lal Weerasinghe, and senior CBSL of-
ficers.
2021 DailyNews and SundayObserver epaper -Lanka News E Paper -lankanewsepaper@gmail.com -
SUNDAY OBSERVER AUGUST 14, 2022 3

Interview/News

All-Party Interim Govt

TNA will help in national policy

- Shanakiyan Rasamanickam
WE ARE AN ISLAND NATION, AND WE CANNOT YOU CAN’T POSSIBLY PICTURE EMERGENCY REGULATIONS WERE PREVIOUSLY USED TO THE PRESIDENT MAY APPOINT A COMMITTEE TO
SIMPLY DECLARE OURSELVES INDEPENDENT AND AN ALL-PARTY GOVERNMENT SUPPRESS TAMIL CITIZENS, AND IT APPEARS THAT IT IS INVESTIGATE HOW THE COUNTRY’S FOREIGN
WITHDRAW FROM THE GLOBAL POLITICAL MAP MADE UP OF CORRUPT MEMBERS NOW BEING USED TO SUPPRESS THE SINHALESE PEOPLE RESERVES FELL FROM $7 BILLION TO ZERO

ferred if the Government removed its will decide whether to give our support them, which means listening to them
emergency regulations that currently or not. and addressing their needs. One of the
in force. main demands of the Aragalaya is ac-
Meanwhile, the SJB Opposition’s countability, hence the slogan “return
constituent parties’ leaders, Sri Lanka Q: What do you think is the the stolen money.”
Muslim Congress Rauff Hakeem, Tam- root cause of the current economic The President may appoint a com-

W
hat will be the model
of the new all-party
interim Government?
They say it will lay the
groundwork for the
country to achieve much-needed polit-
ical stability, thereby attracting inter-
national aid flows. How likely is it that
Sri Lanka will reach a staff-level agree-
ment with the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) to obtain an economic
bailout for its economic recovery?
President Ranil Wickremesing-
he, in his discussions with leaders of
Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya
(SJB), Sri Lanka Freedom Party, and
the leaders of ruling Sri Lanka Podu
Peramuna(SLPP) and its breakaway
constituents, such as Udaya Gam-
manpila- led Pivithuru Hela Urumaya,
Weerawansa-led National Freedom
Front and Vasudeva Nanayakkara- led
Democratic Left Front, has said that
he would like to call the envisioned
all-party interim Government to be
formed, a “state of all-party adminis-
tration” -a ‘Sarva Paakshika Paalanaya.”
Sajith Premadasa, the main Oppo-
sition SJB leader, has highlighted that
the proposed all-party interim Govern-
ment model should be built on a new
and empowered parliamentary com-
mittee system. He explained that the
committee system should be working
on a national program.
Locking horns
He said that the SJB will reject any
political ruse by the Government to
form an interim Government by way of
offering ministerial portfolios, which
he described as crowning horns on
MPs for prolongation of political pow-
er. Premadasa said that SJB members
would not ride on a Rajapaksa general
waste truck under the banner of an all-
party interim Government.
Sri Lanka Freedom Party Leader
Maithripala Sirisena has announced
that SLFP will support an all-party in-
terim Government in keeping with a
party’s policy decision to work towards
political stability as the party believes
that political stability will be of para-
mount importance for economic re-
covery.
SJB MP Field Marshal Sarath Fon-
seka has pointed out to President
Wickremesinghe that people, especial-
ly the youth who participated in the re-
cent Aragalaya protests which deposed
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, did not
come to Galle Face demanding gas and
fuel alone. One of their main demands
was that the Government takes action
against deep-rooted corruption that
has penetrated it at all levels. He also
said that international donor countries
and agencies, such as the Internation-
al Monitoring Fund, would have pre-
il Progressive Alliance’s Mano Gane-
san, and All Ceylon Makkal Congress’
Rishad Bathiudeen have agreed to help
to form an all-party interim Govern-
ment.
The left-wing Janatha Vimukthi
Peramuna (JVP), meanwhile, declared
last week that they would not support
the President’s efforts to form a tem-
porary all-party Government. They
declined to attend a meeting on the
matter last Monday despite President
Wickremesinghe’s offer. In a letter to
JVP leader Anura Dissanayaka, Presi-
dent Wickremesinghe has expressed
his regret about the JVP’s decision.
Stability
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA)
has said that it will support Wick-
remesinghe’s efforts to form an all-
party interim administration because
it is the only way to achieve political
stability. The TNA has said that they
want the Government to repeal the
emergency regulations and demon-
strate a genuine commitment to ad-
dressing people’s problems and the
long-standing Tamil national question.
As TNA MP Shanakiyan Ragul Ra-
japuthiran Rasamanickam said, the
All-party Interim Government must
have a national policy framework for
economic recovery in order for their
party to agree to and participate in it.
According to him, how Sri Lanka man-
ages its diplomatic connections will be
critical to the process.
The MP was educated at Trinity
College, Kandy. He is the grandson of
former MP S. M. Rasamanickam. He
had been a Sri Lanka Freedom Party
organiser in Paddiruppu and was an
associate of the Rajapaksa regime.
The Sunday Observer spoke with
MP Rasamanickam in an environment
where the majority of political parties
have made a principled agreement to
form an interim all-party Government
with the goal of preventing the country
from degenerating into anarchy, dete-
rioration of human rights, civil unrest,
and further economic ruin as a result
of the lack of planned action on the
part of the Government for social and
economic recovery.
We questioned Rasamanickam
about the rationale behind their be-
lief that an all-party interim adminis-
tration is required now that the Par-
liament has chosen a new President
and Prime Minister.
Rasamanickam: “Our party, the Tam-
il National Alliance, voted in favor of
Dullas Alahapperuma along with the
independent breakaway group of the
SLPP and the SLFP at the Presidential
vote held in Parliament with a view to
establishing an all-party interim Gov-
ernment. Since it was the only work-
able way to bring people together to
get the economy back on track, our
plan was to establish a genuine all-par-
ty interim Government.
There were difficult choices to be
made. The public needed to be made
aware of the situation. There cannot,
in a sense, be any spoilers. It will be
challenging to implement reforms if
only one party tries. This is the exact
reason we chose to support Dullas.
“The country urgently needs it to
get everyone’s act together to get out of
the crisis it is in.”
“When Ranil Wickremesinghe was
elected President with SLPP votes, I
expected someone from outside that
party to be appointed Prime Minister.”
It did not occur. “
“Look at the current Cabinet. The
Cabinet is an SLPP Cabinet. The Cabi-
net is essentially the same as it was un-
der President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.”
Q: However, they did remove
Professor G.L. Peris from his posi-
tion as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Did they not?
Rasamanickam: Yes, and they also ap-
pointed Manusha Nanayakkara and
Harin Fernando as ministers; other-
wise, it was the same Cabinet. As a re-
sult, it lacked the characteristics of an
all-party Government.
There are additional issues. For
example, some ministers in the cur-
rent Cabinet are facing various al-
legations. MP Prasanna Ranatunga,
for example, is serving a suspended
sentence for allegedly trying to extort
money from a businessman.
There are other members of the
Pohottuwa (SLPP) party whose credi-
bility is called into question. One of the
main demands made by the Galle Face
protesters and all protesters across the
country was that the stolen money of
the public be returned.
You cannot imagine forming an all-
party Government with corrupt mem-
bers? Members of other political par-
ties would also be unwilling to serve in
such a Government. The public’s trust
in such governments will continue to
shrink. What is the point of joining
such governments if you cannot pun-
ish the corrupt?
On August 3, the Tamil National Al-
liance met the President. We conveyed
our concerns and informed him that
we would be willing to support an all-
party Government based on a national
policy plan on which we can all agree.
Q: In what capacity do you and
your political party intend to join
that Government?
A: That will be decided based on
the national policy plan. Whether to
accept ministerial portfolios and the
stations of that Government is a matter
to be contemplated after reviewing the
policy. If we support, how we support
will be based on that.
Q: The TNA has said that it can
get the help of the Tamil Diaspora
toward resolving the country’s dollar
crisis. Is that on the cards when TNA
offers its support to the Government?
A: It all depends on the nature of
the national policy plan of the interim
Government to be formed. We are will-
ing to support the President in coming
up with the policy. Based on that, we
crisis?
A: The majority of the country’s
52-billion-dollar foreign debt was in-
curred during the battle against terror-
ism. As a result, the unresolved foreign
debt stems from an unresolved politi-
cal issue, the Tamil national question,
which is related to power sharing in a
united Sri Lanka. Even after the battle
against terrorism, it has obtained mas-
sive foreign loans for defence purpos-
es. In spite of all this and decades-long
negotiations to find a solution to the
Tamil national question, it remains
unresolved.
Q: Wasn’t there a strong sense
of national peace between the Tamil
and Sinhalese people during the re-
cent Aragalaya protests?
A: We are very grateful for that uni-
ty. But in terms of political power-shar-
ing, there hasn’t been a political solu-
tion to the enduring Tamil problem.
The current economic crisis can also
be solved by solving this issue.
You can even create an economic
hub in the North and Eastern prov-
inces. Nations like Malaysia have aided
their economic growth by establishing
economic zones and hubs.
As a result of the battle against ter-
rorism, 1.3 million Tamils moved out
of Sri Lanka. Of course, we can con-
vince them to invest in Sri Lanka.
It is crucial that we inform them
that the Tamil people’s rights have
been recognised through the Consti-
tution. The only way forward is for ev-
eryone to agree on a new Constitution.
When I say “all people,” I also mean
the Sinhalese people.
We want to share power in a united
Sri Lanka, not one that is divided.
Q: Are you implying that the
Tamil Diaspora is eager to help Sri
Lanka recover from its current eco-
nomic crisis?
A: Yes, The Tamil Diaspora is will-
ing to help the country to emerge from
the current crisis. The sharing of pow-
er will provide the necessary impetus.
Q: Is President Ranil Wick-
remesinghe treating the Aragalaya
protesters fairly?
A: The Aragalaya movement was
putting pressure on previous President
Gotabaya Rajapaksa because he did
not do what was suitable for the peo-
ple. President Ranil Wickremesinghe
should get rid of the Aragalaya. To
do that, he has to do what is right for
mittee to investigate how the country’s
foreign reserves fell from $7 billion
to zero and who was responsible for
making such decisions that allowed
the country’s economy to dry. He may
investigate who was responsible for
the fertiliser scam, the sugar scam,
and the Easter attack. The President
is expected to focus on critical issues
of accountability. Pursuing Aragalaya
movement’s leaders serves no pur-
pose.
The current President has the po-
tential to succeed. We cannot change
this country’s presidents every other
day. We need economic stability, and
for that, we need political stability.
Q: Given the current geopoliti-
cal situation in the world, is it a good
idea to import fuel from Russia or to
allow Chinese military vessels to sail
into Sri Lanka?
A: Our diplomatic relations have
become strained over the years. Pres-
ident Wickremesinghe himself said
that. We are an island nation, and we
cannot simply declare ourselves inde-
pendent and withdraw from the global
political map. We must exercise ex-
treme caution in our diplomatic rela-
tions.
We must be friends with all coun-
tries, not just China and India. I be-
lieve that experienced diplomats are
required to manage our foreign rela-
tions. Given the current geopolitical
context, you cannot appoint some-
one who is someone’s close friend to
handle diplomatic relations. It would
be best to appoint qualified, experi-
enced individuals to handle foreign
affairs.
Appointing the inexperienced in
diplomatic relations is unthinkable in
the context of an all-party interim Gov-
ernment. At this point, one should be
extremely cautious about our diplo-
matic ties.
Q: What are your thoughts on
enforcing the emergency regulations
or Acts such as the Prevention of Ter-
rorism Act (PTA)?
A: Emergency regulations are
something that successive Sri Lankan
governments have used for the past 40
years. It was previously used to sup-
press Tamil citizens, and it appears
that it is now being used to suppress
the Sinhalese people.
We must have anti-terrorism laws,
but I believe they must be standardised
per international law.
The PTA has been used abusively
to suppress the public. It must be re-
pealed entirely.

