What secret pact the political hierarchy of the Sri Lanka government has with the Government of India to keep calling “ India is our friend ” ?

India had not been   a real friend of Sri Lanka .  This fact became evident with the coming of Mrs. Indra Ghandhi as the Prime Minister .  She  employed the RAW to initiate wide spread  sporadic  anti Sinhala activities by selected Tamil youth from the  North, which resulted in back lashes from the Sinhala in the south against the unfortunate Tamils in the south.  It was under Indra Gandhi that camps were set up in Tamil Nadu to train Prabhakaran and  other Tamil youth in terrorism.

   

These “riots” were utilised  to create the Sinhala Tamil dissension and provoke Tamil political leaders to  organise separate political parties for the Tamil Community, and make a hue and cry that the Sinhala majority is discriminating  against the  Tamils minority.  Though the Tamils  make out that the Sinhala majority  were responsible for the riots  there were the excesses by some Tamils.

In 1958 for instance it was  a Tamil mob that cut off  the breasts of a Sinhala woman and killed her in Panadura , which  resulted in the wide spread riot.  In 1983 it was the killing of 13 Sinhala policemen that started the backlash in the south. The latter was undoubtedly,  masterminded by the RAW to start off the terrorism by the already trained group of Tamil youth let loose in the North.

“India aided and abetted terrorism, and repeatedly violated Sri Lanka's sovereignty. Its High Commissioner during the period dictated terms to Sri Lanka.

While the Vadamarachchi operation was on, the Indian Envoy Mr. J.N. Dixit had met President Jayawardene and bluntly told him that India will not stand by idly and allow Jaffna to fall into the hands of the Army, and if the military operation continued, there could be unforeseen consequences. Asked to explain what these ‘unforeseen consequences' could be, Dixit had told Jayawardene that military aid may be given by India to the LTTE leading to the possible dismemberment of Sri Lanka.”

This in turn encouraged the Tamil political leaders of the Vellala Caste who always kept the low caste Tamils under their thumb assuring their leadership in the Tamil Community to spear head a moment calling for parity of status to both the Sinhala and the Tamil Communities. 

After the assassination of Indra Ghandhi  by her own body guards  Beant Singh and Satwant Singh on the 31^st October, 1984  her son Rajiv Gandhi took office.  As he may have been advised of the intentions of her mother vis à vis Sri Lanka, he followed her policies with the intension of completing what her mother had started.

He went further, when Sri Lanka Armed Forces were about to finish off with terrorism he sent  the Indian Air Force to intervene and followed it with a peace accord, and sent an Indian Peace Keeping Force.  Along with it he imposed on Sri Lanka the 13 Amendment prepared by Indians to the Sri Lanka Constitution.  The Indian Peace Keeping Force completely failed in its effort   even to temporarily subdue the Sri Lanka terrorists, they finally left having accomplished nothing but aggravating the Communal problem and forcing on us a thirteenth amendment that has caused us innumerable problems.

Finally  Rajiv Gandhi too followed his mother’s fate, but in worst circumstances,  being blown up by a the  terrorists suicide bomber on the 21 May, 1991, an agent of the terrorists  who he had  thought was his duty to help. 

After Rajiv Gandhi , it was his Italian widow Sonia Gandhi nee Antonia Albina Maino who took the reins of the Indian Congress Party which led the UPA.  In May, 2004   Sonia Gandhi moved   Manmohan Singh  to be the  Prime Minister of India.  Having come into power Manmohan Singh,  as the Prime Minister of India with Sonia Gandhi watching from behind continues to spread the Gandhian venom on Sri Lanka. 

Through out the latter part of the  war against the terrorists, India pretended to be  a friend of Sri Lanka while  from behind tried every thing it could to help the terrorists win its war against the Sri Lanka Armed Forces.

 « It was when late Major General Janaka Perera was the Commander of Jaffna, that 40,000 soldiers were stranded in Jaffna at the mercy of a possible terrorist attack due to lack of transport. The Indian Government with whom the then President of Sri Lanka negotiated for ships to transport the stranded army refused to provide the requested means of transport. The army however, with the support provided by the Government of Pakistan halted the terrorist march towards Jaffna..”