Balancing act for Sri Lanka

T
he time has now arrived for us
to consider the energy secu-
rity of the entire Asia Pacific
region as Sri Lanka sits at the
Janus (Roman God of Gates) like the
geographical entrance to the eastern
hemisphere. Sri Lanka is also the gate-
way to modern India with the derelict
old gateway in Bombay now an eye-
sore. Sri Lanka is also the gateway to
the rest of Asia, Middle East and the
African Continent (OIR-ARC region),
and to Australia on the eastern flank
as members of the 23 country strong
IORA.
From the opening lines of the of
famous writer Charles Dickens ‘Tale of
two Cities’, Sri Lanka is having the best
of times and the worst of times with a
new dawn in the offing and ‘les miser-
able’s’ on the other. As I see the altruis-
tic balancing act could be the ultimate
arbiter of this tricky situation.
The known crude oil reserves of
the Asian region is less than five per-
cent of the world total which stands
at about 1000 billion barrels of crude
oil and at current consumption rates
could last till peak oil reaches around
the mid century when the zero emis-
sion target in 2050 is also reached.
The Asia Pacific oil consumption
also reaches its zenith with China and
India gulping it with an unquenchable
thirst as the biggest populations on
planet earth. Today the poor nations
LNG is been diverted to Europe due
THE KNOWN CRUDE OIL RESERVES OF THE ASIAN REGION IS LESS THAN
FIVE PERCENT OF THE WORLD TOTAL WHICH STANDS AT ABOUT 1000 HIGH COMMISSION OF INDIA
BILLION BARRELS OF CRUDE OIL AND AT CURRENT CONSUMPTION RATES COLOMBO
COULD LAST TILL PEAK OIL REACHES AROUND THE MID CENTURY WHEN
THE ZERO EMISSION TARGET IN 2050 IS ALSO REACHED INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION
to the virtual Russian embargo which dence and without delay turn to our
could have long term consequences hydrocarbons onshore in the penin- Indian nationals, their families and friends
to Western European energy needs sula. of India are cordially invited to witness the
and as a result the Asian needs to gi- Sri Lanka has been drilling for
ants like China, Japan and S. Korea over 50 years and from the beginning flag hoisting ceremony on the occasion
could suffer giving Australia the big it has been a controversy when in 1973
LNG supplier a captive market against an oil discovery in the Manner Islands of India's 75 years of Independence on
other giants such as Qatar and the US. of Pesalai was announced with jubila-
With our Petroleum Develop- tion but later dismissed as a hoax or an Monday, 15 August, 2022 at 8.30 a.m.
ment Authority in limbo (West Indian act of sabotage by a high official of the
Dance) and Sri Lanka eagerly awaits CPC and it seems quite clear to all and online.
its self reliant economic base the oil/ sundry that it still continues today?
gas remain untapped beneath layers Live telecast of the program can be viewed
of limestone in the Jaffna Peninsula. Trevor Jayetileke, B.Sc. (Ceylon)
The people wait in queues for the Consultant in Upstream Petroleum on the following link :
next shipment of refined fuel to meet and freelance writer
their daily needs but our PDA does Former Adviser to the Ministry of
not seem to understand the gravity of Petroleum Resources Development of https://www.facebook.com/
the situation and should act with pru- Sri Lanka
swamivivekanandaculturalcentre.colombo
2021 DailyNews and SundayObserver epaper -Lanka News E Paper -lankanewsepaper@gmail.com -
4 SUNDAY OBSERVER AUGUST 14, 2022
Interview/Feature
Should not open our Political setbacks brought the Paying lip-service alone will
doors to anarchy 1956 revolutionary change
M
inister of Buddhasa-
sana, Religious and
Cultural Affairs Vidu-
ra Wickramanayaka
said that we have to
somehow get together and come out
of the current crisis. If everybody is
saying this is the worst ever crisis
but they are just paying lip-service
and that will not bring us out of this
crisis.
The Minister in an interview with
the Sunday Observer said at present
the best medicine for us is to get to-
gether and forget our differences
and party policies. The Minister
said: “If we are developing and pro-
gressing, there shouldn’t be this type
of anarchy. We shouldn’t open our
doors to anarchy. For that, we have
to be patient and magnanimous.
However, according to the prevail-
ing laws of the country, we have to
take action against those who take
the law into their hands.”
Q: Do you think an All-Party
Government (APG) is the only way
out to overcome the current eco-
nomic and political crisis?
A: From the time the so-called in-
dependence was declared in 1948, the
people had the feeling that all the poli-
ticians should get together. Of course,
the gradient was different because
suffrage was allowed only for certain
people or certain classes of the soci-
ety. The massive victory of 1956 by
S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike and the Ma-
hajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) were
due to the fact that most of the parties
got together and there was no contest
with the other leftist parties. It reflect-
“Democracy virtually assures
that only bad and dangerous men
will ever rise to the top of Govern-
ment.” - Hans-Hermann Hoppe
T
he symptoms of distress
and the generalised sense
of disappointment among
people can be indicators
showing the effects of de-
caying conditions of democracy in
Sri Lanka. People in most countries
around the world have come to ac-
cept democracy as the form of Gov-
ernment mainly due to the lack of a
better system.
Most of these, so-called, demo-
cratic countries are still struggling
to keep their citizens out of poverty
and hunger let alone finding effec-
tive ways of improving their econo-
mies and distributing wealth. It may
not be utopian to think that humans
usually do what they think is the best
at any given point in time, a decision
they make using the knowledge they
have at that time.
If that is the case, then all types
of different struggles people are ex-
periencing in their daily survival
game indicate how primitive the
best decisions people have been
making so far are. It also shows that
our collective knowledge is not ad-
vance enough at least to find an ef-
ficient method of distributing the
wealth of the planet, irrespective of
all the technological advancements
we have achieved during that same
duration.
not bring us out of this mess
ed the need of the hour more than the
economic setbacks.
It was the political setbacks
that brought the 1956 revolutionary
change. The bottom-line is to get
together. Whenever the SLFP in the
past had an alliance or some sort
of understanding with other parties
at the elections, it has kept them in
power. With the common candidate
in 2015, other than the SLFP, all the
other parties marched around Mai-
thripala Sirisena’s campaign. So, this
has been the urge but we have not
responded. Even this time, I have my
doubts whether the Party Leaders
and the political parties will respond
to that positively. With the personali-
ties or persons, that will not suffice
as of now. Because this is the worst
ever crisis we had. I think only to a
certain extent, an All-Party Govern-
ment will be the medicine for the ail-
ments that we are undergoing.
There should be sweeping politi-
cal, economic and social reforms.
For that the Parliament should be
one. What we have observed is that
it is always divided. Now there is an
ongoing debate about the President’s
Policy Statement to the Parliament.
What were they debating on? For
three days, we were debating at the
people’s cost and it is almost Rs.10
million per day. Therefore, what I
feel is we have to get down to work.
Actions speak louder than words.
I don’t know why our Legislature
doesn’t understand this. Because we
have to somehow get together and
come out of this crisis.
Q: However, the main Opposi-
tion Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB)
has said that it is ready to assist
the Government wholeheartedly
without accepting any ministerial
portfolios. If the main Opposition
doesn’t accept any portfolios, is
there any possibility of forming an
APG?
Tyranny of democracy
One of the fundamental reasons
why people are struggling to survive
in, what they think are, democratic
systems is their misunderstanding
of democracy itself. Most people
think, or are made to think, that
democracy means having the right
to elect representatives to form a
body which presumably would lead
them to prosperity and happiness
by governing the affairs of the state
through a democratic way.
Therefore, the majority decisions
prevail within the decision-making
bodies from village councils to the
Parliament of the country and the
people have no way of changing a ma-
jority decision even if they see clearly
that the decision is not in their favor.
If they stay true to that type of de-
mocracy, then they will have to elect
people at the next election to create
a majority opposing the decision
that was not beneficial to them. Of
course, there is no guarantee that all
the decisions the new Government
makes would be beneficial to people
either. People receive a lot of bene-
fits during election times since there
are politicians from all competing
parties trying to buy their votes and
the faster economic growth induced
by the Government in power, espe-
cially during the year leading up to
the election.
Disappointments
People are happy that it is their
power that changed the Govern-
ment, and the winning side enjoys
their honeymoon during the first
quarter of the term. Then people,
irrespective of their choice at the
election, will start feeling that their
problems are not being addressed
by the new Government either and
Everyone must get
together to get
out of the crisis
A: It is not accepting or reject-
ing portfolios. It is a blessing that
everybody will be rendering this
course of action for us to come out
of this crisis. We observed this dur-
ing 2008 and 2009 where the whole
country was behind the Govern-
ment at that time. That is why we
were able to win the battle against
terrorism. There was also support
given by the Opposition to a certain
extent. Now this needs more than
that. The magnitude of this crisis is
so immense and we don’t know the
future of our country. If something
goes wrong what will happen? We
cannot predict. Just imagine for all
these years, nobody predicted that
this would happen. There have been
mere speculations but you cannot
pin point. Therefore, accepting or
rejecting portfolios is not supported
wholeheartedly.
As I said earlier, paying a mere
lip service will not help. When the
politicians are in front of a micro-
phone, they will say they can sup-
port wholeheartedly but they have
to show that. For example, there are
two SJB MPs who have accepted Cab-
inet portfolios. I don’t know whether
that was really an eye opener for the
SJB. However, irrespective of our po-
litical differences, we are carrying
on the duties in the Cabinet as one
united body to take this country out
of this mess.
Q: The Opposition alleges
that the Government is suppress-
ing public protests and is violat-
ing the right to peaceful protests.
Would you like to comment?
A: I do believe that there should
be freedom for the people to express
their views about the performance
of the Government. That is accepted
very well. So, it could be a protest
or some other form of manifesta-
tion. Nevertheless, nobody can take
OPINION
spend the middle half of the term
with all types of disappointments.
The fourth quarter of the term will
again be filled with excitement of
hopes and works of Government
change at the next elections, and the
cycle continues.
Politicians make sure that people
will not improve their knowledge
about Government structures, de-
mocracy, economy of the country,
and the country’s obligations and
responsibilities to the global com-
munity so that the people will never
even dream of governing their own
affairs. The true meaning of democ-
racy is based on the concept of ‘self-
governing’ which is based on ‘Civic
Faith’: the belief in people’s innate
capacity to shape their own lives and
our shared lives.
What is even more interesting is
the fact that Sri Lanka and Myanmar,
being two countries with Buddhist
majorities, are going through the
worst political crises of their respec-
tive histories. Since Buddhism basi-
cally explains the importance of true
democratic practices through tak-
ing the responsibility of governing
one’s own affairs within the bigger
purpose of being of service to others
without being a hindrance to them,
these two countries have shown that
not only do most citizens do not un-
derstand democracy, but they also
do not understand Buddhism.
Our journey through ancient
kingdoms to British aristocracy
came to an end in 1948 giving birth
to a plutocracy where the country
was governed by wealthy elite un-
der the covers of a democratically
elected Parliament. Currently the
process seems to be working in the
reverse order where rejecting elit-
ism is popularised and getting elect-
- Vidura Wickramanayaka
the law into their hands by killing
people, assaulting people, burning
houses and damaging the houses
and other public properties.
I know it is not a crime for some
political parties. Because they have
done that earlier as well. They did it in
1986 and also during the 1988-89 era
by burning buses, destroying electric-
ity and telephone lines. We label our-
selves as we are developing and pro-
gressing. Where is the progress and
the development achieved?
Q: Do you think initially the
youth who were involved in the
peaceful protest or ‘Aragalaya’ at
Galle Face were later misled by
some political parties to realise
their narrow political objectives?
A: Everybody has his or her own
‘Aragalaya’. The ‘Aragalayas’ are not
new to this country. We have been
having ‘Aragalayas’ in our day-to-day
life and also when it comes to our
professional requirements. Initially,
we also agreed the needs of the inno-
cent people were suppressed so that
they came on to the streets and that
is very well understood.
They said in public that their
protest is non-political and non-vi-
olent. Later on, some of the politi-
cal wings of certain political parties
have taken it over to realise their ul-
terior motives. If the people are not
happy with the Government’s per-
formance, they have all the right to
protest and express their views of
displeasure. All of us have to abide
by that.
Why did ‘Aragalaya’ fail? It failed
because of political interference and
then the non-violent movement took
a turn towards violence. That is why
the people were killed on streets in-
cluding one Parliamentarian and his
bodyguard. So many houses were
also burnt and ransacked. That is not
non-violence. Let say if the Govern-
FOR EXAMPLE, HITLER’S GERMANY AND ALLIED
COUNTRIES USED RADIO FOR THEIR PROPAGANDA AND
MADE PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT THE OTHER GROUP IS BAD
FOR HUMANITY DURING WW II. THE USE OF DIGITAL MEDIA
BY UKRAINIAN GOVERNMENT TO BOOST THE MORALE OF
THE CITIZENS AND WIN THE INFORMATION WAR WITH
RUSSIA WHILE RUSSIANS KEEP BANNING ACCESS TO
DIGITAL MEDIA IS THE LATEST EXAMPLE SHOWING HOW
MEDIA IS USED IN INFLUENCING PEOPLE’S PERCEPTION
ed through the so-called democratic
process is the easiest way to become
wealthy.
Candidates
One of the main feel-good fac-
tors of democracy is that each and
every voter is made to feel knowl-
edgeable and empowered. How-
ever, in reality they do not even re-
alise to what extent they have been
misled by the candidates until they
start seeing all the corruptions and
abuse of power by the elected offi-
cials of the Government. It certainly
is not a difficult task to brainwash a
group of people who have been sub-
jected to at least 13 years, from age 5
to 18, of ‘parrotry’ and conformity. It
shouldn’t be difficult to see why edu-
cation and media play very impor-
tant roles in such democracies.
For example, Hitler’s Germany
and allied countries used radio for
their propaganda and made people
believe that the other group is bad
Action must be taken against those
who take the law into their hands
ment was taken over or handed over
to those people, what would have
been the aftermath?
The people didn’t expect that.
That is why they were moving away
from the ‘Aragalaya’. On Tuesday or
Wednesday, one of the SJB legisla-
tors also called for the people to
come to Colombo in millions but
there were none. I am not saying
that they have moved away from that
set of actions. In principle, we all
want a system change and we are for
reforms. That is why we urged for-
mer President Gotabaya Rajapaksa
and also incumbent President Ranil
Wickremesinghe to have a new Con-
stitution that embodies the people’s
wishes and signifies our heritage
and that will bridge the past, present
and the future.
Q: Do you think the proposed
22nd Amendment to the Constitu-
tion would pave the way to over-
come the issues and shortcomings
in the 20th Amendment?
A: The Constitution should en-
shrine not only the rights and privi-
leges of the people but also a course
of action that will lead the country to
the future. For that, there are provi-
sions and mechanisms in the Consti-
tution. If you have a basic weak law
such as the present Constitution, it
would be difficult to fulfill this task.
Even the 22nd Amendment is now
on our table. According to political
science, usually a Constitution is for
a period of 25 to 30 years.
Actually, it is for a generation. It
is said that in every five years, there
could be an amendment. This Con-
stitution came to effect in 1978. It
has shown that this is a weak Consti-
tution. If the basic law of the coun-
try is weak, then you cannot expect
other laws to be strong.
Continued on page 12
for humanity during WW II. The use
of digital media by Ukrainian Gov-
ernment to boost the morale of the
citizens and win the information
war with Russia while Russians keep
banning access to digital media is
the latest example showing how me-
dia is used in influencing people’s
perception.
For democracy to work positive-
ly for all the citizens, the voters have
to be well educated about who and
what they are voting for. Voters are
expected to be independent think-
ers who are willing to put the coun-
try first before their selfish needs.
Those two reasons themselves
would be enough to figure out why
democracy has not helped Sri Lanka
much over the years.
Wealthy
Majority rule only works if indi-
vidual rights are also protected and
respected. It certainly wouldn’t make
any sense to have 90 lions and 10 deer
FACT-FILE
Vidura Wickramanayaka
1959: Born in Horana to a
reputed poli�cal family. He is the son
of the late Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka,
former Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
and a Sri Lanka Freedom Party
(SLFP) poli�cian
Educated at Royal College, Colombo.
Obtained a BSc honours degree in
Agriculture from the University
of Philippines
2010: Elected to Parliament from
the Kalutara District under the United
People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA)
2015: Re-elected to Parliament
from the Kalutara District under UPFA.
Appointed State Minister
of Agriculture
2020: Re-elected to Parliament
from the Kalutara District having
contested under the Sri Lanka Podujana
Peramuna(SLPP) securing 147,958
preferen�al votes and was appointed
State Minister of Na�onal Heritage
and Rural Arts
April, 2022: Minister of Labour
May, 2022: Minister of
Buddhasasana, Religious, and
Cultural Affairs in the Cabinet of
former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa
July, 2022: Re-appointed Minister
of Buddhasasana, Religious and
Cultural Affairs in the Cabinet of
President Ranil Wickremesinghe
Source: Internet, Graphic: Mahil Wijesinghe
voting on what they should all be hav-
ing for dinner. What is supposed to be
a Government of the people, by the
people, for the people gradually has
become one of the wealthy and pow-
erful 0.001percent (225 / 21000000,
approximately) of the people, by
them, for only them and their sup-
porters. The power of the majority
arises from the fact that in a democ-
racy every individual is, politically,
the equal of every other individual.
Therefore, the greatest power
will always be the largest number
of individuals who combine their
strength to act together. In monar-
chial societies, the majority has
little or no power but there can be
independent power centres such as
aristocracy, religious sectors, and
wealthy business communities.
In an aristocracy, the nobles
may consist of well-trained soldiers
and the unarmed peasants. In that
case no majority can easily impose
its will. There can be other bodies
such as religious sectors, civil or-
ganisations, labour unions, and pro-
fessional guilds in democracies but
they do not have an independent
political position. They often act as
intermediary institutions to protect
aristocracies from the force of the
majority.
Democracy started to degenerate
into tyranny where the society being
pushed into chaos. Power had to be
seized to maintain order. A cham-
pion, (usually one who has been
starving for power) will come along
and seize the opportunity which will
cause him/her to become a tyrant.
The writer has served in the high-
er education sector as an academic
over twenty years in the USA and fif-
teen years in Sri Lanka and he can be
contacted at thilanh@gmail.com
2021 DailyNews and SundayObserver epaper -Lanka News E Paper -lankanewsepaper@gmail.com -
May 9 and the torching
of Minister Shehan
Semasinghe’s properties
THE REAL ATTACKS
STARTED ON APRIL 4
T
he incidents of May 9,
bore the shadows of a dark
age in Sri Lanka’s history.
But former Minister She-
han Semasinghe says the
series of incidents began
on April 4, way before the attacks that
took place a month later.
“A violent mob on April 4 held a
protest in front of the houses of Sri
Lanka Podujana Peramuna politicians
in the Anuradhapura district on that
day. That morning the private vehicle
in which my father, former Minister
H.B Semasinghe was travelling in also
got attacked in Anuradhapura.
Unharmed
But luckily my father was left un-
harmed. But a certain group had gath-
ered and stoned my office as well as my
residence located on the Anuradhapu-
ra Airport Road for nearly two hours.
The arson attack on both locations on
May 9 was just the final in a series of at-
tacks. Accordingly, it is very clear that
this chain of events was a well-planned
crime,” he said.
“We have been engaged in politics
for three generations. In 1977 a simi-
lar incident had taken place where a
mob stoned our house. I was just one-
year-old at that time. But since then we
haven’t experienced any violence be-
fore this year. If anyone finds any joy in
setting fire to our houses and causing
damage I will allow them that happi-
ness.
The office used by my father and I
was also located within our residence.
My father is still living in a room gut-
ted by the fire. Maybe those who car-
ried out these acts are happy or maybe
they now regret it. But I now look at the
incident in equanimity. None of this
was earned by robbing from the peo-
ple. Our supporters know this well.” he
added.
The Semasinghe family has a long
history in Sri Lankan politics spanning
over two generations. His maternal
grandfather K.B Ratnayake was a pop-
ular politician and was also a former
Speaker of the Sri Lankan Parliament.
He was also later appointed as the Gov-
ernor of the Central Province.
Born to a village headman in a
small hamlet in Rajarata, K.B Ratnay-
CHAIN OF EVENTS WAS
A WELL-PLANNED CRIME
Shehan Semasinghe
ake became an Agri officer in 1943 af-
ter completing his education amidst
great difficulties. Later he joined the
Survey Department as a Surveyor. With
the establishment of the Anuradha-
pura and Polonnaruwa Conservation
Board, Ratnayake was then appointed
as a Land Officer. Semasinghe says his
grandfather was also a close friend of
Maithripala Senanayake.
When Senanayake was appointed
as the Minister of Transport in 1956,
Ratnayake was appointed as his pri-
vate secretary. This was the beginning
of his political journey.
Ratnayake was elected to parlia-
ment in 1962. He was appointed as the
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and
Sports in 1970, while in 1975 he took up
the post of Minister of Transport. He
also held key positions in the Sri Lanka
Freedom Party including that of Chief
government whip and its Vice Presi-
dent. Following the General election of
1994 he was appointed as the Speaker.
Retiring from politics in 2000, Ratnay-
ake functioned as the governor of the
Central Province from 2001 - 2002.
MY FATHER IS STILL LIVING
IN A GUTTED ROOM
According to Semasinghe, his fa-
ther H.B. Semasinghe joined politics
through the support of his grandfather
K.B Ratnayake.
“Before joining politics he was a
teacher in several village schools in
Nochchiyagama. In 1977 he left his job
as a teacher to join the Sri Lanka Free-
dom Party. He was elected to Parlia-
ment in 1994 and had functioned as a
Deputy Minister and Minister. He also
worked in the North Western Provin-
cial Council till 2004.”
Semasinghe says he did not join
politics considering it as a family in-
heritance. He is an educated profes-
sional of his own right. His initial
school years were spent in St. Joseph’s
College, Anuradhapura before enter-
ing D.S. Senanayake College in Colom-
bo. He then enrolled in the University
of New Delhi and passed out with a de-
gree in Commerce.
Shehan Semasinghe, a post-grad-
uate in business management from
the University of Peradeniya, started
his career in organisations related to
tourism. After completing his degree,
MP Shehan Semasinghe’s father,
former minister HB Semasinghe
MP Shehan Semasinghe’s
grandfather, former Speaker K.B
Ratnayake
he joined a leading tourism company
in Sri Lanka as a trainee executive and
rose to the rank of assistant manager.
Later, he worked as the operations di-
rector of a well-known star class hotel
in Sri Lanka.
“I contested the 2010 election while
working at the hotel. Since then I have
remained undefeated. I represented
the Government in 2010 - 2015 while I
was an Opposition MP between 2015 -
2020. After 2020 I once again became
part of the Government. I have held
many ministerial positions including a
Cabinet portfolio”
Recalling the incidents of May 9,
Semasinghe said the house destroyed
was built by his father.
Sirimavo Bandaranaike
“He had begun to contract this
house from the time he was a teach-
The house and office destroyed in the fire
SUNDAY OBSERVER AUGUST 14, 2022
DISAPPOINTED WITH POLICE AS ATTACKS
HAPPENED UNDER THEIR NOSES
PROFILE
Full Name -
Shehan Semasinghe
Date of Birth - 13.11.1976
School - D.S. Senanayake
College, Colombo
Higher Education- Bachelor of
Commerce, University of Delhi,
India
Post Graduate in Business
Management, University of
Peradeniya
Political Milestones -
2010 - Appointed as a Member
of Parliament for the first time.
2010 - 2015 MP representing the
Government.
2015-2020 - Opposition MP
2020 - Minister of State
for Home Economics,
Microfinance, Self-Employment
Business Development and
Public Resources
2022 - Cabinet Minister for
Trade and Social Development
er. That house also has some historic
value. Sirimavo Bandaranaike used to
stay at our house during her visits to
Anuradhapura. The room she often
stayed in was also destroyed in the fire.
Almost every President has visited this
house. Former President Mahinda Ra-
japaksa celebrated his birthday on No-
vember 18 after his defeat in 2015 in
this house. The first meeting to reform
the party was also held in this house
that was destroyed.
None of this was built through cor-
ruption or robbing public funds. Those
who support us know this. Therefore
I am saddened about what happened.
But neither my father nor I have a
grudge against those who committed
these acts. However I am disappointed
in the Police as this crime happened
right under their noses and with their
knowledge. ”
5
Feature
Semasinghe also has an axe to
grind with the Human Rights Commis-
sion of Sri Lanka. “They are standing
for the protesters but I am not satisfied
about their action or lack of concern
for the victims of the May 9 incidents
such as us. Are they only protecting the
human rights of one group or party?”
he asked.
But Semasinghe has not given up
hope on achieving some form of jus-
tice. “But my main request is that such
incidents should not be allowed to take
place. The law enforcement must pre-
vent these incidents. What happened
to us can happen to another person to-
morrow. When this incident took place
I was in Colombo.
Some MPs asked me, despite the
disturbing news of houses being set
on fire, how I can relax. This is be-
cause many incidents had taken place
before and nothing had been done to
stop them. So I believed the Police will
once again do nothing to prevent this
as well. So I knew there was no point
in getting worked up,” he said.
According to him, he called his
parents and asked them to leave im-
mediately. “Only their lives mattered
to me. They had managed to escape
just five minutes before our house was
attacked. They were left just with the
clothes on their backs. I wholeheart-
edly believe our party supporters had
no hand in these attacks. A group insti-
gated by politicians had taken part in
these violent acts,” he said.
Looted
Semasinghe says his house was not
only set on fire but the mobs but they
had also looted his home and taken
away many valuables including gold
jewelry. Not only has the incident af-
fected Semasinghe, it has also deeply
impacted his father, former Minister
H.B. Semasinghe.
According to H.B Semasinghe he
built the now destroyed house in 1970.
“I was a teacher at the time. If some-
one says we stole public funds to build
these houses then they do not know
our political history. Even when I was
first elected to Parliament in 1994 I had
this house. I have never stolen public
funds during my political career. Be-
fore joining politics I had a house in
Colombo. I even sold that to enter poli-
tics. In 2019 we sold a plot of land be-
longing to my wife to build some addi-
tions to this house.” he said.