When India refused to sell us weapons, they also warned us not to by weapons from China.

During the  latter part of the successful military operations against the terrorists India was more concerned about its political interest in Tamil Nadu, and sent Indian Government Ministers to Sri Lanka to negotiate a Cease Fire with the terrorists. 

When the terrorists started flying their  planes, India offered to Sri Lanka a second hand radar equipment operated by Indians which could not detect the low flying planes.  The Italian Sonia Gandhi nee Antonia Albina Maino,  undoubtedly influenced by the International Community demanded the Indian government not to sell offensive weapons to Sri Lanka.

As far as the Sri Lankans are concerned the Government of India had never shown a friendly concern over  the  atrocities  being committed by the terrorists in Sri Lanka against its Armed Forces or its people, or its Tamil people- about who India is very concerned now.   Even today the Indian Government offers aid to the North and East  leaving out the south.  Immediately after the elimination of the terrorists this supposed to be “friendly” India  hastened to open up Consulates in the North and South hoping to keep in check the influence of China.

Their project to construct 50,000 houses  for the IDPs are still a non-event.  But they are now talking of constructing 1000 houses in the North and  4000 for the Tamils of Indian  Origin in the estate sector.

The last thrust of the sward to Sri Lanka by India our  “pseudo friend” was at the last Human Rights Council session in Geneva.  China, Russia, Pakistan and Iran  would not even have dreamed of doing what India did at the Geneva Human Rights Council that unhappy day  the 22 March , 2012  we will never forget. "One has to weigh pros and cons. What we did was in line with our stand on Sri Lanka. We do not want to infringe on the sovereignty of Sri Lanka but concerns should be expressed so that Tamil people can get justice and lead a life of dignity," said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.  If India was a real friend it could have abstained from voting . 

The excuse that Manmohan Singh gave was,  “India is inclined to vote in favour of the resolution." He had been warned that if India did not vote against Sri Lanka, his key ally, the DMK, would pull out of the government. It was reported that, “China has thrown its weight behind Sri Lanka, saying it is against any country putting pressure on others in the name of rights violations. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Sri Lanka and its people were capable of dealing with their own affairs.” India and China of the two who is the friend of Sri Lanka ?

How could the President  or any Minister of the Government of Sri Lanka still go to India  calling it our “best” friend ?  Unless of course there is a secret pact between India and Sri Lanka the ordinary people are not aware of.

India receives the President of Sri Lanka or its Ministers giving them the right hand and at the same time receives the TNA  giving them the left hand. The Central Government of India has not the guts to put Karunanidhi or Jayalalitha in their place explaining to them the elements of political expediency.  Both Karunanidhi the poet lauriat pour Sri Lanka terrorists, and Jayalalitha  the third rate film actress  have not the brains to be real politicians. 

They have to be taught what politic is all about  and how  a sovereign state   should deal with other Sovereign States.  Central Government of India would not do that because TamilNadu is an excuse for them to  break up the unitary status  of Sri Lanka and  manipulate for its political and economic decline in all sorts of ways.  That is  what India always wanted to do openly since Indra Ghandhi became the Prime Minister of India, though our political leaders seem to have their own reason to keep on calling India  our friend.

Both the Central Government of  India and its  “headache” the TamilNadu speak for the well being of the Tamils in Sri Lanka, but they would not stop the Tamil Nadu fishermen from fishing in our waters causing hardship to Sri Lanka Tamil fishermen who are trying to live from the “catch” made meagre by the Tamil Nadu fishermen.  Even the TNA stealing the votes of these Tamil fishermen of the North do not seem to bother, as they are more concerned about political issues which is the last thing the Sri Lanka fishermen have to worry about.

India could have told the TNA long ago when Sampanthan and his goons  pay their  regular curtsies to India to complain about their problems with the Government of Sri Lanka, that they should start a dialogue with the President of Sri Lanka and come to terms  with him and his government rather than come on bended knees to Manmohan Singh who is not the Prime Minister Sri Lanka, and therefore  of TNA.

It is only now India is waking up to the reality of the foolishness of the TNA parliamentarians, and  has apparently decided to ask them to settle problems in Sri Lanka with the President and government of Sri Lanka.  It was reported that,   “The Indian government is to exert pressure on the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to fully commit itself to the political process towards arriving at a viable solution. It is reliably learnt that New Delhi had intimated the necessity towards pushing the TNA towards supporting a viable political solution in Sri Lanka……..”

It was also reported that, “……..The TNA plans to take up the Jaffna High Security Zone issue with Indian leaders and request them to urge the Lankan government to dismantle the HSZs in the North. TNA Spokesman and Jaffna District MP Suresh Premachandran told The Island yesterday that his party had been invited to meetings with Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Foreign Minister S. M. Krishna and the issues to be taken up with New Delhi had not been decided on, but certainly the HSZs would be discussed. ”

Why should TNA a political party with parliamentarians in the Prliament of Sri Lanka crawl on all fours to meet Manmohan Singh to complain about the HSZ ?  Sri Lanka is not a Provincial State like Tamil Nadu of India. It is time that some type of action is taken to abolish the TNA as a political party.  TNA is the stumbling block for a positive reconciliation process and the establishment of a Communally united Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka should develop more cultural  ties with China,  and Pakistan  as  friends and neighbours than with India.  That is the only way to rid ourselves of the  patronising attitude of India and  to thwart India’s determination to perpetuate the Communal dissension in Sri Lanka and if possible contribute to partition Sri Lanka. 

India may be “a friend” of the political leaders of Sri Lanka, but the people of Sri Lanka will never accept India as a friend because India is simply not a friend of Sri Lanka.

SLMC’s Dilemma and Hakkeem’s habitual betrayal.

There is nothing new in Rauff Hakeems  stick in the mud attitude.   He has already proved he is an unreliable partner in a coalition government.  

As it happened during  Chandrika Kumaratunga, “ Sri Lanka's main Muslim party split following its pull out that turned the ruling coalition into a minority government, party officials said Friday.The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) announced disciplinary action against two of its legislators who defied the leadership and remained with President Chandrika Kumaratunga's People's Alliance (PA) coalition.”

This is what Rauff Hakim was and continues to be.

He has no firm principles.  He is a real turn coat ready to turn sides to his benefit. He has no allegiance to any one except to himself.  When SLMC wanted to contest the local elections separately while being in the UPFA there was no talk of his changing sides after elections. 

Now that he has managed to get 7 seats and in a position to negotiate his allegiance, Rauff Hakeem has not the guts to declare  straight away where he would be , with the TNA and UNP or with the UPFA.

No one in Sri Lanka has forgotten that Hakeem even signed a MOU with Prabhakaran.  What political respectability could we expect from him ? 

If he is an honest politician he should have had  no hesitation to declare  who he will support to form a Provintial Administration in the East.

It is because of people like Rauff Hakeem that the Muslim Community is  not trusted by the other communities.  Like Rauff Hakeem the Muslim Community always seems to play a safe non- committal role in politics or in  any other National issue.  They seem to be more concerned about making Islam a world religion and sacrifice any patriotic attachment to the country in which  they were born to arrive at that objective. 

The Muslim Community  does not participate actively in the defence of the country , but  sit apart as spectators  and benefit from victory being on the side of the  winner. At the same time the Muslim Community under the leadership of Rauff Hakeem will not hesitate to switch its allegiance to the enemy if they were to receive benefits from such switch. Hakeem’s and SLMC”s dilemma at present is exactly that.

 It is far  better if we have to meet a known enemy  like the terrorists, rather than the Muslims with Raff Hakeem as their leader, who are so vague, undecided, and hesitant.

Hakeem is unfortunately not a man of political or moral stature.  But unfortunately the god fearing Muslims have selected him to lead them.  Hakeem is therefore like a man between the frying pan and the fire, yet seeking self aggrandisement.  He would not like to lose his Ministerial post, nor any possible prestige and grandeur  accruing to him from being the architect of  a TNA,UNP, SLMC  broad alliance as he  says as an opposition to the UPFA.