H.B Semasinghe said those who at-
tacked his house had first stolen all his
wife’s jewellery including Rs. 30,000 he
had withdrawn to consult an Eye sur-
geon. “My wife is now living with my
daughters but I am still living in my
gutted home. I have no place else to
go. I only earned people as opposed
to money. That is how even Shehan
was elected to Parliament. The people
who voted for us had no hands in this
act. Various political parties instigated
this. But I believe justice will prevail”
he said.
Shehan Semasinghe also reiterat-
ed that the violence was instigated by a
certain political group. “They are able
to roam freely today. But those who
were tricked by them and took part in
these crimes now have to spend time in
Police stations and courts. Therefore, I
would like to tell the people, including
the youth, to think wisely before tak-
ing decisions and getting caught up in
such anti-Government conspiracies,”
he said.
The article is an English transla-
tion of Sureka Nilmini Illangakoon
2021 DailyNews and SundayObserver epaper -Lanka News E Paper -lankanewsepaper@gmail.com -
6 SUNDAY OBSERVER AUGUST 14, 2022
Feature
All 225 MPs should take
country on development path
– President
P
resident
Ranil Wick-
remesinghe
while em-
phasis-
ing that the nation’s
tribute should go to
the Security Forces
for safeguarding the
legislature and de-
mocracy thus avoid-
ing further anarchy
said now it was the
responsibility of all 225
Members in Parliament
to fulfill their duty towards
the people by getting together
to solve the current crises and
take the country on the path of de-
velopment.
The President was addressing
the Security Forces during an official
visit to the Defence Headquarters in
Pelawatte, Akuregoda on Tuesday.
Referring to the recent incidents, the
President said the protesters were
trying to take over Parliament and if
they had succeeded, the legislature
of the country would have come to
a standstill and there would not have
been a government if the legislature
had come to a standstill.
Wickremesinghe also expressed
his gratitude to the members of the
security forces who took steps to car-
ry out the operation peacefully with-
out firing any shots. The President,
who arrived at the Army Headquar-
ters premises, was received by the
Commander of the Army Lieutenant
General Vikum Liyanage, and then
the President was also presented
with special military honours.
The President said, “There are
three main institutions to imple-
ment people’s sovereignty. They
are the Parliament, the Executive
and the Judiciary. If these three in-
stitutions are not functioning, this
country will not have any proper
governance. The Constitution will
collapse. Democracy will be lost. It
was in such a situation that you de-
fended the Parliament”.
President Wickremesinghe said
now the MPs need to take Parlia-
ment forward and win the people’s
trust. “Your step is now complete.
Everyone in the Parliament should
work together to solve the prob-
lems.” The President said the gov-
ernment is trying to bring in Con-
stitutional amendments, take steps
to bring new parliamentary reform
proposals and set up an all-Party
rule.
Debate on Policy
Statement
The three-day Adjournment De-
bate on the President’s Policy State-
ment was held in Parliament August
9, 10 and 12. President Ranil Wick-
remesinghe presented his Policy
Statement on August 3 during the
ceremonial opening of the Third
Session of the Ninth Parliament.
The Adjournment Debate was
moved by Chief Opposition Whip
MP Lakshman Kiriella. The Opposi-
tion requested a debate on the Pol-
icy Statement at the Party Leaders’
Meeting and it was considered by
the Speaker.
Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawar-
dena said that the
only principle
on which the
country can
get out of
this seri-
ous na-
tional
crisis is
for the
Presi-
d e n t
and the
House
to work
togeth-
er. The
Premier
was speak-
ing during
the second
day of the de-
bate on
Presi-
dent Ra-
nil Wick-
remesing-
he’s Policy
Statement in Parliament
on Wednesday.
Premier Gunawar-
dena said, “The Presi-
dent stated that the
country has the ability
to be self-sufficient, and
we must embark
on a clear path
to build such a
country. It has
been specifically
SJB READY TO ASSIST
THE GOVERNMENT
WHOLEHEARTEDLY
WITHOUT ACCEPTING
MINISTERIAL PORTFOLIOS
– OPPOSITION LEADER
pointed out by the President that the
economy should be modernised and
that another crisis should not oc-
cur in the country and the economy
should not be turned into a weak
one.
It was also mentioned that the
Government is already preparing
blueprint for this effort. The foreign
exchange crisis has escalated. Not
only the ruling party but also the Op-
position admits that we need to have
a proper plan to resolve this issue.
We need all parties working togeth-
er in consensus. We will be commit-
ted to working with the IMF. We are
committed to achieve it. All of us
must work together for this. That is
the principle on which to get out of
this serious national crisis.”
SJB ready to assist Govt
Opposition Leader Sajith Pre-
madasa said that the SJB is ready to
assist the Government wholeheart-
edly without accepting any ministe-
rial portfolios. Speaking at a recent
public gathering organised by the
SJB party members at Deraniyagala,
the Opposition Leader said that dur-
ing his meeting with President Ranil
Wickremesinghe, he assured that he
and the other SJB MPs are ready to
extend their fullest cooperation to
the Government’s request if only the
Government can revive the country’s
lost economy and bring down the
cost of living to reduce the prices
of essential commodity items
for the benefit of people.
The Opposition Leader
said if he had tried ear-
lier, he could have eas-
ily become the Prime
Minister. “But I am not a
person who thinks of my
own personal benefits as
my sole objective is to
serve the people in the
country by bringing
economic progress for
the benefit of 22 million
people.”
Positive feedback
Minister Harin
Fernando told Par-
liament on Wednes-
day this is the first
time in the history of Sri
Lankan politics, that a Pres-
ident’s Policy Statement has
received so much positive feed-
back across all political divides.
He said that some claim to be
visionary leaders but I see Pres-
ident Ranil Wickremesinghe’s
speech as that of a true visionary
leader.
The Minister said, “The first
challenge before Wickremesing-
he was to identify the crisis
affecting the country and to
find a short-term solution
to the problem together with a
long-term program.
That is where former President
Gotabaya Rajapaksa went wrong.
He had no idea as to what sort of a
crisis the country was facing, no
short-term solution and no long-
term plan.” Minister Fernando said
that the country’s ‘struggle’ actually
started in 2019 and that is where
the youth of this country drew mu-
rals on walls and hoped for change.
However, when they did not get
the changes they anticipated, that
is when they came onto the streets
again to correct the mistakes.
He said that there are two main
factions those who endure all criti-
cism and continue to work and oth-
ers who relentlessly criticise others
but don’t do an iota of work them-
selves. “That is why the people are
fed-up with all politicians because
even when the country is facing
such a huge crisis, what is the point
if these politicians cannot unite to
resolve this crisis.”
‘Messed-up’ Parliament
THE PARLIAMENT OF 225
MEMBERS HAS NOW SPLIT
INTO 10-12 FACTIONS
– MAITHRIPALA SIRISENA
Former President Maithripa-
la Sirisena said that the Sri Lanka
Freedom Party (SLFP) has decided
to support any good step taken by
the Government to get the country
out of the difficult situation it is fac-
ing. He told the gathering at a recent
event, the question is not “whether
the President is black or white. We
need to give ourselves some time to
work freely to get concessions na-
tionally and internationally. Those
international financial institutions
and international economic pow-
ers help us by looking at our politi-
cal stability. If we are a collapsing
Government, they will not give us
money.”
Sirisena said he has never seen
such a ‘messed up’ Parliament in
his 30 years in politics and that the
Parliament of 225 members has now
split into some 10-12 factions. He
said the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramu-
na (SLPP) has split into 5-6 groups
and that it is visible that the Samagi
Jana Balawegaya (SJB) also has sev-
eral internal issues. The SLFP Lead-
er said even his own party recently
saw five of its 14 MPs leave despite
repeated requests from him for
them to stay with the party.
“Will get the country out
of the crisis”
President Ranil Wickremesinghe
on Friday said that despite facing a
huge economic crisis, he will defi-
nitely get the country out of the cri-
sis with the blessings of the Sacred
Tooth Relic and the Gods. The Presi-
dent also said that everyone should
move forward with new hope for a
new economy that will ensure a bet-
ter life for all.
President Wickremesinghe said
that the country has faced an unprec-
edented economic downturn and
the people from all walks of life have
felt it. He stressed the importance of
ending this situation in the country
soon. The President was speaking at
a ceremony at President’s House in
Kandy on Friday afternoon to mark
the successful completion of the his-
toric Kandy Esala Perahera Festival.
The President received Diyawadana
Nilame Nilanga Dela, Nilames of the
Satharamaha Devalayasa and Piti-
sara Devalayas at the entrance of the
President’s House.
Thereafter, the Diyawadana Nil-
ame handed over the scroll contain-
ing the Sandeshaya informing the
President of the successful comple-
tion of the Perahera. The President
commended the Diyawadana Nil-
ame for fulfilling the noble responsi-
bility of conducting the festival suc-
cessfully. He said “The Kandy Esala
Perahera festival was organised with
pomp after a lapse of two years.”
TWO TNA POLITICIANS
TRYING TO TAKE
ADVANTAGE OF
THE POLITICAL
CRISIS – SELVAM
ADAIKKALANATHAN
Different rules
SJB Parliamentarian Dr.
Harsha de Silva told Parliament
on Tuesday that while the youth
who entered President’s House
and sat on the President’s chair
has been arrested, no action was
taken against the MPs who be-
haved violently in the House and
damaged the Speaker’s Chair and
other equipment in Parliament.
He told Parliament that a com-
mittee was appointed by the then
Speaker to look into the incident
and urged Speaker Mahinda Yapa
Abeywardena to publish the report
of that committee. He said, “No ac-
tion was taken against the MPs who
acted violently in Parliament. We
have no idea as to what action was
taken against the MPs who spilt wa-
ter on it and damaged the micro-
phones. Where is the report? We like
to have the report.” Dr. de Silva said
that if such behaviour is allowed to
happen, they would have to face dire
consequences in the future.
Youth misled
SLPP Parliamentarian Shantha
Bandara told Parliament that some
political parties misled the youth in-
volved in the ‘Aragalaya’. Joining the
Adjournment Debate on the Presi-
dent’s Policy statement, MP Bandara
pointed out that initially the youth
involved in the protests were peace-
ful. However, when certain political
parties infiltrated the protests, the
nature of the protesters changed.
He said, “These youths were taught
that we have robbed them. They
thought that we robbed their mon-
ey, got rich and built houses. They
were enraged. They felt jealous. So
they came to our homes and burnt
them down. If these youths were ed-
ucated, if they were encouraged to
work on their own, and work hard to
achieve goals, they would not have
turned violent.”
22nd Amendment
The 22nd Amendment to the
Constitution was submitted to the
House by Justice Minister Dr. Wi-
jeyadasa Rajapakshe on Wednesday.
The Minister said that a new anti-
corruption law and an assets and
liabilities law would be established
in par with the 22nd Amendment
to the Constitution. Dr. Rajapaksa
said, “In 2015, along with the 19th
Amendment to the Constitution, we
were in agreement to establish the
United Nations Anti-corruption Law
in our country as well. However, it
did not see the light of the day. Now,
we have drafted this law and it is be-
fore the Cabinet. We are also estab-
lishing a new Commission in place
of the existing bribery or corruption
commission. We are also going to
establish a new law instead of the
available Assets and Liabilities Act.”
TNA may split
TNA Vanni district Parliamen-
tarian Selvam Adaikkalanathan has
said that the party may split due
to the activities of two TNA politi-
cians who are trying to take advan-
tage of the political crisis. However,
the TNA member did not reveal the
identities of the two persons he re-
ferred to.
Speaking to the media recently,
the MP said that the Tamil National
Alliance, an alliance of several par-
ties should be registered
as a single political
party under the
name TNA. He
said services
to the public
too should be
expanded. He
also said that
although the
Tamil National
Alliance is not
divided now,
looking at the
current events,
there are signs
of a decline in
the party in the
mindset of the
Tamil people.
Adaikkalana-
than said that the
reason for this is the
statements made by
two members of the
party with ulterior mo-
tives trying to gain petty
advantage of the current
situation. He said that the
people who have bro-
ken away from the
TNA for various rea-
sons should forget
everything and rejoin the
party to make it a
political force.
stronger
“Only a dream”
National People’s Power (NPP)
Leader MP Anura Kumara Dissanay-
ake said considering the Govern-
ment’s approach towards an all-par-
ty administration, forming it would
only be a dream. Joining day-three
of the debate on President Ranil
Wickremesinghe’s Policy Statement
on Friday, Dissanayake said that if
the Government is ready to come
up with positive suggestions, the
NPP is ever ready to consider join-
ing an All-Party Government (APG).
He said that the Government only
wants other parties to join an APG
but not to form one and be active
participants.
Dissanayake said, “People seem
to believe that the lack of a proper
economic plan is the major reason
behind the crisis we are suffering.
Yes, to some extent it seems the
case. Lack of a long term economic
plan does have an impact. However,
the basis of this crisis is the politi-
cal culture. If we want to get out of
this crisis, we need to change the po-
litical culture. Without that change,
there is no way out from the crisis
we are in. This political culture is
filled with corruption, fraud, waste
and power hunger.”
“Social media -
a powerful force”
Former President Maithripala
Sirisena said that social media was
the deciding factor that elected me
as the President and what ended
my rule. Speaking at the opening
ceremony of the media unit of the
Sri Lanka Freedom Party, former
President Sirisena said the ‘Aragala-
ya’ which ousted a strong President
should be taken as an example to
show how powerful the media, es-
pecially the social media is.
He said, “I once was the Polon-
naruwa correspondent for Lake
House. The nature of media has
gone through serious changes dur-
ing these fifty years. It is fair to won-
der who actually rules the world,
politicians or media. If we look at
the ‘Aragalaya’, was there a political
leader for people to gather around?
No. There were about thirty-five
youth groups but no one
to lead. Hundreds of
thousands of peo-
ple took to the
streets as the
request to do so
came to their
mobile phones.
“Media can
make or break
a Government.
They can project
a good Govern-
ment as a bad
one, and a bad
government as a
good one.” He said
“When I became the
President in 2015,the
main force behind me was
social media. There were
many organisations, political
groups behind my election
campaign and social media
played a vital role. Ironically,
what broke me too was social
media. It destroyed my image.
It made me an unworthy person
in the eyes of people. So, when
we rule, we need to have
a good understanding of
democracy and media
freedom,” he said.
2021 DailyNews and SundayObserver epaper -Lanka News E Paper -lankanewsepaper@gmail.com -
Fertiliser crisis that led to a rice issue
D
espite the presence of sev-
eral economic centres in
close proximity to Colom-
bo, many often opt to visit
the 5th Cross Street in Pettah to pur-
chase rice in bulk.
Last Friday I visited 5th Cross
Street to inquire into the situation of
rice wholesalers in the area. At the
entrance of each shop was a neatly
presented row of essential food sam-
ples placed on silver dishes. The ma-
jority were samples of rice.
In addition to this there were
also samples of dhal, chickpea,
mungbeans, cowpea, barley among
many others. The most expensive
out of the lot appeared to be kidney
beans, aptly named as it was shaped
similar to that of a human kidney.
On the day, the majority of the rice
stocks available were those import-
ed from India. In one shop, the lead
story of a Dinamina newspaper was
displayed prominently.
World market
Ten years ago on August 14,
2012, the Dinamina had reported
that the fertiliser subsidy had cost
the Government Rs. 150 billion in
seven years. It said that the country
had become self-sufficient in rice
as a result of this. The Government
had sold a bag of fertiliser costing
Rs. 9,000 in the world market to the
farmers for a mere Rs. 350 and in the
year 2000, at least 878,000 hectares
of paddy had been cultivated. The
report also noted that the country
had over the time become self-suffi-
cient in rice as paddy cultivation had
once again commenced in the North
and the East following the end of the
battle against terrorism.
I observed the rice stocks in the
shop. All of them were rice imported
from India, Bangladesh or Pakistan.
The name of its origins was brightly
printed on the stacks. The rice most-
ly imported from Pakistan appeared
to be a type of Basmati.
“Are you not selling types of local
rice wholesale anymore?” I inquired
from the shop owner. Right above
the owner’s head were a host of stat-
ues including that of the Buddha
flanked by a battalion of Gods and
Goddesses. Someone had lit a lamp
and placed jasmines as an offering
before them early in the morning.
“These foreign types of rice do
not cook as well as Sri Lankan types.
Fertiliser subsidy had cost the
Government Rs. 150 billion in
seven years
Government had sold a bag of fertiliser
costing Rs. 9,000 in the world market
to the farmers for a mere Rs. 350
But we were forced to import these
as the Government abruptly banned
fertiliser and pesticides. We have
now heard that the President has or-
dered for farmers to be given fertil-
iser. I don’t think we will have to im-
port rice to Sri Lanka going forward”
he said in response.
These sellers claim in an attempt
to create a rice mafia in the country,
rice importers claimed traces of the
chemical element Cadmium were
found in local rice in order to boost
imports. In 2013, it was found that
the amount of Cadmium contained
in a plant grown with both chemical
and organic fertiliser is 50 percent
less than the amount of Cadmium in
a field that uses only chemical fertil-
isers.
A report during that time said
the amount of Cadmium present in
local rice is only second to the per-
centage found in rice grown in Ban-
gladesh. But it was never specified
in which type of rice Cadmium was
most present. As a result of this the
demand for all types of rice from
abroad rose significantly.
The Government banned fertil-
iser in May 2021. In the following
cultivation seasons farmers had no
fertiliser to engage in farming ac-
tivities. This was a death blow to rice
and all types of crops.
Farmers’ protests
The farmers’ protests began
soon after. Many openly criticised
the President and the Minister of Ag-
riculture. Some said the protests ap-
peared to be highly organised due to
the similar looking placards and slo-
gans at each event. Rumours were
also rife that fertiliser companies
were paying individuals whopping
sums of money between Rs. 200,000
- 300,000 for a mere voice cut op-
posing the ban. Others claimed the
farmers taking part in the protest
were dead drunk. However, it must
not be forgotten that there was a sig-
nificant number of people affected
by the ban who were left voiceless.
It is apt to look into the history of
pesticides prior to considering facts
of the ban. Introduced to the world
in 1939, DTT saved the lives of sol-
diers from Malaria and mosquitoes
in the Second World War.
It was only after that many other
types of pesticides began to spread
in the US. By 1960, more than 200 in-
DUE TO THE SHORTAGE
OF MAIZE, THE PRICE OF AN
EGG HAS RISEN TO RS.62 AND
THE PRICE OF A KILOGRAM
OF CHICKEN HAS GONE UP TO
RS.1,200. AS A RESULT OF THIS
THE GOVERNMENT HAS TAKEN A
DECISION TO PROVIDE CHEMICAL
FERTILISER TO INCREASE THE
CULTIVATION OF MAIZE TO SIXTY
THOUSAND HECTARES. DURING
THE HARVEST SEASON OF RICE
AND MAIZE, IT WILL BE POSSIBLE
TO SAVE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT
OF DOLLARS SPENT TO IMPORT
RICE AND OTHER FOOD ITEMS
secticide-herbicide manufacturing
companies worldwide were turning
a profit. In 1962, a book titled ‘Silent
Spring’ became the first to be pub-
lished in the world against the epi-
demic of agrochemicals written by
Rachel Carlson.
The first pesticide to be banned
in Sri Lanka was Glyphosate on
May 22, 2015. Banning it the Presi-
dent at the time said he is unable to
continue allowing for people to be
killed and therefore he was banning
Glyphosate believed to be connected
to Chronic Kidney Disease.
However, despite the ban, chem-
ical fertilisers and pesticides made
their way into the country and were
sold at exorbitant prices.
Yala season
Despite the pledges to introduce
organic fertiliser, it never took place.
One such fertiliser imported was re-
jected by the people. Another ship
carrying fertiliser was returned to
the sender due to issues of quality
but the Government still had to pay
for its cargo. In the end the rice, veg-
etable and fruit harvests dropped by
50 percent leading to a serious is-
sue of food security. In the last Yala
season due to the lack of any type
of fertiliser, farmers decided to give
up paddy farming altogether. They
also failed to obtain desired results
from crops including vegetables and
maise.
The Department of Agriculture
was established in 1912 to produce
food for Sri Lanka’s colonisers. The
fertiliser subsidy however com-
menced in 1951. At the time fertilis-
ers containing identified chemical
salts as well as ammonium sulphate,
rock phosphate, and even animal
bone fragments were provided to the
people. But this situation changed
in 1967 when D. Banda became the
country’s Agriculture Minister.
As the Minister signed an agree-
ment, the farmers lost the opportu-
nity to obtain organic fertiliser. In-
stead the Government intervened
to provide chemical fertiliser to the
people. This only led to the farm-
ers of Rajarata succumbing to the
Chronic Kidney Disease.
Due to the ban, the cost of paddy
and rice began to rise significantly.
Meanwhile, elites of Colombo went
to rural areas such as Anuradhapu-
ra, Polonnaruwa and Hambantota
to buy paddy at higher prices. Many
paid around Rs. 300 for a kilo of rice
without a second thought. It ap-
peared they were even prepared to
purchase at a higher cost if the farm-
ers had so demanded. In the end the
market price of rice increased to Rs.
200. But due to the 40 percent drop
of harvest in the Maha season the
farmer’s avenues for income dried
up and purchasing rice at a lower
cost became a mere dream to the
less fortunate in the country.
Farmers protested as their only
mode of income had suffered due
to the Government ban on fertiliser
and pesticides. A particular group
that once advocated for organic fer-
tiliser kept mum in the face of the is-
sues experienced by farmers.
SUNDAY OBSERVER AUGUST 14, 2022
Today, many people forget that
there were farmers in this country
who refused the subsidy for chemi-
cal fertiliser because they can get
more yield through the use of organ-
ic fertiliser.
In 2011, the farmers of Ginigama-
na village in Mahaweli B region sub-
mitted a letter to the then Polonnaru-
wa District Secretary, Nimal Abeysiri,
stating that they do not want the fer-
tiliser subsidy. However none of these
groups came to save the President
and the Minister of Agriculture when
things took a serious turn.
Rice imports
As the economic crisis worsened
as a result of this, so did the politi-
cal crisis. The people even blamed
the economic crisis on the fertiliser
issue as the government was forced
to spend a significant amount of dol-
lars for the import of rice. Had the
rulers at least spent half of that on
importing fertiliser it is evident the
country would not have to spend dol-
lars excessively on rice imports.
At the height of the economic
crisis, Ranil Wickremesinghe be-
came the Prime Minister through a
political revolution. Mahinda Ama-
raweera was appointed as the Min-
ister of Agriculture in his cabinet.
Wickremesinghe was forced by the
people to prepare for a ‘cultivation
war’. While paddy farming had com-
menced by then, the discussions to
import fertiliser for the next Maha
season began only thereafter.
Amaraweera later confirmed
that the fertiliser for the Yala season
was provided under Indian assis-
tance. But not all farmers benefited
or received fertiliser under this pro-
gram.
The farmers were disgruntled.
The Government had to invite them
to cultivate and give them the assur-
ance they would be provided with
chemical fertiliser for the next sea-
son. The main challenge faced by
the Government when distributing
fertiliser was that many farmers had
given up cultivating altogether. But
due to Wickremesinghe stressing Sri
Lanka would face a food shortage,
many farmers accepted the fertiliser
subsidy and reluctantly went back to
their fields.
In the Yala season it was es-
timated that 275,000 hectares of
paddy land will be cultivated. How-
ever farming activities had only
commenced in 200,000 hectares.
The farmers began cultivating the
remainder on the assurances of the
Government to provide them with
chemical fertiliser. Amaraweera
says on the intervention of President
Wickremesinghe 550,000 hectares
has been cultivated exceeding the
Government’s expectations.
The Government led by the cur-
rent President Ranil Wickremesing-
he first agreed to import 65,000 met-
ric tons of urea from India. First,
steps were taken to release 25,000
metric tons of it in the Yala season.
Maize production
The price of chicken and eggs
rose sharply as an indirect effect of
the fertiliser ban. This is because
due to the lack of fertiliser the crops
like maize did not have a good yield.
Maize production was less than 17
percent compared to the previous
season. Maize is a key ingredient in
the poultry industry.
7
NEWS
Now, due to the shortage of
maize, the price of an egg has risen
to Rs.62 and the price of a kilogram
of chicken has gone up to Rs.1200.
As a result of this the Government
has taken a decision to provide
chemical fertiliser to increase the
cultivation of maize to sixty thou-
sand hectares. During the harvest
season of rice and maize, it will
be possible to save a significant
amount of dollars spent to import
rice and other food items.
If the cultivation of maize suc-
ceeds this would lead to the reduc-
tion of costs in poultry farming lead-
ing to price drops. This will address
the issues of malnutrition among
the people. The success of the poul-
try industry will boost the organic
fertiliser manufacturing process
in Sri Lanka leading to more dollar
savings. Therefore, poultry farmers
should look into proper waste man-
agement as the waste can be used
as an organic fertiliser. By using this
broiler chicken waste properly as
an organic fertiliser, it is possible
to prevent the spread of the disease
called ‘Gumboro’ which is often seen
in poultry management.
At the beginning of this year, the
stock of rice imported into Sri Lanka
was four hundred and twenty thou-
sand metric tons. The cost of this
should have rightly gone to our lo-
cal farmers. Amaraweera, however,
now believes as fertiliser has been
provided it is unlikely Sri Lanka will
have to import rice after the next
Maha season.
The farmers also now said they
have been provided with good qual-
ity fertiliser while earlier on many
occasions they accused the Govern-
ment of providing them with sub-
standard fertiliser from India.
Fertiliser is a commodity in high
demand in the world market. There-
fore, even if you have the funds it is
a challenge to get a good quality fer-
tiliser. Prime Minister Ranil Wick-
remesinghe first arranged to bring a
stock of fertiliser from India, under
an Indian loan scheme.
The actual situation was that at
that time, the foreign exchange re-
quired for the import of fertiliser
was in a negative state. However
President Ranil Wickremesinghe
had then contacted the Prime Minis-
ter of India and took steps to import
fertiliser to Sri Lanka. In fact labora-
tory reports have certified that these
fertiliser stocks are of good quality.
The main allegation of the Oppo-
sition is that fertiliser is being pro-
vided to farmers at Rs 10,000. But the
Agriculture Minister Mahinda Ama-
raweera says it was provided at this
cost when it was not possible to buy
fertiliser for even Rs. 40,000. He says
therefore the farmers appreciate re-
ceiving fertiliser even at Rs. 10 000
and the only party upset about it is
the Opposition.
The President has now assigned
the responsibility of managing the
activities to purchase fertilisers for
the upcoming cultivation season to
his Chief of Staff, Sagala Ratnayake.
Currently Sri Lanka has commenced
transparent negotiations with India,
the World Bank and international
fertiliser supply companies to get
the stock of fertiliser. Even though
two cultivation seasons ended in
failure, the people can now be re-
lieved as a shortage of rice is unlike-
ly at least till December.
(This article is an English
translation of Vajira Liyanage)
2021 DailyNews and SundayObserver epaper -Lanka News E Paper -lankanewsepaper@gmail.com -