If he has commonsense as a Minister of the Government, he  should understand  that he also has the responsibility to  stand by the government in the context of the application of the report of LLRC, and the reconciliation process.

TNA is an outsider to Sri Lanka in a political context as they seek out side help and intervention of foreign Countries to settle the problem of the Tamil people of Sri Lanka rather than consult and discuss matters directly  with the government of Sri Lanka, its people and its communities.

UNP has done the mistake of joining hands with the TNA who are scheming to divide Sri Lanka.  In the case of Ranil Wickramasinghe and the UNP  their relation ship with the terrorists had been “cordial” giving them their own areas of control under an illegal  CFA, and now forming an alliance with them is nothing but extending their cordiality with the LTTE to their  heirs- the TNA which in reality has no legal right to remain a political party in Sri Lanka.  TNA should have been disbanded after the 19^th May,2009.

So what can we expect from Ranil Wickramasinghe and the UNP leadership ? They should be shunned by  the members of the UNP.

And in the light of these facts Rauff Hakeem need no  hesitation or further consultation if he is an honest politician , but say no to TNA and the UNP and stick with the UPFA to form an Administration in the Provincial Council in the Eastern Province.

Dewasiri , Amala and Sobhitha Theros and Professors want the pound of flesh, without consideration to Students and their Parents .

The Strikers carry placards “ Stop Politicization of Universities”, but they do not seem to realize that it is they who have made their strike  a political platform for local politicians like  Maduluwawe Sobhita thera,  Dhambare Amala thera,  the  JVP and a host of other politicians from the UNP. 

The foreign media that had been silent for a while from bashing Sri Lanka Government  has come out with enthusiasm. The Economist writes, “ Sri Lanka’s universities Shuttered:Lecturers go on strike, and the government has a drastic response, ”  in the wake of the decision of the Striking University Professors to continue the strike despite the governments decision to accommodate their demands.

The main  concern of FUTA is their salary increase, and every one knows that  the  demand for the 6  % of GDP for education is  just to mislead the public.  There was commentator in another website defending the Professors saying that they are not after a salary increase, and he says he is not a professor in a university in Sri Lanka but abroad.  That means he too had left Sri Lanka  for economic gain. They are all in the same boat.

What is surprising is that the Senior professors are still following Dewasiri’s personal strike against the Government, despite the fact that it has become obvious that the Strike is no more a purely a Trade Union action but a political manoeuvre to destabilize the government in its development projects.

Have these striking professors given a thought to the Students , who loose their precious time doing nothing instead of studying and the parents bearing the brunt of financial constrains caused to them by the unfair and unreasonable Strike of the FUTA. FUTA’s demands are unreasonable and unfair as they are already well paid, where as there are workers in other sectors who are not well compensated for the work they contribute to the development of Sri Lanka.  FUTA is only making the issue political perhaps because  they are paid for it by an outside political force.

FUTA never came out in defence of the country during the Geneva Human Rights Council sitting .  Nor did they defend our Armed Forces or the Officers of the Armed Forces when they were unduly accused for war crimes by the International Community.  They are merely looking after their own interest what ever becomes to the country. 

Have these professors who ask so much from the country, asked themselves how much they have given to the country other than lecturing to the students ,  which they do as a part of their “job” without sacrificing any thing for the sake of the students or the development of  the quality of the University Education in Sri Lanka.

During nearly two months of FUTA strike the University Students  have lost their precious time of study and their young lives have been wasted.  Their parents have gone through mental suffering and financial loss. If the striking professors claim their salaries for the period of their strike, FUTA should  appropriately compensate the Students and their parents for difficulties they had been put into and the financial loss they had suffered.

The robed defenders of the Strike do not understand the difficulties of parents or the sacrifices  the children had been forced to make because of the Striking Professors they have come forward to defend. As religious leaders they have a right to come to take the defence of the Students and their parents and not the striking members of FUTA who are disrupting social and economic development of Sri Lanka.

Dhambara Amala Thero who says that the cabinet decision with regard to the Universities is a fraud is no better than TamilNadu Karunanidhi, the TNA separatists and the terrorists rump.  They are after their own well being and should be shunned by the Sinhala Buddhists.  