8 SUNDAY OBSERVER AUGUST 14, 2022

Editor : 011 242 9231, News Desk: 011 242 9232, Business Desk: 011 2429226, Fax : 011 242 9227
Advertising : 011 2429361-9, email: editor.sundayobserver@lakehouse .lk, Websites : www.sundayobserver.lk

End of Aragalaya
Sri Lankan narrative
The call by Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka
and some other political entities to carry out the
Aragalaya (Struggle) to the bitter end from Au-
gust 9 – until the ouster of the new President and
the Government – went mostly unheeded by an
Aragalaya-weary public. Worse, even those who
and reality common vis-à-vis Sri Lanka, a lot of these
remained at Galle Face left the premises – some people would also be forced to leave. But
for home while others went to the Government- they aren’t. They would rather be stoic
sanctioned protest site at the Vihara Maha Devi and endure because they see that there
Park. Fonseka himself was not seen at any of the would be light at the end of the tunnel
protest sites that day. His party, the Samagi Jana — because of them, and what they do to
Balavegaya (SJB) was right to distance itself from Rajpal Abeynayake ensure it.
Fonseka’s alarming rhetoric. They would achieve that by the dint
This non-event was a welcome development of their own attitudes and their own hard

T
since we cannot prosper as a Nation if every new he recent upheavals in this work. That’s what’s missing from the nar-
President or Government has to be chased out by country have been covered rative in Sri Lanka. It’s that the people and
force. Sri Lankans have gone through a tumultu- widely in the international me- the spirit of this country is different from
ous three months that ousted former President dia. Rarely, even during the what obtains in so many other disaster-
Gotabaya Rajapaksa and indeed, all Rajapaksas
from their Governmental positions.
long-running war did the coun-
try get so much of international media at- BUT IF LIVES WOULD BE zones.
This is a country that has a lot going
The Aragalaya, in its original form, had a def-
inite aim and a purpose, since the masses were
tention. The country has been typecast,
and of course the stories of economic AS DIFFICULT AS THEY for its people in an elemental sense and
that cannot all be upended in some crisis,

ARE PROJECTED IN THE

experiencing an unprecedented economic down-
turn, exacerbated by an acute shortage of essen-
tial goods. There was a consensus that the wrong
policies followed by the Gotabaya Rajapaksa ad-
ministration, from the organic fertiliser fiasco to
rampant nepotism, were no longer tenable. This
led to massive public support for the Aragalaya in
all corners of the country.
Although the Aragalaya was at first a genuine
movement headed by religious dignitaries and
truly progressive professional youth with the in-
meltdown are for the most part true.
But internally, the people were shell
shocked by how fast things happened, and
how it all turned their lives upside down.
The politics also was hyper-changed and
there was a time when people didn’t know
what would happen, politically speaking,
from one moment to the next.
But there is a certain way in which
the story unfolded. It appeared to acquire
a life of its own in the international me-
to keep up with inflation, and if so by how
much and by when?
The narrative on this is very bleak.
But on the ground the picture is of men
and women determined to live through
it all and come out on top, and this is not
counting the politicians. In many ways,
however traumatic the current events are
— and they are indeed extremely traumat-
ic — the people by and large act as if it’s
or several crises even. The people’s qual-
ity of life is reflected in the way the peo-
ple interact with the environment and in
NARRATIVE THAT IS the way people interact with each other.
People are not hard-wired to worry in this
COMMON VIS-À-VIS SRI country.
They see things through because they
LANKA, A LOT OF THESE know that If they endure they would do it
all by themselves. They also know that de-
PEOPLE WOULD ALSO BE spite the adverse narrative, the ordinary
people of the world would not abandon

FORCED TO LEAVE. BUT

terests of the people and the country at heart, the
influx of various politically motivated extremist
groups with a violent bent to the movement was
a harbinger of things to come.
True, the attack by Government supporters
on Gota Go Gama at Galle Face on May 9 was a
deplorable incident but the events that trans-
pired later that day, where the houses of many
ruling party Members of Parliament (MPs) were
torched and one MP was killed in cold blood,
showed the dark side of the Aragalaya. It is be-
dia. The country was typecast as being
debt-ridden and a total disaster in terms
of how badly debt-mismanagement had
impacted it. In the meantime so many dif-
ferent story versions were written. There
were those about the vast numbers that
were trying to get away from the country
seeking greener pastures or better alter-
natives. For the most part these were true
as well.
A country’s turmoil becomes a total
better that they behave as if nothing has
happened.
They have made it all in a day’s work.
People walk if they do have transport, and
the young, the old, the breadwinners and
the mothers — they all trudge along on
their feet, shanks-mare, for long distanc-
es if there is no way that they can secure
any form of transport. A lot of them have
been unable to. Three-wheelers and cabs
have been non-existent and public trans-
us. They may not be sure of governments
but the world knows there is too much po-
tential in this country to have it go under.
THEY AREN’T. THEY WOULD It won’t go under anyway.
About the politics, well it’s not known
RATHER BE STOIC AND how things would turn out from here on.
Nobody quite knows that. There may or
ENDURE BECAUSE THEY may not be more political turmoil but the
people are by themselves slowly turning
SEE THAT THERE WOULD things around, and that’s an absolute cer-
tainty.

BE LIGHT AT THE END OF

lieved that these heinous acts were perpetrated
by the extremist and violent elements that had
infiltrated the Aragalaya.
On July 9, the day when massive crowds con-
verged in Colombo in response to a call by Ara-
galaya leaders, these very same violent elements
breached the defences at Government proper-
ties including the President’s House, Presiden-
tial Secretariat and the Prime Minister’s Office,
damaging and ransacking them in the process.
They even set the current President Ranil Wick-
remesinghe’s private house and official car on
fire. The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL),
which had once championed the cause of the
genuine Aragalaya activists, bluntly pointed out
that the infiltration and occupation of Govern-
ment buildings was a serious offence. Yet, they
did not vacate the buildings for several days.
To his credit, the new President took firm and
decisive action to clear the protesters from the
Presidential Secretariat within 24 hours of be-
ing appointed, much to the relief of peace-loving
members of the public, though local and foreign
human rights organisations made the usual pre-
dictable noises.
Most of these organisations were silent when
the US authorities evicted and arrested members
of the mob that had entered the Capitol buildings
in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021 as part
of former President Donald Trump’s ‘Stop the
Steal’ march. In fact, President Wickremesinghe
pointed out this very fact to US Ambassador Julie
Chung who met him to express concern over the
military action taken against the protesters who
remained at the Presidential Secretariat.
The President has since made it clear that
while dissent and freedom of expression will be
tolerated at all times, there would be no room for
terrorist or fascist acts in the name of the Araga-
laya. Thus the State has every right to prosecute
those who engaged in violent behaviour, violated
disaster when the narrative acquires a life
of its own. This is not to say the people of
this country had it easy. There would have
been times when the ordinary folk in fact
had it worse than the international cover-
age made out. Yes, in certain aspects that
would have been the case too.
But what kind of country was this that
was being torn apart? What hope would
all the events of today engender in people
and young people in particular — if any
hope at all? These are not aspects that
would be apparent from the news narra-
tive of the day.
EXCEPTIONS
In other words, to get a real picture
of what the country will go through and
where we would all end up, there ought to
be a certain distance created between the
narrative and the reality. That’s because
sometimes in major stories of this sort,
the narrative becomes more powerful
than the story unfolding on the ground.
It would take time to realise what im-
pact inflation — which is unprecedented
— would have on the lives of ordinary peo-
ple, for instance. Would things ever get
back to anything like normal for ordinary
folk? In other words, would incomes rise
port as has been there such as buses and
trains have been unbelievably crowded
and inaccessible.
INVOLVED
But the spirit of the endurance in folk
has never faltered. There may have been
individual cases of those who haven’t
been able to cope and have buckled under
pressure. That is to be expected. But as a
people, Sri Lankans have fought by mak-
ing adversity a part of their lives, and not
hoping for but willing a better tomorrow
by dint of their hard work and determina-
tion.
From the standpoint of view of rebel-
lion this may be bad. And from the point
of view of politicians this may be more
than what they would ask for. As a breed
politicians have been far from helpful in
this crisis even though there may be the
few exceptions that one can count on the
fingers of one hand.
Eventually, it’s the people and not the
‘once removed’ or ‘twice removed’ nar-
rative — removed from reality that is —
which would determine the future of this
country from here onward. Eventually the
investors who are here already but have
not proceeded due to the chaos of recent
Ne ugg
THE TUNNEL — BECAUSE OF
THEM, AND WHAT THEY DO
TO ENSURE IT
months would proceed with their proj-
ects. Sri Lanka is a country of that type —
its default is normal, even during the time
of war.
So it is important to see the reality in
this way, as separate from the narrative. It
would give perspective. It would also give
perspective on why though some people
want to leave this country, others want to
stay. Out of those who stay, the vast num-
bers are those who never thought about
it because their day to day reality is far
removed from the whole idea of leaving.
They are too involved in their lives here in
this country to have ‘going’ as part of the
whats on radar.
PRONE
But if lives would be as difficult as
they are projected in the narrative that is
-A
Yes of course a lot of interventions
are necessary at the level of Govern-
ment, but the people would see that if
those issues are not worked out one way,
they would be worked out another way.
As they say, by way of cliché, one way or
another.
All this is not factored in the narra-
tive at all, but narratives are prone to be
that way. They meander because they are
buffeted by the immediate stories and
drama of a given day or a week, and are
notoriously weak on the big picture. Un-
fortunately narratives can sometimes be
misleading and damaging, and there are
rare times when they have a self-fulfilling
quality about them.
Even though that’s rare, a narrative
must not be permitted to take over and
subsume reality. Some would wish that is
so.
The current Sri Lankan narrative is
in many ways negative, but the positives
must be factored in too, but it’s not hap-
pening when the story unfolds because
drama loves hype. That’s the way it is, but
as long as people are aware that nothing
could trump reality, they could live with
the narrative, which is after all some-
body’s version of what they are — and a
poor substitute.

court orders or damaged public property on July

9
s
w est

9 or thereafter. Otherwise, the public could get

a wrong impression that anyone could act with
impunity vis-à-vis Government property with no
legal consequences.
1
io

The President has also promised to investi-

ns

gate and take action against those responsible for

the attack on peaceful protesters in Colombo on
May 9, because there cannot be two sets of laws
0 -A
in the country – one for those politically connect-
ed to the Government and another for all others.
The law must be applied equally to all. Indeed, as
2
the Opposition pointed out in Parliament the oth-
er day, legal action must be taken against those
MPs who caused damage to seats and equipment
in Parliament in a scuffle that occured during the
tenure of the 52-day Government in 2018. The ar-
gument by some Government MPs that the law
of the land is not valid within the chamber of the
House is pure bunkum. As lawmakers, all MPs
must uphold the law at all times and be an ex-
ample to others in society.
Now is not the time to protest against the
new President, who has promised to form an All-
Party Government (APG) along with a People’s
Assembly, both of which were demands of the
Aragalaya youth. The President has also initiated
a dialogue with the Aragalaya youth, pledging to
incorporate their valuable suggestions to the gov-
ernance mechanism.
Many Aragalaya activists have acknowledged
that President Wickremesinghe was legally and
constitutionally elected by Parliament and that
he should be given the time and space to carry
out the program outlined in his policy speech
22-A
delivered to Parliament. There really is no need
or justification for protests anymore, since many
of the difficulties faced by the people are being
successfully addressed. Now is the time to get
together to rise above the challenges facing the
Nation.
2021 DailyNews and SundayObserver epaper -Lanka News E Paper -lankanewsepaper@gmail.com -
T
he Sunday Observer met
Foreign Affairs Minister
and President’s Counsel
Ali Sabry at his Flower
Road Chambers in Colom-
bo on Thursday morning. The Minis-
ter exuded confidence in his ability
to address the rising domestic politi-
cal concerns regarding the country’s
foreign policy.
Ali Sabry has been a go-to per-
son for problem solving for those
who call the shots in the Sri Lanka
Podujana Peramuna (SLPP). Sabri
entered mainstream politics in 2020
as an SLPP member. He campaigned
for Gotabaya Rajapaksa during the
2019 Sri Lankan Presidential elec-
tion. President Rajapaksa appointed
him as the leader of the SLPP’s Mus-
lim Federation.
He later appointed Sabri as Jus-
tice Minister in his Cabinet in Au-
gust 2020. He was elected to Parlia-
ment on the National List. During
the economic crisis, he was appoint-
ed to the temporary four-member
Cabinet as Finance Minister. The
Task of uplifting economy
and multi-party governance
Hemantha
Kulatunga
T
he political turmoil that
prevailed in the country
has subsided to an extent
since the appointment
of President Ranil Wick-
remesinghe. His attempt to form an
All-Party Government or Multi-Par-
ty Government is being discussed
among the vast majority of active
political parties currently. Although
the final result is yet to be seen, this
writer cannot recall any leader who
could muster support from Opposi-
tion parties similar to this in recent
history.
However, as anticipated, the
Jathika Jana Balawegaya (JJB) has
already announced their disagree-
ment, although they are due to meet
the President and discuss it shortly.
All the same, the result is apparent.
According to many neutral ob-
servers, in his policy statement at
the opening session of the new Par-
liament, President Wickremesinghe
made a realistic analysis of the eco-
nomic crisis and the deep-rooted
causes of the downfall of the econ-
omy during the past several years.
Even according to his political op-
ponents, the President has proposed
pragmatic short-term solutions and
appears to be firmly committed to
the promises he made.
Customary approach
Nevertheless, some of the politi-
cal parties, in particular, Jahika Jana
Balawegaya (JJB), in accordance
with their customary approach, have
started criticising the proposals pre-
sented and the steps described to
come out of the crisis. Historically,
since the 1970s, the same political
party has only managed to criticise
and disrupt any positive attempt by
Minister Sabry pledges fullest
assistance to President
Confident of achieving political stability
Foreign relations will be resolved diplomatically without complications
19th Amendment draft was produced on Wednesday
SLPP-led Government entrusted Sa-
bri with a number of pressing and
all-encompassing tasks, including
negotiating a fiscal bailout with the
International Monetary Fund (IMF).
He went to Washington in April for
IMF negotiations.
We questioned him about his
confidence in drawing more atten-
tion to Sri Lanka’s current political
and economic condition so that, as
a result of his ministry’s activities,
the country would have a better op-
portunity of receiving financial as-
sistance from friendly nations and
international organisations.
Minister Sabry: It truly is a mat-
ter of making the right decisions at
the right time.
It is much more dependent on
the country’s policy and what we of-
fer as a country than on the organ-
isations which we work with.
It is dependent on how we pro-
mote and implement fundamental
human rights, as well as how we de-
velop and sustain systems capable of
fulfilling human rights.
The manner in which we imple-
ment our Constitutional framework
for the promotion and protection of
human rights in the context of effec-
tive democratic governance will be
critical.
Based on our capacity to fulfill-
any Government without presenting
any constructive suggestions.
Throughout history, they have
opposed almost all foreign invest-
ments; foreign-funded development
projects; restructuring of loss-mak-
ing state-owned enterprises; or cost-
controlling of Government institu-
tions. Any such move was nullified
by them through protests. Due to the
fear of losing their voter base, they
have intentionally ignored the nega-
tive impact of such moves on the
country and its citizenry.
So far, these dubious elements
have not made a significant positive
contribution to the country, nor have
they offered any progressive propos-
al to uplift the economy at this cru-
cial time. They vehemently attack
whoever tries to put forward an opti-
mistic suggestion without offering a
shred of solution on their own.
With no parliamentary represen-
tation and an insignificant and tiny
vote base, they continue to obstruct
any and all attempts by successive
governments to address public is-
sues, ignoring the heavy burden on
citizens for cheap political mileage.
The “Aragalaya” or the genuine
resistance movement that prevailed
at the beginning, has evidently come
to an end with the withdrawal of the
few participants this week. The pro-
test campaign that started with gen-
uine intentions was unceremoni-
ously hijacked by the JVP and Kumar
Gunaratnam-led Frontline Socialist
Party at later stages, making many
participants and sympathisers aban-
don the event from time to time.
Realising that they have lost pub-
lic approval, the two factions are
currently trying to regroup by us-
ing some of the original initiators.
Regrettably, some of the key players
who kept declaring that the “Araga-
laya” was non-partisan have joined
hands with these political parties.
Everyone agrees that the burning
issue at this moment is the shortage
of foreign revenue. The main reason
for most of the ongoing public issues
and the unrest is the severe shortage
SUNDAY OBSERVER AUGUST 14, 2022
ing these obligations and our abil-
ity to advance democratic Consti-
tutional reforms, I am sure we can
achieve political stability as well as
the international attention and the
support for the course of action for
economic recovery.
Q: Are we sailing in the right
direction to make any faster re-
covery under the current cir-
cumstances, given the concerns
expressed by some NGOs and
countries such as the United King-
dom and the United States about
the government’s recent actions
against those protesters near the
presidential secretariat?
A. It is the task of the entire Gov-
ernment to work towards faster eco-
nomic recovery. Given the circum-
stances and the ground reality, the
best person to do it is probably Pres-
ident Wickremesinghe.
The current President is a politi-
cal veteran with nearly five decades
of experience.
He served as Prime Minister six
times.
When Sri Lanka experienced an
economic downturn in 2000, Wick-
remesinghe helped to restore the
country’s economy.
For the new President, the challenge is enormous but
different to his previous terms in politics at various
ministerial levels. Due to the prevailing gruesome
conditions, people expect much more results from
him than any of his predecessors. He has to literally
perform miracles to continue considering the
current dreadful situation
of foreign currency for essential im-
ports. Hence, it is obvious that bridg-
ing finance and IMF assistance are
extremely important at this juncture.
With the impending political
stability (although such consensus
is still uncertain due to the typi-
cal behaviour of Sri Lankan politi-
cians), bilateral financial assistance
from friendly countries and inter-
national agencies can be secured.
Therefore, as many social and reli-
gious leaders point out, any attempt
by opportunistic politicians, politi-
cal parties, or people with hidden
crafty agendas must be crushed at
all costs.
While the country is struggling
to settle down and yearn for peace,
some treacherous elements are at-
tempting to revive recent unruly
incidents that occurred around the
country. These scheming politi-
cians, spearheaded by a retired mili-
tary man turned politician, intend
to disrupt peace and destabilise the
slowly recovering society.
However, all such requests were
blatantly rejected by the masses, and
the attempt has miserably failed. The
general public has not forgotten that
these politically instigated unlawful
assemblies and uncontrollable oc-
currences not only inflicted severe
damage to private and public proper-
ty but also took the lives of innocent
bystanders. Hence, they keep away
from unwanted political moves.
Common citizens are not aware
of the methods of developing an
I am confident that he will make
those critical decisions under his
leadership.
He will send the right signals to
foreign nations and human rights
organisations, and he will continue
the discussion we started with the
IMF in April.
The President is also the current
Finance Minister.
Q: Would you assist him
closely?
A. I will assist him in whatever
capacity he requires. I will be more
than glad to help his initiatives.
Q: Do you believe our foreign
relations are more or less strained
consequent to events during and
following the impact that Araga-
laya protests have created among
other things?
A. Looking at how things have
played out in Sri Lanka, it is clear
that our institutions are strong.
We have democratic freedom,
freedom of expression, and freedom
to protest to the point where a law-
fully elected Government, an Execu-
tive President, and a Prime Minister
economy. That is the very reason
they elect politicians to represent
them in parliament. The public
chooses representatives of their own
free will, expecting these elected
men to behave intelligently and gen-
uinely help them and the country,
although a majority of the time the
intention fails. Unfortunately, in Sri
Lanka, the sole intention of politi-
cians is to gain political mileage.
Political leaders
However, the entire perspective
has changed to a certain extent after
the recent incidents that took place
throughout the country. People have
started to realise that the country
needs political leaders who can
make unbiased but strong decisions
on common issues, even when they
may be unpopular.
Sadly, for the past many decades,
any politician or political party that
ruled the country, from the day they
came into power, aimed at the next
election result rather than a people-
centric agenda. On the other hand,
the Opposition, throughout history,
started pulling down the ruling par-
ty from day one with the intention of
retaking control.
Although Sri Lanka’s main hope
of recovery is IMF assistance, the
conditions they will likely set down
will be bitter for some factions.
While they will impose generally
positive conditions such as cutting
down State expenditure, restructur-
OP-ED
9
were forced to resign before the end
of their terms.
When you look at the big picture
of what had happened, you can see
that a very peaceful revolution had
occurred in the country.
Even the deposed President had
exercised restraint.
He never used violence.
If you looked closely, it was a pos-
itive story.
Many things had happened.
A little bad luck, people’s suffer-
ing as a result of the economic crisis,
debt history, and the government’s
bad policies all played a role in the
situation.
But there is a silver lining in
that cloud, the revolution took place
peacefully.
Our democratic values are
strong.
Now is the time for the interna-
tional community to join forces with
the Government to help Sri Lanka
navigate through this difficult pe-
riod.
Q: How challenging is it for
Sri Lanka to participate in the up-
coming Human Rights sessions in
Geneva in September?
A. We had yet to complete much
work in this area due to the crisis
that existed from March to the
present. We were in a state of sur-
vival.
Having said that, we are doing
our best in this regard and are con-
sulting with our friends. We’ll figure
out how to present our case.
Q: What is the situation of
the Chinese surveillance vessel
that was scheduled to arrive at the
Hambantota Port?
ing loss-making Government insti-
tutions, and more transparency in fi-
nancial transactions, they will most
probably ask the Government to cut
down on some of the existing public
welfare programs.
In this context, the new Presi-
dent will be forced to face the litmus
test as to how he will confront such
a challenge without being subject to
public wrath.
He has already indicated that the
country will have to swallow the bit-
ter medicine before getting the cure.
How people will react to bitter medi-
cine is yet to be seen.
Sri Lanka needs to balance its
revenue and expenditure with ex-
treme caution. The practice that
prevailed where imports were way
higher than earnings will have to be
readjusted.
The current desperate situation
in the industrial sector and small
and medium business sectors must
be addressed and brought back to
normal as soon as possible in order
for them to contribute to the na-
tional income. Everything possible
to uplift the tourism industry must
be done without even a slight delay.
More ex-pat remittances must
be encouraged by offering whatever
possible incentives. The hugely loss-
making State-owned enterprises
must be restructured or sold to the
private sector to stop wasting public
funds.
Political manipulations of Gov-
ernment purchases must be com-
A. These type of military ships
calling at our ports has been hap-
pening for a long time.
In the recent past, 48 Indian mili-
tary ships have arrived, as well as 46
Japanese ships.
In the case of this particular
ship, the Foreign Ministry granted
permission on July 9.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa
was not present at that time.
Nonetheless, permission was
granted on a technical level.
Following that, there were some
concerns that this was not a typical
ship and that extremely complex fa-
cilities were present.
As a result, the point was made
that there were some far-reaching
consequences for others.
So we asked for information and
asked the Chinese ship to wait until
we could assess that information.
They were supposed to arrive on
the 11th, but did not show up.
We hope that our discussions
with China and other regional and
global powers will allow us to re-
solve the issue diplomatically and
without further complications.
Q: Do you have any thoughts
on how the 19th Amendment is
coming along?
A. The 19th Amendment draft
was produced on Wednesday.
When that takes effect, the Presi-
dent’s power will be shared with
the Prime Minister. It will be more
like the period between 2015 and
2019. The President and Prime
Minister will collaborate. That ap-
pears to be an ideal situation. That
was desired by the country’s civil
society and the public, including
the protesters
pletely stopped as a priority, perhaps
through a new mechanism.
Nefarious activities
On the other hand, the general
public must be made aware of their
own civic responsibilities. The cur-
rent trend is to blame everything on
politicians and officials when a seg-
ment of the general public is also en-
gaged in various anti-social and ne-
farious activities.
The recent fuel fraud committed
by some of the corrupted citizens is
a textbook example of a breach of
civic responsibility. They must be
made aware of the ghastly repercus-
sions of breaking the rule of law in
a country.
For the new President, the chal-
lenge is enormous but different to
his previous terms in politics at vari-
ous ministerial levels. Due to the pre-
vailing gruesome conditions, people
expect much more results from him
than any of his predecessors. He has
to literally perform miracles to con-
tinue considering the current dread-
ful situation.
The new President has limited
time to perform and pull the coun-
try out of immediate danger without
offering lame excuses. If he pulls it
through, he will be a hero and a for-
midable opponent to any other com-
petitor in the next election. If not, it
will certainly be the end of his viva-
cious political career and perhaps
the party he leads as well.
2021 DailyNews and SundayObserver epaper -Lanka News E Paper -lankanewsepaper@gmail.com -
10 SUNDAY OBSERVER AUGUST 14, 2022