The Buddhist monks  are there to pacify people and settle conflicts in dialogue .  When the Buddha had to settle a dispute between two clans  about sharing water of a river he did not take sides or fuel the confusion with irrelevancies, but settled differences peacefully.

These are political renegade Monks turning their back to the great teachings of the Buddha to create disturbance in a country which has just come out of a terrorist war   where a government with great difficulty is trying to solve the more important problems in the face of an antagonist international community which is determined to bar the progress of the motherland.

It is time that some drastic action is taken against them by the Maha Nayaka Theros.  They are not valuable elements to the Buddha Sasana,  or the development of our country which has today emerged as a Middle Income Nation with a 8% economic growth.

These Monks are using FUTA along with JVP to bar the progress Sri Lanka has so far made in its development projects.  Neither the FUTA nor these blind monks have contributed an iota of service for what the country is to-day.

Perversion and moral degeneration resulting in sex crimes

It was around 8.30 pm, a man was caught hiding behind a house, he ran away jumping dangerously down a steep hill and ran across the wasteland.  A man bathing in a well heard the commotion and seeing  a man running towards him caught him by his shirt collar.

The others who were chasing him searched him for any hidden arms.  He had none  and  he was taken over by them to be handed over to the Police.  He was drunk. He was questioned  and it was found that the man works in a garage and after work he comes to the liquor Bar. He takes a drink or more depending on how much money he has. After the drinks he walks about looking surreptitiously  into houses through open windows, taking a pleasure looking  secretly  at women.

He was handed over to the police who took charge of him.        Later it came to be known that he had been visiting other houses and even stealing women’s underwear hung on strings for drying.  That is a “milder” case of perversion.  But yet they speak of a more serious wave of crime that has been reported lately.  The Government in order to stop these sex crimes against women and children set up a special police force.  In all reported cases of murder of women the police had found in the vicinity of the crimes empty bottles of liquor.

Therefore one should seriously think whether there is something other than a special police force to stop this situation taking a more serious turn.   A man caught for acts of perversion is released by the police after a few days detention  and immediately he gets some money he visits the pub for his daily drink of alcohol and returns to his nefarious activities which may eventually end by his committing a sex crime.  How can these sex crimes be stopped  ?

It is certainly not by  mere detention of the miscreant by police., and releasing him.

In many villages in Sri Lanka to-day the men are kept away from the temple and their family by their habit of frequenting the  liquor shops.  These are the places that breed crime, but as most of the  liquor shops are patronized by the local MPs and has made the liquor shop owners  political confidants of the local MPs and influential men of the political parties, sex crimes go unchallenged.   Unless a serious  effort is made by the Government  to close all liquor shops in the country, sex crimes will continue to menace our country and  may take “another terrorist dimension”.

The Government taking cover under the establishment of a special police force to curb sex crimes will serve no purpose until a firm  decision is taken to close all liquor shops at least at village level. All these sex crimes that have been reported lately had been committed by  Sinhala Buddhists under the influence of liquor. 

‘Stop Alcohol’ (Mathata Thita) is a slogan of the Mahinda Chintanaya, but it remains a slogan without any positive step to close down liquor bars, which are sponsored by MPs with a view to keep their voters in their favour whatever negative effect it has on the Sri Lanka Buddhist society.

Therefore, steps  should be  taken  to  bring a closer relationship between the people and  the temple.  In order to make this happen  we should have a more active Ministry of Buddhist Affairs which is today  a shameful nonentity in the Cabinet of the President Mahinda Rajapakse. 

The JHU and the Buddhist Sangha should open their eyes to this problem and take an active part in uplifting the falling moral standard of  the Sinhala Buddhists.

They talk and talk in Sri Lanka

There is so much of character assassination going on in Sri Lanka without an iota of  evidence. If there is not the whole truth in some of the allegations made against the Government and the ruling leadership, there should at least be some basic truth.  But there is nothing of the sort, it is always what some others say or heard being said.  It seems to be a national weakness, we have already heard of the untruth of what was said about shooting at the terrorists carrying a white flag.