Feature/News
OPINION
Marijuana is a medicine - legalise It Therefore, it is essential that the pre-
IT IS NOT COMPLETELY RIGHT TO CLAIM THAT scription be given and supervised by
a reputed doctor, who will be better
Amasha
Pathirana
MARIJUANA IS “HARMLESS” EVEN THOUGH THE able to manage the patient through-
out his/her period of treatment.
PROPERTIES OF MARIJUANA HAVE SHOWN NOT Studies show that already mil-
lions of Americans use medical mar-

T
here are few subjects that ijuana though it is largely illegal in
can stir up stronger emo-
tions among doctors, sci-
TO BE PHYSICALLY ADDICTIVE, ONE CAN BECOME most states.
This is alarming in one sense as it
entists, policymakers, and
the public than medical
PSYCHOLOGICALLY ADDICTED. HOWEVER, THIS could mean that desperate patients
may be obtaining it illegally and con-
marijuana. Is it safe? Should it be le-
gal? Is it addictive? Is there a way to IS TRUE OF JUST ABOUT ANYTHING THAT CAN suming it in incorrect dosages. This
could lead to further health compli-
keep it out of the reach of teenagers?
Is it really the “wonder drug” that
people claim it is? Are just some of
GIVE ONE PLEASURE, SUCH AS CHOCOLATE, cations as they are not monitored by
a recognised medical practitioner.

the many questions raised in the de-

bate on whether marijuana should
be legalised for medical purposes.
What is marijuana? Well, you
might have heard, or you might not.
Marijuana is a psychoactive drug
from the cannabis plant which can
also be called weed or pot. To many
people Marijuana is a drug used
by drug addicts to gain an artificial
‘high’. This negative association is
further fuelled by the side effects
caused by an excessive use of the
drug. However, what many fail to re-
alise is that when it comes to medi-
cal prescription of the drug, things
are very different.
According to research conducted
by Harvard Medical School, medical-
ly prescribed Marijuana contains the
component known as cannabidiol, a
stain of Marijuana which has no in-
toxicating properties. As such patients
who currently use medically pre-
scribed Marijuana have reported no
signs of altered consciousness. There-
fore, despite the association of nega-
tive side effects like brain damage,
damage to the reproductive system
and the weakening of the immune
system among others, current studies
show that moderate daily use of Mari-
juana causes none of the above.
Cancer chemotherapy
In this vein several studies have
found that medical marijuana can
be helpful in treating nausea and
vomiting from cancer chemothera-
py and help improve the food intake
in HIV patients. A few studies have
found that inhaled marijuana can
also be helpful in the treatment of
neuropathic pain (pain caused by
damaged nerves).To ease the pain of
multiple sclerosis, and nerve pain in
general.
This is an area where few other
options exist. Patients claim that
marijuana allows them to resume
their previous activities without feel-
ing completely disengaged unlike
other drugs.
Apart from this medical mari-
juana has been linked to a reduction
in tremors in Parkinson’s disease
whilst it has been successfully used
in the treatment of wasting syn-
drome associated with HIV, as well
as irritable bowel syndrome and
Crohn’s disease.
Adding to the medical benefit
of the drug, Gawini Siriwardane,
medical student at the University of
Colombo, said that weed should be
legal as it has many uses in the medi-
cal world and also it has been used
by people for thousands of years. Ac-
tive chemicals in weed are similar to
chemicals the body makes, that are
involved in appetite, memory, move-
ment and pain. Also, there are many
doctors who currently support the
effectiveness of using weed as treat-
ment for some conditions such as
seizures, cancer and so on.
Looking around there appears
to be overwhelming evidence for
the responsible and prescribed use
of medical marijuana. However, the
drug itself remains illegal in most
countries. Only 29 states in America
have legalised its use despite close
to 85 percent of the people our in fa-
vour of legalising it.
On the flip side we find that mil-
lions have died by smoking, yet
they’re sold at stores still. Alcohol
has been the main cause of count-
less deaths due to diabetes, liver
disease and dementia with many be-
ing killed from drunk driving alone
SHOPPING, OR GAMBLING.
NOT EVERY SUBSTANCE WILL BE SAFE FOR
EVERYONE, WHEN USED IN EXCESSIVE AMOUNTS
OR UNDER EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE
in 2011, yet people can purchase it
still. And the question remains as to
‘who has died by consuming medical
marijuana?’ the answer is... no one.
Direct tax revenue
With regard to marijuana’s ben-
efit to the economy, Charithma Dis-
sanayake said that there is direct tax
revenue from this to the economy.
Considering other countries that
have legalised this, it can be seen
that their tax revenue has increased
compared to previous years.
Create jobs
And also, the establishment of
weed nurseries can create jobs in
the production, distribution, and
management sectors. It is good for
our unemployment problem. Be-
cause when the unemployment rate
is reduced, social unrest can also be
reduced.
The other side is investment.
When weed is legalised, investors
benefit from having their invest-
ment portfolios secure. And it in-
creases access to a huge number of
investors who show a significant in-
terest in this sector.
Apart from these areas, we can
get many benefits from this. And
this is another golden gate that Sri
Lanka can use to earn dollars. There
are many core aspects that we can
improve when legalising weed. So,
legalisation of weed brings more
benefit to the economy.
It is not completely right to claim
that marijuana is “harmless” even
though the properties of marijuana
have shown not to be physically ad-
dictive, one can become psychologi-
cally addicted. However, this is true
of just about anything that can give
one pleasure, such as chocolate,
shopping, or gambling.
Not every substance will be safe
for everyone, when used in exces-
sive amounts or under every circum-
stance.
The effects of medical marijua-
na will depend on the dose taken.
Governments
Despite its many researched
benefits, if governments around the
world fail to take heed and decrimi-
nalise marijuana for medical pur-
poses, many more desperate people
will be seeking it out illegally.
Suhanya Devanjee, a law student
at the University of London said as a
nation that values the freedoms and
liberties of its citizens, we shouldn’t
imprison people for using weed as it
is scientifically proven that it is safer
than alcohol, tobacco, and many oth-
er drugs. Additionally, a prohibition
would probably be a waste of state
resources; legalisation and taxation
would be considerably more advan-
tageous for generating the necessary
income.
Consequently, the greatest rem-
edy would be a system that controls
teens’ access to weed. Furthermore,
a full prohibition is likely to result in
violence for both the buyers and the
sellers.
In these conditions, a legal
mechanism that permits the use of
weed for both medical and environ-
mental goals will produce superior
results. Therefore, considering the
medical evidence I personally hope
that one day medical marijuana will
be as freely available as the common
aspirin, giving every patient the
right to chose.

Indunil Palihawadana installed as

District President
A
new chapter in a 17-year
long journey begins as
the Leos of District 306
C2 Sri Lanka embark on
their new leoistic year,
led by the District President, Leo
Lion Indunil Palihawadana.
The inaugural event of the year,
the Annual Installation Ceremony
’22 of the Leo District 306 C2 was
held on July 30, 2022. This event
was graced by District Chairman for
Leos, International Leo Club Pro-
gram Advisory Panellist of Lions
Clubs International, Lion Dr. Las-
antha Goonawardena MJF/MAF and
many other Lions dignitaries.
This event was joined by the
much-anticipated participation of
over 400 Leos. One of the hallmarks
of this event was the ‘Parade by
Leos’, which Leos enjoyed thorough-
ly and showcased their strength as
clubs.
Leo District 306C2 is the largest
Leo District in Sri Lanka and con-
sists of over 5000 members and 40
Leo Clubs extended from Colombo
to Batticaloa including many school
base , university base and commu-
nity based Leo Clubs. In the mem-
bership development 306C2 won the
most prestigious most outstanding
membership Development District
in the world.
Addressing the gathering Lion
Lasantha Goonewardena highlight-
ed the benefits of being a Leo and
explained the International Leo
Club program strategic plan which
includes membership development,
member experience, transition and
international relations.
Past District Governor Nimal Bu-
lathsinghala, Vice District Governor
Ranjith Fernando, Chairman and
CEO of Horizon Campus and many
other dignitaries were present.
2021 DailyNews and SundayObserver epaper -Lanka News E Paper -lankanewsepaper@gmail.com -
Journalists’ role has changed with
social media – Don
I
f religion is born on trust, then
mass media has become a reli-
gion today because people trust
mass media. The mass media be-
comes the Fourth Estate that holds
power in a country after the Legisla-
ture, Executive, and the Judiciary. It
seems that the role of the mass media
has been taken over by social media
at present.
However, the media’s compila-
tion of information has responsibil-
ity. Even a minor mistake caused by
a press release can cause not only a
character assassination but also a
murder. Making a mistake is not as
easy as correcting it. Today, we are
discussing the media’s behaviour and
the media’s responsibility in the re-
cent turbulent situations with Senior
Lecturer, Department of Mass Com-
munication Studies at the University
of Kelaniya Wijayananda Rupasing-
ha.
Q : What is mass media?
A: We generally refer to
mass media as a method used to pro-
vide information to the public. That
means the method of giving informa-
tion to a large number of people at
the same time. But even if this is ana-
lysed simply, its form has changed
slightly. In the past, we used to call
mass media the means of informing
people who are scattered in different
places, but now the nature of mass
media has changed, especially with
the advent of the Internet and social
media.
Mass media does not always mean
the information given from one place
by using one reliable source, but the
amount of information given by dif-
Renewable energy, sustainability and peace building
Where does human unrest come
from? From a chaotic world, one may
argue. But who makes the world cha-
otic but humans themselves? What is
the main reason for this chaos? The
response may be – the struggle to sur-
vive. From where does this struggle to
survive emerge? If this is asked from
someone languishing in some fuel
queue in Sri Lanka it is likely the per-
son making this query may end up
with some serious injury.
However, it merits that we repeat
that question for good measure be-
cause uncomfortable situations force
us to ask uncomfortable questions.
From where does this struggle to sur-
vive come from? Does it not come from
a lack of basic wisdom and average
common sense?
Speaking to many renewable en-
ergy innovators, especially solar and
bio gas innovators in the past weeks,
this writer ended up asking these same
questions and trying to solve an unbe-
lievably difficult puzzle. The puzzle of
why Sri Lanka, a country which has
been gifted with the generous bounty
of the sun, has the ocean right round
alongside rivers/ diverse water sourc-
es and the vast potential for bio gas
options through its high skilled inno-
vation/invention centred human re-
sources is day in and day out becom-
ing indebted to other countries for the
purchase of fossil fuel at exorbitant
prices. Alongside is the interlinked
mystery why our renewable energy in-
novators are ridiculed, neglected and
at times viewed akin to criminals.
Factors
Why had our economic and other
experts both local and foreign not fore-
seen that this gross and irrational de-
pendence would contribute one day to
the shattering of our economy along-
side many other factors culminating in
the debilitating national scenario that
we are experiencing now.
Fossil fuel exists beneath the sur-
face of the earth; the extraction of
which is greatly violent and harmful
to the planet. Fossil fuel destroys the
atmosphere when transformed to gas
as it produces the poisonous carbon di-
oxide that destroys the health of both
the environment and that of humans.
This brings us to the question – while it
could be argued as justified and ratio-
nal for countries which are endowed
with oil and petroleum to extract it
through whatever means, why are
far flung countries such as Sri Lanka
which has an unlimited abundance of
sunlight and other renewable energy
options well in excess, not utilising it?
Have we been in a coma for seventy
ferent people from different places.
In other words, in the past, we
used to see that the journalists work-
ing in the media were those who re-
ceived some training, those who had
some educational qualifications, and
those who worked with responsibil-
ity. But today, with the advent of so-
cial media, the role of a journalist has
changed, and every person in society
has become a distributor of informa-
tion because things like citizen jour-
nalism have come into being. That
means a camera can make a video
clip and can also make a voice re-
cording.
Everyone is involved in the pro-
cess of information and news dis-
tribution, the role played by a jour-
nalist. But today we cannot give the
definition of mass media as it was
given earlier because information
comes from everywhere.
So, the only difference is that they
are not trained journalists and willing
to spread anything and everything in
any way. Today, people do not accept
the mass media as widely distributed
newspapers, radios, and television
but rather the large amount of infor-
mation received through social me-
dia. So, the shape of the mass media
has changed today.
Q : What is media responsibil-
ity?
A: This is something that has de-
veloped in the world for a long time
as a concept. The concept of social
responsibility arose in the world
from the sensational news (sensa-
tional journalism) that arose in the
American media in the 1800s and
early 1900s. We also call this “yellow
journalism.” That means speaking to
people’s feelings and emotions. Love,
romance, hate, curiosity, and things
related to those things are involved in
distributing more information.
As a solution to this, a theory
called “Social Responsibility” was de-
four years of so called independence?
There is no doubt that we have in-
telligent and innovative manpower.
Why are we not building an education
system catering to our national needs
for innovation and job creation using
primarily renewable energy which as
pointed out in a separate article last
week could lead to diverse industries
connected to renewable energy indus-
tries. Why have we not carried out for
all these decades research on quartz
and silica which we possess for a na-
tional level transformation to solar en-
ergy production using locally available
resources.
Is not our economic problems al-
most entirely man made? Why is our
modern education system not creating
professors and economic experts who
will ask what a thinking nine- year-old
with average intelligence would?
Peace, peacemaking or peace
building; however we may coin these
words refers primarily to a mental
state. Peace begins first in our inner
universe centered in the core of our
awareness.
Ancient spiritual traditions ascer-
tained this and had rituals and tradi-
tions that were designed to link the
nurturing of inner peace of the hu-
man heart and mind with the larger
pulse and veins of the earth. Ancient
man and the pre-colonial education
systems of diverse civilisations had
utmost reverence for all of nature and
would not have dreamt of using mod-
ern knowledge through science tech-
nology to harm it. The oceans were its
bloodstream, the lakes its veins and
the soil its robust body, providing life
to all other beings.
Great mother
The earth was thus considered the
great mother and revered. Disturbing
its balance was not thought or. Even
cutting of a tree was associated with
permission seeking rituals practised
in many cultural traditions. There was
no forced grabbing of earth’s resources
and sharing of resources did not lead
to an obsession with war, although of
course the eternal reality of war and
peace has existed throughout millen-
nia.
What we have today, despite hav-
ing institutions espousing peace and
where making peace is a lucrative busi-
ness, is insidious internal and external
Wijayananda Rupasingha
veloped after the Second World War.
It means that the responsibility of the
mass media is to provide people with
important information; information
that is important for their daily lives;
something that can be improved
from where they are in their society;
something that improves people’s ed-
ucational level. In the past, this was
often considered to be the concept of
responsibility.
The media goes ahead and sees
the future and present a certain
amount of information. For exam-
ple, the media reports that there is a
power cut. But it is not about report-
ing that there is a power cut. Before
it happens, they have to report what
is causing this electricity crisis? Why
does that happen? Where is it going?
What are the shortcomings?  What
are the alternatives?
It is the media’s responsibility to
find out about those matters and re-
port them to the people. Otherwise, it
is not the responsibility of the media
to report on what is happening at that
time. Before any incident happens,
warfare with both the planet and man-
kind. Yet in this exploitation centered
reality we sleekly talk of sustainabil-
ity, peacebuilding, human rights and
preach economic equity.
To sustain is to last and the word
able is to put to good use – sustain-
able. Peace building or human rights,
natural resources and economic secu-
rity has to last the test of a reasonable
span of time and be sustainable. What
we have today are not sustainable so-
lutions but quick and surface based
fixes.
We seem to be missing basic com-
monsense ‘expertise’ which is – use
and innovate upon non violent, abun-
dantly available resources for human
survival – so that both man and planet
will be able to cohabit in a tensionless
existence and retain the earth’s bounty
for future generations.
Yet we are in a strange age where
man and his modern technology treats
the planet and all that lives in it as
slaves – chained and fettered to profit
and profit alone – an age where poison
is created to make the earth ‘produce’
and where experts justify this even
when that poison kills off both hu-
mans, soil, insects, birds and all that is
alive in the realm of biodiversity.
Mini cemeteries
There is no peace in the way we
do our modern farming. It is a violent
process and our plates are mini cem-
eteries. And at times the same global
systems that promoted such ‘solutions’
from the time of the green revolution
to ‘keep the world fed’ does an instant
U turn and proclaims that yes, it is a
terrible thing that we have poisoned
much of mankind through agriculture
but blithely gets away with its earlier
stance.
So while half of the population
is being killed and becoming sick in
the process of ‘being fed’ the other
half gets killed by what we were fore-
warned some years ago by global busi-
ness tycoons in the vaccine business as
‘bio weapons’ based‘ illnesses.’
So we assume that viruses are
made in labs, but we do not question
much further because such question-
ing is not in our modern psyche, and
as synthetic ‘solutions’ are found for
profit, we continue ignoring the fact
that all of nature holds for us a ‘phar-
macy of cures’ for all our modern ills
we see the role of sentry. If some-
thing harmful happens in society, the
media should do the work of warn-
ing, knowing that something harm-
ful is bound to happen.
Their mission is to give truthful
and reliable information to the peo-
ple. And to some extent, they should
reduce their loyalties. There are also
political and economic biases. With-
out those things, it is best to deal with
social responsibility in any way.
Q : What is the responsibility
of the media in a crisis?
A: In times of crisis, we often see
the media always reports only about
the crisis. But before the crisis is re-
ported, the most important part of
the media is to discuss the possibility
of such a crisis before the crisis. For
example, during the Covid-19 pan-
demic, the media has to report about
the preventive measures that can be
taken as a pre-crisis situation. It is the
responsibility of the media to report
the situation before the crisis and
find solutions or alternatives to it.
The next step is during the crisis.
The media should report on the crisis
in a way that gives people a good un-
derstanding of the situation and the
possible results, the solutions that
can be taken, and how to get out of it
to a better state.
The media should not scare peo-
ple, but make them understand the
crisis. It is necessary to engage in re-
porting in such a way that the people
are not oppressed during a crisis.
The media should report news
responsibly and find solutions to the
situation.
The third point is the post-crisis
situation. They have to follow up
on the crisis. If there are problems,
frauds, or corruption during the cri-
sis, the media should report them
to the public. While trying to get rid
of the crisis, it is possible to refrain
from reporting the news that inter-
whether it be natural energy, bio di-
versity focused food or nature boosted
health; all of which are fragments that
make up the bigger picture of econom-
ic expenditure/or earning of a nation.
Yet entities promoting human
rights talk of ‘sustainability,’ ‘environ-
ment protection,’ ‘equal rights,’ and
‘crimes against humanity talk of these
factors often without recognising that
there is an urgent need to introspect
upon the authenticity of these calls as
opposed to what is occurring in prac-
tice.
None of the above humanistic ide-
als can be reached when the core of
the consciousness which speaks of the
above is distorted. The pragmatism of
Buddhism holds that a distorted mind
cannot come up with sensible solu-
tions.
The world in which we are trying
to find peace is distorted and its soul
is a traumatised orphan. It is gasping
for breath and the ‘experts’ who have
walked far away from the goldmine
of wisdom. Instead they use sterilise
minds to come up with solutions which
are directed at keep-
ing alive power status
quos of diverse sorts
and where the basic
premise is hypocrisy,
cunning, manipula-
tion and control.
Yet, each hu-
man being, in what-
ever official position
and living out life in
whatever location in
the world could be
a reservoir of clar-
ity upon which the
yacht of inner peace
could be set afloat. If
authentic spirituality
was linked with our
modern diplomacy
and philanthropy
and governance, we
would not have to
wait to die to expect a
heavenly experience.
Authentic inner
peace and spiritual-
ity could lead to the
creation of a fleet of
honesty, goodwill,
healthy profit mak-
ing and economic in-
tegrity that does not
manipulate either
planet or human. If
this is the case, words
such as peace build-
ing, development
and sustainability
will no longer be use-
less phrases bandied
about for diverse
agendas but holis-
tic words alive with
practical meaning.
These words
SUNDAY OBSERVER AUGUST 14, 2022
Interview/ Feature
feres with it, but it is the responsibil-
ity of the media to follow up after the
crisis has subsided.
For example, in times of a crisis,
an inquiry should be made about the
performance of each sector such as
the security forces, the performance
of government officials, voluntary
services and political parties. The
media should report in three main
steps: the situation before the crisis
(pre-crisis situation), during the cri-
sis, and the situation after the crisis
(post-crisis situation).
Q : Who should take responsi-
bility for journalists?
A: There are problems to define
a journalist. But mainstream jour-
nalists have been issued an official
government identity card so that they
can run the service without interrup-
tion. All government officials and se-
curity forces have been instructed to
allow a person wearing that identity
card to carry out their duties without
any hindrance.
There is another issue: they have
gone beyond the role of a journalist.
That means they have taken the role
of an activist. When they play the
roles of an activist and a journalist,
it is probably impossible to distin-
guish who is the journalist and who is
the activist. Journalists should know
their limit.
Q : What are your thoughts on
social media responsibility?
A: This is a complicated situation.
Other media are institutionally regu-
lated in some way. It is through social
media that people are motivated to
get more information, especially the
younger generation, who use social
media as a means of getting informa-
tion. There are many problems in the
world regarding the reliability of so-
cial media.
For example, in the concept of
fake news, one can spread misin-
would then be those that would rhyme
in harmony with the heartbeat of the
earth, resonating with the heartbeat
of each human, wafting over the lands
which ancient civilisations worshiped
and protected as part of their
gratitude to the planet that
sustained them. Thus they
would be words born out of
honor, integrity and inner
reflection aligned with the
human conscience. In such
a world all humans would
gravitate to renewable ener-
gy which is nature’s own ‘do
no harm model’ handbook
for modern human survival
and the subsequent result
would be an organically driv-
en peace making among hu-
mans as resources are shared
without destruction.
About the author; Fran-
ces Bulathsinghala promotes
peace building and human
wellbeing through spiritu-
ality, heritage, indigenous
knowledge and earth protec-
11
formation in an organised manner.
Those who use social media more
often accept misinformation as real
and reliable information. Because of
this, media literacy should be popu-
larised among the users of social
media. There are organisations of
fact-checkers, but anyone can be a
fact-checker. When they see a photo,
a post, a link, when they see news,
they have to be media literate enough
to understand the credibility of what
it says.
For example, the mass media has
come to social media. Mass media
maintains some social media pages
for themselves and they maintain
social media links. And then, the re-
sponsibility in the mass media can
also be seen in social media.
Information receivers must have
an understanding of the reliability of
the things that are propagated only
on social media without mass me-
dia. For example, social media sites
such as Facebook are now reviewed
by their community standards, eth-
ics, and standards adopted by insti-
tutions, and when they find out that
some posts are fake, they remove
some pages after reporting.
Q : What are your views on me-
dia responsibility?
A: All media should be regulated.
Media is a business, and the mass
media is an industry. There must be
somebody to regulate such fields. We
think that the regulation of the State
is not good. That is a popular opinion.
If government regulation is influen-
tial, we should move to a self-regula-
tory system.
If they do not follow the Govern-
ment’s process, they should resort to
self-regulation methods within their
industry. If this is not addressed, the
freedom of the industry may be re-
stricted in some way by something
caused by the Government or by oth-
er influential institutional structures.
tion. She is currently assisting a cam-
paign to create national awareness
on the islandwide renewable energy
potential, especially bio gas and solar
power.
2021 DailyNews and SundayObserver epaper -Lanka News E Paper -lankanewsepaper@gmail.com -
12 SunDAy OBServer AuGuSt 14, 2022