The danger  of these exaggerated lies is, once said however much of denials that follow will never erase the stench from the   smudged stains of falsehood left behind.  It is like the story of the “man who spewed seven crows”. It began with a  man bringing out  some thing  black, which became a black crow when it was first related to another, then two black crows, and then later on three black crows and so on.

Some make it an art saying with laughter an gestures, and  a gullible one who listens will repeat it with the same laughter and gesture but much more exaggerated and the round will continue each exaggerated in turn.

It was   a  gramasevaka a government servant who told me every thing is done wrong in Sri Lanka.  He asked me whether I agree that Sarath Fonseka should be in prison.  I said  it was the Court that sentenced him to prison.  But he said that man was dying for Sri Lanka. The gramasevaka  made a gesture with his two hands held against the stomach and said he was carrying his bowels like this in his hands, and lived to eliminate terrorism.  I said it is true , but later on he said things which were not favourable to the Armed Forces and that is why the International Community  has come in force against Sri Lanka.

Then he said, but every thing is wrong how can people live with this soaring cost of living. It is a problem every where I said but we have to give some time for the government to come out with solutions. And the difficulty we talk of in  feeding our stomachs is as old as the time we got our independence.  But at least this government has solved major problems like the terrorism and constructed new roads besides every thing else so that we can go from south to north or east to west without fear of lurking danger to life.

Then there are those who complain that Basil Rajapakse takes commissions.  One swears that he had the information from a reliable source, it was for dredging of sand from a river.  Then again another says  he heard the boss telling his assistant who was going to negotiate a deal for the export of  certain products  with a Minister not to agree to give the sum demanded by the Minister, but try to reduce it to the minimum. He asked me what else it could bet other than a commission.

 An  Inspector of Police  swore that a certain Minister takes commissions.  I asked whether he was present when the demand was made, but  no he said the information is very reliable.

Most of these information come  they say from reliable sources, but when you get to the reliable source, the reliable source had heard it from a good friend.

But some of these talks begin from mistakes committed without thinking of there consequences.

This is so in the case of Namal Rajapakse another subject people take a liking to talk about. It is normal that a  father gives in to please his son , but if he is being groomed to be a political leader of the people  he should learn to live like an ordinary young man of the people.  Namal  is a part of every delegation going abroad to see the heads of states, except this time to accompany Dr.G.L.Pieris to Washington.  Namal himself opted out.

Why they ask the other young MPs are not given a chance  ? Why is it always Namal Rajapakse ?  Is that the way to prepare a young politician to be  a leader of the ordinary people of the country ?

The Neela Balakaya of Namal Rajapakse gets all the jobs from the south to north.  The Colombo Galle express way passes through many towns and villages but young men of these villages should have  normally been employed in the express way at least at the points it passes through that town or village , but it is the members of Neela Balakaya that has been employed in various activities on the express way from Galle to Colombo. That is at least what they say.

They organised a quite unnecessary motor car racing in Colombo.  And very expensive cars such as Aston Martins had been imported.  This was all a brain child of  Namal Rajapakse and they say Namal Rajapakse  now  goes about in an  Aston Martin.  People talk , and people talk and as a result the popularity of  a young up and coming politician turns to public dislike.

But what is the use of car races in Sri Lanka ? I question. Is it not necessary to do things more beneficial to the country than to please a handful of foreign “racing car lovers” ?  But , I read somewhere that the government is proposing to extend greater Colombo by filling the sea and to build a racing course there amoung other things.  Is it necessary to attract tourists to such an extent ?  One cannot  always depend on tourism for an economic development.  Greece was once booming with tourism, but its economy crashed despite it.

I was sitting at a Doctors waiting room, a person who was reading a paper said for every one to hear , “this  Government demoted and sent away Tamara Kunanayakam who did so much of work at Geneva when Shenuka Seneviratne and 70 or so others sent  to defend Sri Lanka at Geneva did nothing.  But  UN has offered Tamara a more important post”

The man read the paper a while and said, “ They also say that the Government is proposing to get down 3000 Indian graduates to fill vacancies of  teachers.”  Then he added, “ why should they get down Indian teachers, when there are unemployed teachers in Sri Lanka  ?”