News/Obituaries
NCE to recruit 8,000
trainees in 2023
BY S. M. WIJAYARATNE,
KURUNEGALA CORR
The Education Ministry will re-
cruit about 8,000 trainees to Nation-
al Colleges of Education (NCE) to
follow three-year residential teach-
er training courses in 2023.
Around 6,000 teachers retire an-
nually and 5,000 school teachers
have already applied for retirement
this year and more teacher recruit-
ments are now needed, Senior Di-
rector of Education, Kurunegala
W.M. Balasooriya told the Sunday
Observer.
About 4,000 school teachers
who have experience in foreign lan-
guages and vocational skills have
also applied for no-pay leave for
five years to go abroad for lucra-
tive jobs. Hence, there will be more
vacancies for qualified teachers in
Government schools in the future,
he said. About 3,000 graduates too
would be recruited after a competi-
tive examination early next year
(2023) to meet the future require-
ments of teachers in remote Gov-
ernment schools countrywide, Bal-
asooriya said.
The Ministry of Education in its
latest circular to all school heads
has instructed them to give the
number of subject teachers they
need in their schools next year and
to furnish the statistics of teacher
requirements without delay.
Ranjan signs document for
Presidential pardon
Actor-turned politician and for-
mer Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB)
Parliamentarian Ranjan Ramanay-
ake, who is serving a four-year sen-
tence for Contempt of Court, signed
a document relating to a opresiden-
tial pardon yesterday (August 13).
This was confirmed by his attor-
ney-at-law Dinesh Vidanapathirana.
He said the document was signed on
the advice of President Ranil Wick-
remesinghe.
Dengue Control Week to be declared
SHERIFDEEN AMATH
A National Dengue Mosquito
He said the copies of the affidavit
will be handed over to the President,
Chief Justice and other Supreme
Court Judges and Minister of Justice
Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe in due
course. A final decision regarding
Ramanayake’s release will be taken
afterwards.
Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa
Rajapakshe said earlier in August
that Ramanayake must first sub-
mit an affidavit apologising for the
ported infected with dengue since
the beginning of this year. There are
66 dengue high risk zones across the
charges against him. The Supreme
Court sentenced Ramanayake to
four years’ rigorous imprisonment
(RI) on January 12, 2021, over con-
tempt of court charges, in connec-
tion with certain disparaging re-
marks he had allegedly made about
the Judiciary in August 2017.
President Wickremesinghe had
publicly declared that a Presidential
pardon for Ramanayake, will be con-
sidered.
11,437 dengue cases and 1,916 cas-
es have been reported so far this
month.

Donation to Kobeigane School Control Week will be announced

Senior school students
of the Holambalewa Village
who study aesthetic studies at
several other leading schools
in Kobeigane staged a stage
drama for the public and
they had collected a sum of
Rs.100,000.
They volunteered to pur-
chase a sound system at a cost
of Rs. 80,000 and a machine to
cut grass at a cost of Rs. 20,000
to be donated to the Nika/
Geta Diwulwewa Government
Primary School at the Ko-
beigane educational division,
Kurunegala District.
at the end of this month since the
dengue disease has turned into an
epidemic this year compared to last
year, the Director of Dengue Control
Unit Dr. Sudath Samaraweera said.
Over 50,000 people have been re-
US pledges help to develop tourism industry
US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Ju-
lie Chung who held a meeting with
the Minister of Tourism, Harin Fer-
nando said she believes that a safe
and sustainable return to tourism is
a key factor in reviving Sri Lanka’s
the group of students is handing over their donation to M.B.I.M.F. Dissanay- economy.
ake, Principal and to senior prefects of that school on Wednesday. The US Ambassador has men-
( Pic. and text by S.M.Wijayaratne, Kurunegala Corr) tioned on Twitter that the discussion
country and the most cases (51.8
percent) have been reported from
the Western Province. Most patients
are from Colombo, Gampaha, Kalu-
tara, Kandy, Ratnapura and Kegalle
districts, Dr. Samaraweera said.
In the past month there were
was held to revive the tourism sector
in the country. She has stated that
they discussed the immediate and
long-term plans to revive Sri Lanka’s
tourism sector and that she is inter-
ested in sharing Sri Lanka’s natural
beauty and fascinating culture with
more Americans.
“There was a good discussion
He said that mosquito control ef-
forts have been paralysed due to the
lack of fuel for fumigation. In the
meantime, the people should keep
the surrounding environment clean
to prevent the breeding of mosqui-
toes.
with Harin Fernando about the im-
mediate and long-term plans to re-
vive Sri Lanka’s tourism sector. I am
eager to share Sri Lanka’s natural
beauty and fascinating culture with
more Americans, and believe that a
safe, sustainable return to tourism is
the key to Sri Lanka’s economic re-
covery,” Ambassador Chung said.

73RD DEATH 33RD DEATH

ANNIVERSARY ANNIVERSARY
Everyone must get... Continued from page 4

So, we have to make a very strong Con-
stitution and substantially that will reflect
the ideas of all the people irrespective of
their nationalities, religions, affiliations
and politics. You cannot draft a Constitu-
tion only for one set of people. It has to be
for the whole country. That is what we have
been urging and that is in preparation.
Right now, there is a constitutional
S. EUGUNE R.H. WIMALAWATHIE draft. So, we will be contemplating that
FERNANDO FERNANDO draft. After that, it will be made public so
An Alms-giving will be held on 14th August 2022 that the people can express their views
to Bestow merits on you both. about the draft.
I always say that there should be a new
May you both attain Nibbana!
Constitution. My personal view is the Ex-
Sadly missed and fondly remembered by ecutive Presidency should be abolished.
your loving children & grandchildren. There are things such as the 13th Amend-
ment and we have to revise that. The elec-
No. 1, Shrubbery Gardens, Colombo 04.
toral system has to be changed and other
sweeping political, economic and social re-
forms have to come in. That is what we are
IN REMEMBRANCE expecting from a Constitution.
J.L.D. PEIRIS
Born: Died:
1st June 1901 14th August 1986
DAYANANDA MATARA
Remembered with Undying Affection PATABENDIGE
and Eternal Gratitude
(Justice of the Peace for All-island,
Requiescat in Pace Retired Colombo Municipality
Chief Internal Auditor, former
Yahala House, Colombo 2.
Audit Manager at Institute of Architects &
Ex-President of St. Servatius College (Matara)
15TH
YEAR Old Boys' Association Colombo branch) of
54/3, St. Peter's Road, Moratuwa.
REMEMBRANCE
Beloved husband of late Leela Rathnabharathi
Matara Patabendige, loving father of Nanditha
(UK), Nirosh (UK), Anush (USA), father-in-
law of Dimuth, Smita, dearest grandfather of
Alisha & Dylan, passed away peacefully in
Nottinghamshire, UK on 9th July 2022. The
funeral was held on 18th July 2022 at the
Mansfield & District Crematorium, Mansfield,
Nottinghamshire, UK.
LUKE MOHAN
WISIDAGAMA
Eternal rest grant unto
him O' Lord
And let perpetual light
shine upon him
May he rest in peace
Lovingly remembered by your only
sister, brother-in-law, niece and her
family
Holy mass will be offered
tomorrow at 6.30 a.m. at the home
for the elderly Maradana.
Q: What led the Government to pres-
ent the Budget Appropriation (Amend-
ment) Bill for the next four months?
A: Of course, things have changed now.
Our dollar reserves have depleted and the
rupee value has decreased. We have to take
into consideration such things and present
a new Budget. The Budget presented earlier
is not in effect now. Without a Budget that is
not in effect, the Government is compelled
to ask the Parliament for more funds and
that should not be the case. That is why the
Government is presenting a new Budget so
that we can smoothly navigate the next four
months.
Q: Will the declaration of emergency
regulations have any adverse effect on Sri
Lanka especially from the international
community? Will this adversely affect our
chances of getting international aid from
IMF, ADB and World Bank to tide over the
present difficulties?
A: The emergency will not stay for
long. The emergency was declared at the
time when things were getting out of hand.
When the Police and the Army personnel
were beaten up and they were ridiculed
on the streets and that should not be the
case. That is why I said earlier too, nobody
can take the law into their hands. I person-
ally believe that immunity of the President
should go and that should not be in the
new Constitution. Nobody is immune and
nobody is above the law.
That is why the emergency was de-
clared to bring sanity to the country. I don’t
know whether the word ‘sanity’ is correct
because some people may say all 225 Mem-
bers of Parliament are insane. So, how do
we bring sanity into the country? That is a
different perspective but the emergency
will not stay for long. It may be for about
another one or two months. Anyway, we
have been living with an emergency since
1971.
I am not trying to reason out why the
emergency was declared and why it should
be there. Even though an emergency is de-
clared, we can have day-to-today affairs.
When the situation is getting out of hand
and certain elements attempt to promote
violence and harassment, measures were
taken to prevent that. Nobody thinks that
if we stage a pro-
test, the people
will not be able to
move freely. Free-
dom enshrines
free movement. I
am not saying the
protests are bad.
There should be
protests.
Even in the fu-
ture, there should
be protests. If the
Government is not
acting up to the ex-
pectations of the
people, of course
there should be
protests. When you
say the Govern-
ment, we always
think it is the rul-
ing party but it is
not only the ruling
party. The Oppo-
sition and all 225
legislators have the
same responsibili-
ty and accountabil-
ity. If the people
are saying that 225
MPs are corrupt or ruling party members
are corrupt, then what about the bureau-
crats and Government officials who are
corrupt? Even I saw on YouTube that some
Diaspora said that they funded some of the
NGOs and they were backing them.
Q: Do you think political stability
will help Sri Lanka to seek a faster bailout
package from the IMF and other lending
agencies?
A: Definitely. We have to have political
stability. That is why we are inviting each
and every one to come to an agreement or
plan of action. I personally believe there
should be criticism and self-criticism. Most
of the people who criticise, do they have
self-criticism? Among the political parties
in Sri Lanka, they all preach about democ-
racy but there is no democracy within the
party. If there is no self-criticism, there
can’t be criticism.
First, it should be self-criticism and
then let us criticise others. For that, I be-
lieve political stability could be achieved in
such a way. For that, let us come together
and choose the best idea for the sake of the
country, people and future generations. If
we miss this opportunity, there may not be
a future for the country. Let us get togeth-
er and forget our political differences and
whatever divisive ideas, thoughts and uto-
pias that we have. As the Cabinet members,
we have taken up the challenge of bringing
this country out of this mess.
Q: At present the people have lost
their confidence in the parliamentary
system and reject all 225 legislators. What
has led to such an impression among the
people?
A: When the 2019 Easter Sunday bomb
attack took place, what did the people say?
If you go back to the media reports,
they said all 225 MPs should be bombed
inside the Parliament. After two years,
there were elections. Of the 225 MPs,
the majority of who are sitting as mem-
bers today were the members who
were cursed by the people at that time.
It is the people who select and elect
their members to Parliament.
That is why I am saying the elec-
toral system should be changed. Under
this system, the people may not be able
to select or elect honourable members
to Parliament. When I said that clench-
ing the political body that tantamounts
not only the political reforms but also
about the politicians.
There should be norms set for a pol-
itician to be selected to the Parliament
as a candidate. At least, he should pass
the G.C.E. Advanced Level examina-
tion. We are still using archaic and ob-
solete methods. Even in our education
system, we are carrying a corpus that
was cast away by the very people who
brought these things to Sri Lanka. The
British have adopted a different system
of education in their own country. The
whole world is moving towards that di-
rection but whereas our system of edu-
cation is still in the 1930s and 1940s.
We have to have a revolution of
thoughts. For that, we have to strength-
en the system of our education. The
system of education doesn’t mean only
the schools and universities. It also ap-
plies to kindergarten, montessori and
dhamma schools. The vocational train-
ing centres should also be taken into
consideration. First, all these learning
processes or accumulation of knowl-
edge has to be free.
Every year, there are children who have
not entered grade one. On a superficial lev-
el, they say everything is fine. That is only
the icing but what it has under the icing
is rotting. The children are not given the
chance to educate in their nearest school.
This is the dilemma that we have and this is
a paradox. We need a revolution of thoughts
and also agrarian, industrial, environment
and cultural revolutions for this country
to prosper. We always forget our roots and
heritage. We always glorify our past. What
have we done for these 73 years? We should
have a sweeping revolution. It means a
complete overhaul of the machine. Without
that, we will be talking about the same topic
in another ten years’ time. The same Araga-
laya or protests will be there continuously
and that will shed blood and take some of
our lives away.
We don’t want that to happen. The peace
and law and order situation should prevail
in the country. That is the primary require-
ment for any country to develop. We have
106 rivers flowing right round the country.
Have we tapped that? What about the ener-
gy of ocean waves? The countries with three
months of sunlight are tapping sunlight
and they are having solar power. Sri Lanka,
which has had solar power for 365 days, has
not done anything.
That is the irony. So, how can we pros-
per? Let us castaway the personal agendas.
We cannot run with personal agendas. That
is why the Cabinet of Ministers agreed not
to take any salary. Today the people have
lost their confidence in legislators. Because
when you say that some politicians are
crooks or rogues, which implies to all politi-
cians. Are only the politicians to be blamed?
I am not saying just because I am a politi-
cian, I blame the others also. That is not my
stand. If something is not good for some
that is not good for others as well. You can-
not have two spoons. There should be only
one spoon to serve all.
BAKELMUN NOEL - passed away peace-
fully on August 6th 2022, survived by his
sister Marie Kemps and predeceased by
his brothers Maurice, Osmund, Emil and
Carlo. Burial was held on August 7th at the
Welisara Cemetery. Thanks and gratitude to
all at Devsiri Sevana, Welisara for the care
provided. 046365
CHINNIAH - DAMAYANTI RANI nee
ANKETELL (6 Oct. 1940 - 5 Aug 2022)
- Passed away peacefully surrounded by
her family. Beloved wife of Bennet of 52
years. Loving mother of David and Timo-
thy, mother-in-law of Renuka and Sharla,
grandmother of Analise and Joshua, sister
of the late Balan and Eva Anketell, Drs.
Inpam and Karunyan Arulanantham, Dr.
Arul and Ranji Anketell, Suren and Chris-
tine Anketell and Gnane and Chandra An-
ketell. Daughter of the late Ernest Balasing-
ham and Thapomani (died when Damyanti
was 2 months). Her father remarried the
late Susan Anketell whom she knew as her
mother. Damayanti was a teacher loved by
her students in Sri Lanka and the US. She
taught High School Science and Scripture at
Methodist College, Sri Lanka. A Memorial
Service will be held at the Faith Christian
Fellowship Church, 505 E. 42nd Street,
Baltimore, Maryland 21218 on Satur-
day, August 13, 2022 beginning at 11
a.m. 046715
2021 DailyNews and SundayObserver epaper -Lanka News E Paper -lankanewsepaper@gmail.com -
Rising cricket star from
Anuradhapura
Danidu scored 550
runs in a single innings
In any form of cricket, scoring
runs for a batsman is no easy task.
Although cricket is a game between
bat and ball, on the pitch one lone
batsman has to score runs against
11 opposing players. Therefore, it is
rare for a batsman to cross the 500-
run mark let alone score a century or
a double century. Only a handful of
such incidents have been recorded in
cricketing history.
The foremost among them is the
record set by Pranav Dhanawade
from Maharashtra in India. In 2016
he scored 1009 runs in a local match
considered a remarkable feat to this
day. He was 16-years-old at the time
and broke a 116 old world record.
The previous record of a whop-
ping 628 runs had been set by Brit-
ish school cricketer A.E.J Collins in
1899 at a local match. Accordingly,
Dhanawade was the first to cross the
100-run mark in any form of cricket.
The record set by West Indies Crick-
eter Brian Lara is also mentionable
where he scored 501 runs not out.
This story is about a similarly
amazing feat by a 14-year-old school
boy from Anuradhapura. His record
will go down in the annals of Sri
Lankan cricket as the highest num-
ber of runs scored by any batsman
in an innings in any form of compe-
tition or under any age group in the
history of Sri Lankan cricket.
He is Danidu Chirath Sellaperu-
ma. The opening batsman of the Anu-
radhapura St. Joseph’s College under
15 cricket team. Danidu achieved this
remarkable feat at a recent match
held at the Salgado Stadium against
the Lyceum International School.
His unbeaten 553 runs that day
included 63 fours and 31 spectacular
sixes.
According to Danidu, his coach
had set a target of 150 runs for him.
“But by lunch, I had already scored
216 runs from 94 balls. He informed
me that the innings would be stopped
by tea and asked me to hit the 300
runs mark if possible,” he says.
But Danidu was able to exceed
even this target. “I was overjoyed.
The opposing team’s bowling was top-
notch. Especially the opening fast
bowler and the spinner who bowled
in the middle of the innings was a
major challenge for me. I had to face
both of them carefully. I observed
them and batted carefully without
taking any risks. My batting partner
Gaviru supported me throughout. He
also scored 75 runs. We both built a
partnership of 448 runs till the first
wicket. During the innings, we both
discussed that we will play as long an
innings as possible. Though I nearly
got out on two occasions I managed
to remain not out,” he added.
Recalling moments from his
cricketing career, Danidu says he
first played for the under-13 team.
“I got out on the very first ball. But I
did not let it dishearten me. I scored
137 runs in the next match. There
were no matches during the Covid
pandemic. When matches resumed
I played one match against Lyceum.
I only managed to score 48 runs in
that.” he said.
Danidu says he had a reason to
attempt to score as many boundar-
ies as possible in this match. “During
Covid, I would play cricket with my
QORA aid for 61 more children
This year too, Queensland Old
Royalist Association (QORA) is ex-
pected to spend approximately
Rs.12,000 per student to improve
communication skills of rural
children entering Royal College at
Year 6 and living in its hostel. The
program is delivered by the Wen-
dy Whatmore Academy of Speech
and Drama (WWA) Colombo’s gold
standard for over eight decades.
This program, initiated in 2020,
has been continuing despite con-
stant disruptions to education with
Record will go down in the
annals of Sri Lankan cricket
danidu Chirath
friends. A month before the match
on one such occasion I cut my sole
by mistake on a shard of glass. Even
at the match, I played with some dif-
ficulty due to this. So I always tried
to score boundaries with singles as I
would not have to run as much,” he
revealed.
“My only goal is to one day play
for the national team. Following my
recent performance, several schools
have invited me to become enrolled
with them and play for their teams. I
have left that decision in the hands of
my father” he said.
Danidu says he admires Sri Lank-
an cricketing legends Sanath Jayas-
uriya and Kumar Sangakkara. “I also
like Chris Gayle. I would like to bat
like him. I believe I am also a good
bowler but I prefer to play as a bat-
Coach athula rohana
schools closed for extended peri-
ods. As teaching large groups of
students in interactive ways online
is not practical, WWA prefers to
conduct physical classes and there-
fore it has been a serious challenge
to hold sessions when no one knew
if the school would be closed or
open in the following week. The
organisers were single-mindedly
determined to proceed whenever
a window of opportunity presented
itself, and WWA obliged gamely de-
spite numerous difficulties.
danidu with his family
ACCORDING TO DANIDU, HIS COACH HAD SET A
TARGET OF 150 RUNS FOR HIM. “BUT BY LUNCH, I
HAD ALREADY SCORED 216 RUNS FROM 94 BALLS.
HE INFORMED ME THAT THE INNINGS WOULD BE
STOPPED BY TEA AND ASKED ME TO HIT THE 300
RUNS MARK IF POSSIBLE
ting all-rounder.” he added.
According to Danidu, he had no
inkling he would be able to score 500
runs on the day. “But I am happy I
was able to. I only got to know much
later that I had set a record.”
assistant Coach Chamith
Kulasekara
This year’s intake consists of 61
children from 45 Divisional Secre-
tariats and 15 districts.
Many parents were truly grate-
ful for this magnanimous gesture
of the Alumni and revealed that the
reason for choosing Royal College
over many good provincial schools
closer to home, was for a better ed-
ucation-specifically to improve the
ability to speak in English. They ap-
preciated the fact that it is offered
free and delivered by the best in
the field.
Danidu’s coach Athula Rohana
says he identified the young boy’s tal-
ent in his first match itself. According
to Rohana, the young cricketer was
first chosen for the under 13 B team
at the school. “He may have got out in
the very first ball itself but watching
that shot I realised he was talented.
I decided to move him to the A team
and proved myself correct by scoring
a century at the next match,” Rohana
said.
“The match in which he scored
500 runs was a one-day match of four
innings. By the time we stopped the
innings, he had been on the pitch
for four hours. A coach is more than
happy if a player scores 50 runs but
I told him I expected 150 from him.
He has a bright future ahead. He is a
left-handed batsman like Sanath Jaya-
suriya and bats like him as well. I’m
sure if he keeps playing he will suc-
ceed in life. He is a sporting asset for
our country.
Danidu’s parents are ecstatic by
his talents and performance on the
field. His mother Gayani Kanchana
Aluthgamage is a dance teacher at St.
Joseph’s College in Anuradhapura. “I
don’t know much about cricket. His
journey in cricket began with his fa-
For QORA it is very important
that every rural child entering Roy-
al College should be fully cared for
Sunday ObServer auguSt 14, 2022 13
Feature / News
Highest number of runs scored
by a batsman in an innings
after his record-breaking innings His first under 13 match
School cricket records for the highest
score in an innings
553 - (Not out- Danindu Sellaperuma (Under 15) Anuradhapura St. Jo-
seph’s College- Anuradhapura vs Lyceum College - 2022
409 - Navod Paranavithana (Under 19) - Mahinda College, Galle - Am-
balangoda against Dharmashoka College - 2020
356 - Michael Van Goff (Under 19) - St. Thomas College, Kotte - Vs. Lalith
Athulathmudali College - 2009
350 - Avishka Tharindu (Under 19) - St. Anthony College, Wattala Vs.
Lumbini College - 2020
319 - Dilshan Kanchana (Under 19) - Devapathiraja College, Rathgama -
Vs. Presidents College, Maharagama -2014
315 - (Not out)- Arjuna Ranatunga (Under 15) - Ananda College Vs. St.
Mary’s College, Chilaw - 1978
310 - Dhammika Vaas (Under 19) - Maristella College, Negombo - Vs St.
Peter’s College, Negombo - 1996
304 - (Not out)- Indika De Seram (Under 19) - St. Thomas College, Mata-
ra - Vs Sri Devananda College - 1992
291- Jack Anderson (Under 19) - St. Anthony’s College, Kandy Vs. St.
Thomas’s College - - 1918
281- Peter Hamer (Under 19) St. Joseph’s College, Maradana - vs. Wesley
College - 1993
ther who also has a talent for the never watched him play before. It
game. He first began playing foot- amazed me. I will always support him
ball and switched to cricket in Grade to the best of my abilities” she added.
6. But even as a child he would play His father Ashan Koshala Sella-
cricket with his father at the nearby peruma has a similar story to tell.
tank. The Covid pandemic however According to him, Danidu displayed
stalled his cricketing career for a signs of sporting talent even at the
short while” she said. age of three. “I have played sports,
“Due to the cut on his foot, I did especially football throughout my life
not want him to play in this match. as a student at St. Joseph’s College and
But he insisted and tried to mask the even at the club level. I was confident
pain even while playing. I am still therefore that he would also carry
amazed as to how he did it despite the these talents,” he said.
severe pain,” she added. According to Selleperuma, Dani-
His mother says Danidu has un- du has shown talent in dancing, mu-
usual interests for a young boy his sic, football and cricket. He says he
age. According to her, he is a talented is determined to guide his son to be
flute player and even sat for the Vis- successful in his career in cricket as
harada examination. “I am sure he it is also Danidu’s wish to join the na-
will get through,” she said. Speaking tional team.
of his many more talents, his mother “But he is also good in his stud-
said Danidu is also a talented drum- ies. I believe he has a bright future in
mer, singer and an athlete. According whichever path he chooses,” he said.
to her on the day of the match, she This article is an english transla-
watched Danidu play in awe. “I had tion of Fauz Mohamed.
and made equal to every other stu-
dent in his class.
After observing how their in-
ability to converse in English flu-
ently effect their confidence-on
rare instances for life-QORA re-
solved that their contribution
should go into improving commu-
nication skills eventually leading
to produce youth full of confidence
and self assertiveness. the Western Province is accepted
According to the Warden RCH, to the hostel. He views the QORA
today’s hostel consists of 364 stu- commitment as the most mean-
dents from every nook and cranny ingful contribution to free educa-
of the island. tion in the 21st century. “When the
And only the highest achievers country sends us its most precious
at Y5 Scholarship exam are accept- gems, shouldn’t we add the best
ed to RC. Since the space is severely value possible in return” was the
limited very rarely a student from question he posed.
2021 DailyNews and SundayObserver epaper -Lanka News E Paper -lankanewsepaper@gmail.com -
14 Sunday ObServer auguSt 14, 2022
SportS
Misunderstood Sri Lankan gymnast beauty
cold-shouldered at Commonwealth Games
Why should Anna-Marie Ondaatje be treated like a voice in the wilderness when her credentials
have been proven beyond doubt and her honesty a cut above the rest
S
ri Lanka’s star sprinter Yupun
Abeykoon always attributes his
success to his team, particularly
his Italian coach Claudio Licciardello
who accompanied him to the XXII
Commonwealth Games along with
physiotherapist Matteo Galderisi.
Abeykoon is fortunate to have the ex-
pertise of the olympian to go places in
Europe in preparation for major inter-
national events.
the advice he gave to South Asia’s
fastest man before the men’s 100m fi-
nal at the Alexander Stadium in Bir-
mingham was to relax. “My coach
told me I have already won by quali-
fying for the finals. You are free and
not under any sort of pressure,” said
Abeykoon after his epoch-making
bronze medal feat at the Games.
Abeykoon ran a perfect race with-
out straining himself, finishing third
almost in a canter from lane two.
Even he could not believe his eyes at
the result, taking some time to soak in
his monumental feat.
However, just imagine if his coach
was not there to motivate him before
the final. Would he have achieved a
podium finish? It is a hypothetical
question but relevant in the context
of one athlete representing Sri
Lanka at the Games rhyth-
mic gymnast Anna-Marie
Suzanne Quint ondaatje be-
ing denied the right to have
her life-long coach beside her
on the biggest stage of all be-
cause of bureaucratic red tape. It
smacks of a conspiracy by envious
officials who have been littering
obstacles in her path ever since
she created history for Sri Lan-
ka at the 2017 World rythmic
Gymnastic Championships
and qualified to represent
the country at the 2018 Gold
Coast and Asian Games.
Sri Lanka should be
grateful that an athlete
who represented Can-
ada’s junior national
team in 2014 decided
to switch national-
ity because of her
parents Alistair and
Suzanne ondaatje.
Alas, a teenager who
put Sri Lanka on the
world stage in rhythmic
gymnastics and quali-
fied for the finals in Gold
Coast and Jakarta in the
All-Around finals had to
thread a minefield outside
the carpet where she moved
gracefully like a ballerina.
After her dreams of rep-
resenting the country at
the 2020 tokyo olympics
was shattered, she almost
went into oblivion with
no other international
competitions taking
place because of the
pandemic. When
she wanted to re-
ignite her career
ahead of the Common-
wealth Games, it was
nearly scuppered by
the national federation
for the sport who waited
until the eleventh hour to
renew her FIG (Interna-
Sri Lankan boy clouts 553 in 50-over match
making a mockery of a sanitized set-up
BY CALLISTUS DAVY
While the big boys playing se-
nior cricket at Colombo’s elite
schools are struggling to get bat
to ball to score a total of 200 in 50
overs, an under-15 boy has either
become a prodigy in the world or
has turned the sport into the big-
gest dubious joke in the world by
scoring 553 runs while his team
St. Joseph’s College Anuradhapura
whacked an insane total of 722 for 1
in 50 overs against their hometown
Lyceum International School.
the scores were reported by the
Sunday observer’s sister paper the
Daily News on August 10.
It is a well known fact that Sri
Lanka has the highest number of
sports competition tournaments
in the world where officials and
administrators get more media
prominence than the sportsman or
sportswoman and such a feat has to
be definitely scrutinized as the par-
ticular match has been declared of-
ficial and part and parcel of what is
called an under-15 Division three
inter-school tournament.
tional Gymnastics Federation) license
in May.
“there was a little bit of delay but
when I needed it, I was able to get it
for which I am grateful. there was a
little bit of stress before I got it,” she
said modestly. However, with her
coach Svetlana Joukova being invit-
ed as a judge for the Games, efforts
to get accreditation for her assistant
coach Anastasiia Shaykharieva failed.
“Usually I have either my head coach
Svetlana or my assistant Anastasiia as
coach. It was the first time probably
for the second biggest competition
of my life,” said Anna-Marie who cut
a forlorn figure without her coach at
the Games.
It was like going for a boxing con-
test without a cornerman. How it im-
pacted her performance is a matter of
conjecture but just imagine the trau-
ma an athlete would be going through
without a manager or coach to talk to.
Nonetheless she put her best foot
forward and gave an almost flawless
performance in her pet event the
hoop before a mistake at the end. “I
got my best score (23.600) even with
this big mistake at the end. I was a bit
surprised because it just goes to show
how high value my hoop routine was.
Even with this mistake, it still was a
really high score. So had I not made
this error at the end, I would have
been easily top eight with a super
good score but unfortunately
that mistake had happened and
it cost me a lot of points. But I
still managed to get my highest
score there because the rou-
tine was so difficult and
the difficulty and execu-
tion was so higher than
for the rest of the rou-
tines,” she said.
Asked whether it
affected her perfor-
mance in the remain-
der of the competition,
she said: “It definitely
made me a little bit ner-
vous because I
danindu Sellapperuma
Whether the International
Cricket Council (ICC) will want
to send an official to investigate
the matter could be another mat-
ter, but the parent body Sri Lanka
Cricket which pumps in millions
and millions of rupees into the Sri
Lanka Schools Cricket Association
(SLSCA) ought to call for more light
into the monumental feat of Danin-
du Sellapperuma who made an out-
of-this-world 553 runs with the help
of 63 fours and 31 sixes in just 204
anna-Marie Ondaatje disappointed after her mistake at the end of the hoop routine
By
Allaam
Ousman
realized now that I made this mistake,
the other routines should be without
any errors. So it made me a little bit
nervous to make sure that everything
is perfect but at the same time I had
to work on my routines very well and
make sure I performed them confi-
dently. I don’t think I was easily able
to separate the hoop routine from the
rest of my routines because my coach
always told me that when a routine
is done it is done. You have to move
on and you have work to go. You have
a lot of competitions. one routine
doesn’t mean nothing. You don’t know
what somebody else dropped, you
don’t know what mistake somebody
else made, you don’t even know what
your place is when we are at the back
there,” she said.
Yet if she had her coach beside her
things may have panned out differ-
ently. “Yeah definitely all those things
can come into play. All that stress like
before the competition knowing your
coach is not going to be there, know-
ing that somebody from the federa-
tion is coming with you. those things
may play a role subconsciously,” she
added.
Even when she arrived in the
Games Village being the last foreign
anna-Marie Ondaatje
acknowledging the
applause at arena
birmingham after
the ribbon
FOLLOWERS OF CRICKET WILL
BE JUST AS CURIOUS AND KEEN
TO FIND OUT HOW A TOTAL OF
722 RUNS WAS SCORED IN 50
OVERS WHEN THE OFFICIAL
WORLD RECORD STANDS
AT LESS THAN 500 AND THE
RECORD FOR THE INDIVIDUAL
SCORE IS LESS THAN 300
balls.
An old saying goes that what is
reported in a newspaper is News
today but folded and put into the
garbage dump the following day.
But what happened in the remote
region of Anuradhapura that does
not have an iota of the cricket facili-
ties found in Colombo has to be put
across the table for scrutiny in ei-
ther fairness to Sellapperuma or for
a thorough clean-up of sanctioned
school cricket tournaments.
athlete to arrive since her event was
on August 4, Anna-Marie was given
the cold shoulder by team officials. “I
came later like other rhythmic gym-
nasts from other countries as well be-
cause my event was also later in the
Games. When I arrived at 8pm, they
gave me a room there but it wasn’t
clean. there was a problem with the
room because artistic gymnasts were
staying there before. I didn’t receive
my uniform (track suit) till later but
anyways I got it. But I felt good, over-
all it was okay,” she said.
She produced some strong rou-
tines in the other apparatus such ball
(21.850), clubs (23.200) and ribbon
(21.900) but it was riddled with mi-
nor errors but she managed to finish
eighth (90.550) out of 13 competitors
in sub-division one but had to wait un-
til the sub-division two was complet-
ed in the evening to find out whether
she had qualified for the All-Around
finals.
“I was just waiting to find out the
next day what would be the result. I
ended up becoming first reserve for
the finals. When I found out, it was
pretty sad and disappointing but it’s
okay, that’s sport right. I know that it
has nothing to do with each other’s ca-
pabilities. I am fully capable of being
in the top five there. It’s just that er-
ror brought me down a lot with hoop
routine. I was pretty sad that whole
day and the next day but you just put
yourself together and we have more
competitions right. this is not the last
competition of my career. We have
a lot to learn from this one for the
olympic Games for example,” said
Anna-Marie reviewing her perfor-
mance at the Games.
She expressed surprise at the po-
dium result observing as a spectator
the entire finals. “All the scores are
very close even in the final. You never
know who is going to be on the po-
dium. It is really difficult to know. It
all comes down to whose endurance
is stronger by the third day, who is go-
ing to be more consistent but in capa-
bilities, all of the athletes can do simi-
lar things. I was a little bit surprised
with (Anna Sokolova) Cyprus winning
second place,” she said. England’s
Marfa Ekimova and Australia’s Alex-
andra Kiroi-Bogatyreva won gold and
bronze medal respectively in the All-
Around finals.
Asked what she had learnt from
Followers of cricket will be just
as curious and keen to find out how
a total of 722 runs was scored in 50
overs when the official world re-
cord stands at less than 500 and the
record for the individual score is
less than 300.
Many more followers have been
left wondering how small or big
the size of the ground would have
been or whether the bowlers put
in under-arm deliveries that even
a mechanical batting machine will
have to be adjusted to perform such
a feat.
In March this year the Sunday
observer reported that a school-
girl from Anula Vidyalaya, Kaushi-
ni Nuthyanga, smashed 374 in a
30 over match as her team made a
total of 552 without losing a wicket
in an Under-19 tournament match
against Marapola MV who were
bowled out for 40.
If Sellapperuma cannot find a
place in the Guinness Book of world
records, then the SLSCA must be
taken to task to show how such
school cricket tournaments or what
is achieved in it can be sanitized.
her experience at the Games, she said:
“I wrote down in my journal what I
have learnt. to make sure as long as
whatever the experience is, even if it
is a good one or it’s a bad one to take
something from it. to learn some-
thing about it, talk about it and apply
it later.”
Canada won the rhythmic gym-
nastics team title after a narrow
4.3-point team victory over nearest
rivals Australia. “As a team they were
collectively strong together. I have
known them since being provincial
and national level gymnast. I was
happy for them, I didn’t feel any envy
and felt proud for them,” said Anna-
Marie who also enjoys the advantage
of training in Canada.
Asked how rhythmic gymnastics
could become popular in Sri Lanka,
she said: “rhythmic gymnastics was
introduced to Sri Lanka in 2017. It
takes more than for example, one
athlete to make something. I think
it’s going to take a lot of time but with
persistence, consistency, support,
understanding from everybody and
sports media people to share the ex-
perience, that’s what will get every-
thing going. For example, a school
of rhythmic gymnastics in Sri Lanka
doesn’t need to be opened next year
but at least if it is a topic of conver-
sation, somebody is talking about it,
there is something there.”
Anna-Marie acknowledges that
rhythmic gymnastics is still a Eu-
ropean-dominated event.
“You need to have more
South Asian represen-
tation. It is also impor-
tant for example if you
are watching on tV,
you need to see peo-
ple of your colour,
nationality there. For
you to feel connected
with the show. Even for
me, there are not a lot
of people of colour in
rhythmic gymnas-
tics. Definitely it’s a
barrier you need to
break,” she said.
Anna-Marie
also has the diffi-
cult task of proving
detractors in Sri
Lanka that she is
not just a showbiz
artiste and is seri-
Banking Partner
Sri Lanka Rugby enlists legal expert
Sri Lanka rugby
has appointed panduka
Keerthinanda who is said
to be an expert in sports
law as its legal officer.
Keerthinanda holds
a bachelor’s degree from
the University of Colom-
bo and is a senior practi-
tioner at the Bar special- Keerthinanda
izing is criminal and civil
law.
He is a former chairman of dent that panduka will deliver
the Sugathadasa National Sports the rest for the benefit of sport,”
Complex Authority, member of said Sri Lanka rugby president
the National Sports Council and rizly Illyas.
Ireland rugby bans transgender women
the Irish rugby Football
Union has confirmed it will
ban transgender women from
competing in female contact
rugby games after a review of
the governing body’s transgen-
der policy.
It means contact rugby for
players in the female category
will be limited to those whose
sex was recorded as female at
birth.
the IrFU’s new policy
will come into effect from the
forthcoming season.
It said the decision was
ous about her sporting career. “I don’t
know where they are picking on this
idea. Maybe it’s from social media or
maybe from what I am doing. In my
opinion, I know my priorities and
like what I would like to do in my life.
I don’t know who would have prac-
ticed since nine years old and follow-
ing this like a passion. It’s not like just
three years ago, I decided to do diving
and represent Sri Lanka the next year.
I have been doing this (gymnastics)
since I was nine years old. I have a lot
of dreams to represent Sri Lanka in
the paris olympics,” she said.
“this is like in my opinion, doesn’t
make any sense. of course we need
to follow other goals. think about
our future. We have things we need
to think about. In sport, our bodies
are physically able to run for so long.
We need to sort out other things. It
doesn’t mean your priorities are dif-
ferent. I feel my priority is gymnas-
tics. I am still in love with gymnastics
and in love with representing Sri Lan-
ka in this sport,” she reiterated.
“right now the goal is Asian
Games in China and also paris 2024,”
said Anna-Marie, who is on reserve
to participate in the World ryth-
mic Gymnastic Championship next
month. “If that doesn’t fall through,
we have next season starting in Jan-
uary with a small world challenge
event. the World Cup cycle will start
in April.”
the 21-year-old may be consid-
ered a prima donna because of her
beautiful ancestry tracing back to
Maureen Hingert, the first Sri Lankan
to win an award at an international
beauty pageant, being second run-
ner-up at the Miss Universe in 1955.
Anna-Marie is immensely proud of
her origin but is more down to earth
and Sri Lankan than natives born in
the country. Her prime objective is to
bring glory to Sri Lanka by using her
talents in rhythmic gymnastics which
has been her passion since the age of
nine.
on a brighter note, she was
amazed by the experience at the
closing ceremony of the Games.
“It was nice with a lot of music,
concert performances.
ozzie osbourne was there and
rock artists. Lot of Sri Lankan athletes
had already left. there weren’t too
many of us. It was still an amazing
moment,” she said.
anna-Marie Ondaatje got her
best score in the hoop routine
Centenary Year kicks-off
September 2022
legal consultant to
the Sports Ministry
(2010-2015).
“We are
tremely happy that
ex-
we appointed a very
keen sports enthusi-
ast and legal person
who has tremen-
dous experience in
civil law and sports
as our legal officer. I am confi-
based on “medical and scien-
tific evidence”.
In a statement, the IrFU
said: “the IrFU is keenly
aware that this is a sensitive
and challenging area for those
involved and the wider LGBt+
community and will continue
to work with those impacted,
providing support to ensure
their ongoing involvement
with the game.
the decision follows a sim-
ilar move by the rugby Foot-
ball Union (rFU), which voted
to pass its new policy in July.
2021 DailyNews and SundayObserver epaper -Lanka News E Paper -lankanewsepaper@gmail.com -
Sunday ObServer auguSt 14, 2022 15

Sports

Ranatunga now the biggest

think-tank of Sri Lanka sports
played for Sri Lanka for 19 years three ODIs for Sri Lanka between
and was then in Parliament for 1998 and 2002. He was previously
about 18 years. serving as Bangladesh U-19 team
“For the last two and a half coach and had guided the team to
years, I was much relaxed, con- the ICC U19 World Cup triumph
centrating fully on my family. in 2020.
Then came this invitation from His only Test was against Ban-

S
ri Lanka’s World Cup win- the Minister to whom I had high
ning captain, Arjuna Ra- regard. But there again, I was
natunga was appointed thinking about it for some time.
the new chairman of the There again, I thought I must give
elite National Sports Council last something back once again,” Ra-
week. The appointment letter was natunga said.
handed over to him by Minister of “I have got all these things in
Sports, Roshan Ranasinghe. life due to cricket. It is not an in-
Addressing the distinguished dividual sport. It is a team sport.
gathering which included Minis- But you have played as one team.
ter Ranasinghe and Secretary to When I look back at my cricket
the Ministry of Sports Dr. Amal career statistics, I have played
Harsha de Silva, the former Sri for almost two decades – in over
Lanka cricket captain turned ex- 250 one-day Internationals and
Cabinet Minister at one time said over 90 Tests. But I have scored
it was an honour to chair the dis- only four centuries in each form.
tinguished committee on the invi- That is because I always put my
tation of the Minister. team ahead of individual achieve-
Ranatunga, who ments,” he said.
won the Observ- It was absolutely true as Rana-
er Schoolboy tunga, born on December 1, 1963
Cricketer has played in 93 Tests, scoring
of the Year 5,105 runs but has only four
award twice centuries and 38 fifties. Similar-
in 1980 and ly, while scoring 7,456 runs in
1982, said he 269 ODIs, Ranatunga had scored
only four tons and 49 fifties.
“I will do my level best to up-
lift the sport in Sri Lanka, help-
ing the talented sportsmen
and women in remote areas
across the island. At the
same time, I will make
Wednesday a public
day so that sports-
men and sports-
women could
reach the Na-
tional Sports
Council di-
rectly to iron
out whatever
problems
they have.
They could
also come up
with innova-
tive ideas to
develop sports,”
Ranatunga said.
The other
naveed nawaz of d.S. Senanayake Mv, after a highly successful season
won the Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the year in 1993
Minister of Sports, roshan ranasinghe presenting the appointment letter as the Chairman of the national
Sports Council to former Sri Lanka’s World Cup winning captain arjuna ranatunga
members of the star-studded Na-
tional Sports Council are Army
Commander Lt. General H.L.V.M.
Liyanage, Air Force Commander
Air Marshall S.K. Pathirana, Navy
Commander Vice Admiral Nis-
hantha Ulugethenna, Director
General of Sports Amal Edirisuri-
ya, former SLRFU President and
Consultant Surgeon Dr. Maiya
Gunasekera, former Common-
wealth Games silver medalist
Sriyani Kulawansa, former Direc-
tor General of Education (Sports)
and ex-AASL President Sunil Jay-
aweera, former Sri Lanka rugby
captain and ex-SLRFU President
Lasitha Gunaratna, ex-National
Youth Chairman Nalinda Illan-
gakoon, Advisor to the Sports
Minister and former Prime Min-
ister’s private secretary Sudath
Chandrasekera, former Royal
boxing captain and local Para-
lympics chief Major General Ra-
jitha Ampemothtti, business con-
sultant Krishantha Mendis and
former Bar Association of Sri
Lanka Secretary cum my Royal
College batch mate Ajith Pathi-
rana. Sujani Bogollagama has
been named as the Secretary of
the NSC.
Harking back to the history of
the Observer SLT Mobitel School
Cricketers of the Year series
which has entered its 44th year,
this year’s selection is expected to
take place shortly.
Naveed Nawaz of D.S. Sena-
nayake MV, after a highly suc-
cessful season, won the Observer
Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year
in 1993. This was after Sanjeewa
Ranatunga (1988), Kumar Dhar-
masena (1989), Marvan Atapat-
tu (1990), Muttiah Muralidaran
(1991) and Sajith Fernando (1992)
signalled the second glorious era
in the Observer Schoolboy Crick-
eter of the Year series.
Born on September 20, 1973 in
Colombo, Nawaz was a left-hand-
ed batsman and a leg-break bowl-
er who first came to the limelight
from D.S. Senanayake MV. De-
spite his impressive school ca-
reer, he managed to play just one
Test and three one-day Interna-
tionals for Sri Lanka.
Later he was appointed as un-
der-19 coach of Bangladesh. Un-
der the coaching of Nawaz, in the
2020 ICC Under-19 Cricket World
Cup Bangladesh beat India by
three wickets to win the tourna-
ment.
Nawaz played one Test and
gladesh. He had played for his
club side for several years before
an international appearance with
his first and only international
match taking place in July 2002,
and in 2004 Nawaz ventured into
Twenty-20 cricket.
In 2004, he was appointed as
the captain of Sri Lanka A side
that toured New Zealand and the
team included very good players
like paceman Lasith Malinga.
On his retirement from Inter-
national and domestic cricket in
2005 he ventured into the field of
coaching first-class cricket in Sri
Lanka. He was player-cum-coach
of NCC, head coach of Moors
Sports Club and has done a good
job as the head coach with SSC.
His latest contract is being an as-
sistant head coach of the Sri Lan-
ka National team for two years
from 2022.
In 2007-08, Nawaz was head
coach of the Fingara Interna-
tional Cricket Academy (FICA).
He was appointed as consultant
coach of the Sri Lanka women’s
team in 2009 and accompanied
them at the Women’s World Cup
in Australia and T20 World Cup in
England.
In 2009, Sri Lanka Cricket
(SLC) appointed Nawaz as the
head coach of the Sri Lanka un-
der-19 team.
In July 2018, Nawaz was ap-
pointed as under-19 coach of
Bangladesh and they ended as
runners-up in the 2019 ACC Asia
under-19 tournament which was
held in Sri Lanka. During the
tournament Bangladesh U19
team was able to beat the hosts to
end as table toppers of group A.
Under the coaching of Nawaz,
in the 2020 ICC Under-19 Cricket
World Cup Bangladesh beat India
by three wickets to win the tour-
nament.
It was Bangladesh’s first tri-
umph in an ICC event at any level.
He was appointed as assistant
coach for the Sri Lanka national
cricket team for two years last
April.
Nawaz, before taking over the
new role, was functioning as the
head coach of the Bangladesh
under-19 team, where he led the
team to an ICC under 19 Cricket
World Cup win in 2020.

Sri Lanka pick 18 schoolboys

for England cricket tour
Sri Lanka selected an 18-mem-
ber Under-19 squad to take part
in the upcoming tour of England
there the team will play three
Youth ODIs and two four-day
games.
This squad will include Canis-
ton Gunaratnam the Vice Captain
of S. Thomas’ College.
Caniston has had a fantastic
season, including his performance
in the Sri Lanka Cricket U-19 Pro-
vincial Tournament where he was
awarded the player of the final.
The squad will leave for the UK
on August 14.
THE SQUAD
Abhishek Liyanarachchi
(D.S.S), Pawan Pathiraja (Trin-
ity College), Ranuda Somarathne
(Trinity), Sadeesha Rajapakse
(Royal College), Shevon Daniel
(St. Joseph’s College), Anjala Ban-
dara (Mahanama College), Lahi-
ru Dewatage (St. Peter’s College),
Raveen de Silva (Captain, Nalanda
College), Wanuja Sahan Kumara
(St. Peter’s College), Vinuja Ran-
pul (Nalanda College), Malsha
Tharupathi (Richmond College),
Duvindu Ranatunga (Mahanama
College), Sahan Mihira (St. John’s
College, Panadura), Dulaj Samu-
ditha (Rajapaksa Central Hamban-
tota), Traveen Mathews (St. Antho-
ny’s College, Katugastota), Hasitha
Amarasinghe (St. Servatius Col-
lege), Caniston Gunaratnam (S.
Thomas’ College)
Asitha Wanninayake (St. An-
thony’s College) yK
Unbeaten Isipathana firm
favourites against rolling Royal
Isipathana have
proved that they are
now the top favourite
to win the 2022 inter
school League rugby
title after they beat a
fighting St. Joseph’s
College 16-13 in one
Scrumming Down
of the most gruelling with Indika Welagedara
and heated encoun-
ters this season at Havelock Park effective place kicker like Isipatha-
last Sunday. na had, the scoreline could have
Isipathana who are yet to lose a been different.
match will now meet Royal College What will come under scrutiny
in the decider on Sunday (today) at in the match will be how Royal will
Havelock Park. be able to move forward with their
The fact that Isipathana un- rolling maul against Isipathana
derwent probably their hardest who have been one team able to
test against the Joes last week only counter the ploy.
suggests that they have taken their For the winning Isipathana out-

Isuru returns with Bronze game to a higher level that Royal fit the try was scored by second row
will have to contend with. forward Hettiarachchi with Boteju
Each time Isipathana got the ball slotted in the conversion while the
into their hands they posed a threat three penalties were put over by Pic: thepapare.com
and it took some resolute tackling Ranesh Silva.
by the Joes to keep them at bay. St. Joseph’s their burly number puttiung over the only conversion through hooker Danuja Soma-
Although they lost the Joes eight Naveen Marasinghe powered and two penalties. ratne against Wesley to win 21-16 at
bowed out of the contest with their his way to touch down for their Unlike Isipathana, Royal in Longden Place courtesy their roll-
heads held high and if they had an solitary try with Ruchitha Rodrigo their last outing scored three tries ing maul.

Aussie cricketers bat for Sri Lankan children

Australia’s cricketers made a gener-
ous gesture by donating the prize mon-
ey they received from their recent tour
of Sri Lanka.
Pat Cummins the captain of the
Australian team who is a UNICEF Aus-
tralia ambassador and ODI captain Aar-
on Finch donated A$ 45,000 to an orga-
dilanka Isuru yodage who won a bronze medal in weightlifting at the nization called Sri Lanka Appeal and
Commonwealth games in birmingham, england displays his medal Pat Cummins the funds will go to support children
on arrival at the Katunayake airport (Pic by tKJ Kaplila)
and families affected by the worst eco-
nomic crisis in decades in Sri Lanka.
Australian cricketers were able
to witness the crisis first hand during
their cricket tour in June-July.
They saw the long queues for petrol
and cries of thousands of peaceful pro-
testers that vibrated around the Galle
International Cricket Stadium during
the second Test match. aaron Finch
2021 DailyNews and SundayObserver epaper -Lanka News E Paper -lankanewsepaper@gmail.com -
Sri Lanka Cricket bowls out
Parliament’s match referee
Trinity beat DSS by two wickets Under-17 Division 1 Inter-School Cricket
Trinity College Kandy ad-
vanced to the pre quarter final
round of the Under-17 division 1
inter-school cricket tournament
yesterday.
SLC's top dog loses to underdog
Underdogs SLC Greys per-
formed creditably to beat the star
studded SLC Greens by 81 runs
in their Invitation T20 League en-
counter played at the R. Premada-
sa Stadium yesterday.
The Greys were captained by
Ashan Priyanjana and the Greens
by Dasun Shanaka.
World champ withdraws
from London Marathon
Reigning world marathon champion
Tamirat Tola has withdrawn from the Lon-
don Marathon in October.
The Ethiopian has not fully recovered
from his victory in the men’s race at the
World Athletics Championships in Eugene,
Oregon, last month.
Tola, 31, set a new championship re-
cord of two hours, five minutes and 36 sec-
onds to go one better than the silver medal
he won at the 2017 World Championships
in London.
“Unfortunately, since the World Cham-
pionships I have had problems with muscle
fatigue and have not yet been able to re-
sume training,” he said.
(BBC Sport)
Aslam and Daluwatte pocket boys and girls golf titles
BY TB RAHAMAN
Haroon Aslam and Kaya Dalu-
watte emerged junior match-play
boys and girls champions in the Ruk-
mini Kodagoda Trophy golf champi-
onship that concluded at the Ridge-
ways course on Friday (12).
Aslam the Kandy based player,
continued to play good golf and his
accuracy saw him edge out the tech-
nically correct K. Danushan 2 and 1
in a tense final in the gold division for
boys.
Haroon was 3-up going to the
16th hole, but the under pressure Da-
nushan fought back to win the 16th
with a birdie.
However, Haroon kept his cool
and halved the 17th to win the title.
Kaya Daluwatte overcame the
long hitting Sherin Balasuriya in the
Girls Gold Division, 2 and 1 to claim
the Rukmini Kodagoda Trophy for
girls.
Kaya displayed her true potential
with a confident performance in this
format at the Junior Championship.
She is bound to go places in future
BY CALLISTUS DAVY
Cricket played in Parliament
may have crossed the boundary with
even its match officials run-out of
shots and ruled out as the keepers
of the sport hit back strongly over
claims it fixed the shifting of this
month’s Asia Cup from Sri Lanka to
the United Arab Emirates.
Having come under yet another
volume of scrutiny in Parliament
this time over the forfeiture of the
Asia Cup that was moved to the
United Arab Emirates for what was
said to be logistical and security con-
cerns, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) react-
ing to accusations raised by Member
of Parliament Nalin Bandara defend-
ed itself saying the six-nation Asian
tournament was at the discretion of
the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).
Accusing SLC of fraud, Mem-
ber of Parliament Nalin Bandara
claimed Sri Lanka lost an opportu-
nity to kick start foreign tourism in
the country, especially with India
and Pakistan playing their Asia Cup
match to a packed stadium, that
had resulted in further damning the
Trinity College beat D.S. Sena-
nayake College Colombo by 2
wickets in the match played at Mt.
Lavinia in the second round en-
counter.
SLC Greys: 166/7 in 20 overs
(Thanuka Dabare 66, Kasun Vidu-
ra 36, Minod Bhanuka 20, L. San-
dakan 2/14, D. Shanaka 2/20)
SLC Greens: 85 in 15.5 overs
(Pathum Nissanka 15, Niroshan
Dickwella 27, Dinesh Chandimal
24, M. Lakshan 3/17, A. Priyanjan
2/11, P. Tharanga 3/12) (TBR)
Tamirat Tola
tournaments too.
Reshan Algama faced little oppo-
sition to defeat Jacob Norton easily
5 and 3 to annex the Silver division
title.
Thejas Kanth also faced little op-
position from Saqeeb Zuhar to romp
home an easy winner 8 and 7 in the
Bronze division final.
The ever smiling Yuvan Rathis
Kanth took the Copper division title
in the age category of 9 years and
under. He also had an easy win over
sports.sundayobserver@lakehouse.lk / Tel: +94 11 2 429 226, / +94 11 2 429 228, / Fax / +94 11 2 429 227
AUGUST 14, 2022
country’s image.
“The country could have earned
50 million (US dollars) from tourism
by hosting the Asia Cup in Sri Lan-
ka. We had a country like Australia
successfully play here and none of
these Asian countries objected to
playing the Asia Cup here. Instead
what happened was that by agreeing
to shift the Asia Cup to the UAE Sri
Lanka Cricket officials had put into
their pockets a percentage of the
proceeds that Sri Lanka was entitled
to,” said MP Nalin Bandara.
But Sri Lanka Cricket in a fiery
response accused Bandara of hiding
behind Parliamentary privileges and
dabbling in the wrong sport without
knowing the facts of how and why
the Asia Cup was shifted to the UAE.
“The Asia Cup is not a tourna-
ment belonging to Sri Lanka Cricket
to claim its ownership. The Asia Cup
is organized, structured and con-
trolled by the Organization called
and referred to as the Asian Cricket
Council.
“It should be noted that the Asian
Cricket Council having closely mon-
itored the situation and develop-
Scores:
D.S. Senanayake Colombo: 144
(45.3) (Sohan Senarathyapa 39, Sha-
nal Binuksha 23, Chanul de Alwis
20, Sweaph Anurajeewa 2/24, Malith
Tearful Godamanna bids farewell
to colourful career with victory
BY TB RAHAMAN
Sri Lanka’s top tennis player Har-
shana Godamanna played his last
game for Sri Lanka and made certain
that his country beats Iraq 2-0 in the
final in the Asia/Oceania group IV
Davis Cup by Rakuten tie that con-
cluded at the SLTA clay courts yes-
terday.
With this win Sri Lanka finished
unbeaten in this tie and will be pro-
moted to group III next year.
Godamanna registered a fairly
comfortable win over Adel Musta-
pha of Iraq in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2
and with that win in the two singles
there was no need to play the dou-
bles match.
Earlier, Yasitha de Silva played in
the first singles match and beat Ab-
dulla Ali Hatem 6-4, 6-2. Yasitha took
time to settle down and gave away
four games in the first set.
Yasitha pulled up his socks in the
second set and having played some
accurate shots he conceded only two
games.
Danil Daluwatte 5 and 3 over
an extended 14 hole final.
The prize distribution
took place soon after the fi-
nals with Shan Perera and
Srima Seneviratne the two
sisters of Rukmini Kodagoda
in attendance. The tourna-
ment was sponsored by Per-
era and Sons Bakers for the
seventh time.
Players from the Anu-
radhapura Golf Academy
were appreciated for their
participation in the junior
championship 2022.
Results at a glance:
Gold Division: ( junior boys):
Champion - Haroon Aslam,
Runner-up: K. Danushan 2/1
Gold Division: junior girls
Champion - Kaya Daluwatte,
Ruuner-up: Sherin Balasuriya 2/1
Silver Division:
Winner – Reshan Algama,
Runner-up: Jacob Norton 5/3
Bronze Division:
Winner – Thejas Kanth,
ments in Sri Lanka during the last
few months (both economic and so-
cial) after much deliberation on the
24th of July at a meeting held among
member states decided to play the
matches of the 2022 Asia Cup in the
UAE instead of Sri Lanka, whilst
keeping the hosting opportunity and
rights to SLC”, Sri Lanka Cricket said
in a reactionary statement.
The statement also said host-
ing Australia had nothing to do with
proving it was possible to host six
countries for the Asia Cup as the
Australian tour was an event be-
tween just two countries and that too
held amid “greatest difficulties” tak-
ing into account the economic and
political situation in the country.
“Under the prevailing circum-
stances in Sri Lanka owing to the
fuel crisis, power supply limita-
tions and other logistical issues
confronted by both facilitators and
spectators, it was considered by the
ACC that the hosting of the event in
Sri Lanka is beyond imaginable in
view of the added demands made
by stakeholder and its commercial
partners’” said SLC’s statement
Ratnayake 2/25)
Trinity: 145/8 (49.5) (Jayavi Li-
yanagama 32 n.o., Sweaph Anura-
jeewa 27, Akidha Weerasuriya 2/19,
Randisha Bandaranayake 2/22) (YK)
Godamanna played to his best
potential and his placements saw his
opponent Adel make unforced errors
to go down without offering a good
fight.
It was an emotional farewell for
Godamanna that brough him glow-
ing tributes to his style of play, char-
acter in court discipline and dedica-
tion to the sport.
Godamanna said that his par-
ents never pushed him to play tennis
but they had encouraged him to go
ahead. He said that he worked hard
during practices and at matches
thinking of the country first.
He said that his first coach was
Sylvester Francis from the age of four
years and thanked him for making
him what he is today.
Speaking with tears flowing down
Godamanne thanked all those who
trained him and the SLTA and took
care of him every time he was picked
to play for the country. He represent-
ed Sri Lanka for 20 years until yester-
day and has never failed to give off
his best effort in the game that saw
Runner-up: Raqeeb Zuhar 8/7
Copper Division:
Winner – Yuvan Rathis Kanth,
Runner-up: Danik Daluwatte 5/3
Complimentary Events -
Plate winners:
Gold Division Boys – Sankanath
Hesara
Gold/Silver Girls – Dhevinka Kaga-
Isvaran
Silver Division Boys – H. Senal
Bronze Division – Yehansa Senanay-
ake
Copper Division – Anuja Methsara
Best Medal Score Qualifying Round
Gold Division Boys – Haroon Aslam
67 Gross
Gold/Silver Girls – Kaya Daluwatte
73 Gross
Silver Division Boys – Reshan Al-
gama 76 Gross
Bronze Division – Theja Rathis
Kanth 61 Gross (14 Holes)
Copper Division – Danik Daluwatte
50 Gross (09 Holes)
Anuradhapura Academy
Winner: Yehan Kenthula Gross 76
1st Runner-up: Senkanath Hesara 76
2nd Runner-up: Thenuk Sathnidu 76
16
Sri Lanka football in a mud hole
destined for more disaster
Football Sri Lanka (FSL) is of interest, he is also the Techni-
gearing up for two international cal Director of FSL. The women’s
tournaments next month and assistant coach Atukorale is also
conducted trials but even the someone who was fired by the
national selectors are dancing Navy for not delivering results af-
to the tune of officials, many of ter being in charge for five years
whom are Armed Services per- while the goalkeeping coach is
sonnel who are promoting their another failure.
children to be included in the na- Even the national selectors
tional pool. are giving in to the whims and
The sixth SAFF Women’s fancies of FSL who are making
Football Championship is to be changes to the 35-member Sri
held in Nepal from September Lanka women’s national pool. Al-
6 to 19 while the 2022 SAFF Un- though trials were held, officials
der-17 Boys Football Champion- insist three Army players who
ship is to be hosted in Sri Lanka represented Sri Lanka in sepak
from September 5 to 14. takraw be included without any
Ironically FSL has appointed trials.
Chaminda Steinwall who has a Meanwhile, five children of
track record of conceding a walk- FSL officials have come through
over when the Sri Lanka wom- the back door to the national
en’s football team made its de- pool despite not being selected
but a decade ago as head coach after trials were held last week.
of the team again. In a conflict (AO)
Wayamba Royal shock Nalanda,
Peterites beat Jaffna Central
St. Peter’s College and Way- nando 2/14, Aaron Moses 2/27)
amba Royal College Kurunegala St. Peter’s: 104/4 (35.3) (Movin
advanced to the quarter-finals Amarasinghe 26, Seniru Fernan-
of the Under-17 division 2 inter- do 22, Dimalsha Jayawardana 21
school cricket tournament in n.o., Ranjithkumar Newton 3/20)
matches played on Friday. At Narammala
St. Peter’s College beat Jaffna Wayamba Royal College Ku-
Central by six wickets in Jaffna runegala win by one wicket
and Wayamba Royal Kurunega- Nalanda 140 (45.1) (Senuka
la beat Nalanda College by one Gunasekara 34, Semika Gamage
wicket at Narammala in their
pre-quarter final encounters.
23, Malith Premathilaka 3/29,
Upadhi Indusara 2/17, Kavindu
At Jaffna Dulanjana 2/25)
St. Peter’s College win by six Wayamba Royal: 141/9
wickets (47) (Kethmika Savingith 32,
Jaffna Central: 103 (38.3) Matheesha Pankaja 20, Mithila
(Sathakaran Similton 27, Dimal- Hewarathnage 3/24, Vinidu Kes-
sha Jayawardana 3/15, Seniru Fer- han 2/23) (YK)
him win almost
every time he got
into the court.
Godamanna
called on young play-
ers to work hard on
their game and put in
more hours of practice.
He was surrounded by
other players who spelt out
their joy at watching him
play and the encouragement
they received by it.
Godamanna was presented
with a large plaque with many
pictures of him in action and
his parents in appreciation. The
presentation was made by Iqbal
bin Issack president of SLTA.
Godamanna raises his
hands after his victory
in his farewell game
that was against Adel
Mustapha of Iraq
Golf winners pose with their trophies. From left: Yuvan Rathis Kanth,
Avishka Perera, Shan Perera, Thejar Rathis Kanth, Kaya Daluwatte, Ha-
roon Aslam, Reshan Algama and Srima Seneviratne
(Pic by Herbert Perera)