It was announced that Namal Rajapa    ksa will be at Wattegama along with Lohan Ratwatte to declare open a bus stand in Wattegama.  I was glad as I would at least see one Rajapaksa in flesh and blood.  I went to the Wattegama Town.  At a shop I asked when would the meeting start. The fat man  in his forties the owner of the shop said, at four o clock for sure because then they will at least have the school children as a crowd; no body else would come.  

I asked him why.  He said that every thing is going up in price and who has the money to buy. We are unable to sell our stocks and the  people are unable to buy.  So why should we go to welcome  Rajapakses and Ratwattes.  I said they are nevertheless doing lot of work. “ Yes, they become rich ” he said and he showed me the  big fleet of black vehicles , some of them Pajeros that have brought the VIPs for the meeting.

However there was a respectable gathering.  I saw Lohan Ratwatte in a clean  Sinhala dress, a white Shirt and a white cloth.  Next to him was Namal Rajapakse, with long hair in an unclean white shirt and an unclean trousers.   I was disappointed .  I thought he should have worn some thing clean and neat at least as a show of respect to the people who had come to see him.

In the mean time what is happening in some of the  factories of the apparel manufacturing sector is scandalous. There is no welfare service what so ever. The workers are slaves and work according to the whim and fancy of the owner.  The workers fear to complain as the solution for the owner is to get rid of the trouble shooter. There is no medical leave.  I was told that in one such “garment” factory a girl who was sick was asked to rest for one hour and come back to work. 

If you stay home for what ever reason and inform the Office they deduct Rs.3000 from the attendance incentive bonus , and deducted Rs.1000  per day  from the salary until the person returns to work.  The workers have to put up with such forced sacrifices as otherwise they will be sacked.  There are no inspections or visits by Inspectors of Labour, and even if there are such visits ,they  know how to arrange matters with them.

Another scandalous matter I came to know was through a man in his 40s .  Though Sri Lanka is seeing a tremendous development yet  undesirable former political habits and  methods have not been set aside to provide people with equitable treatment without reference to the political background of their fathers and forefathers.  The young man in question had worked for a long time in several companies and has good experience in accountancy.  He is married and has three  young children.   He does not want to go far in search of jobs as he would like to be with his children. 

He had been working for a company owned by a Muslim man a distributor of Medicine and other materials of health .  He was the only Sinhala Buddhist working there. Though his Muslim colleagues do their prayers five times a day during working hours, their Sinhala  colleague is not allowed a holiday for the poya days.  

This man question was sacked for not going to work the day after Wesak full moon day which was declared a holiday  by the Government.  The Muslim boss had said that his company is his and does not belong to the President Rajapakse and therefore he had not allowed a holiday to his staff the day after the Wesak full moon  day.  Therefore  he treated his Sinhala Buddhist Staff member as having vacated his post. That was incidentally the day the Muslim Boss returned  from his pilgrimage to Mecca…

Now this young man has a  problem in getting a job. If he applies for a Government job he has to be recommended to the Member of the Parliament of the Provincial area to have his name put on the list. One has to be a member of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party or an active political worker to be put in the list.  In order to have the name entered in the list the MP consults the owner of the liquor bar, and a man who has come not long ago to the village  and acts as the SLFP organiser.  A person’s experience and qualifications take a back seat as preference is to a man of the  SLFP or one recommended by the Owner of the Liquer Bar and the SLFP Organiser.  It is the case with all UPFA parties.  The jobs are distributed according to the affiliation to the correct political party.

Apparently these lists according to which jobs are distributed in the  respective Provincial Council areas, are a sine a quo non of the Sri Lanka Political Parties.  Even the entrance Examination to the Law College in Sri Lanka is said to be according to the names on the list kept by the Minister of Justice Rauff Hakheem. 

The Entrance Examination to the Sri Lanka Law College was held today the 12^th August,2012.  A student I met said that she is reluctant to sit for the Exam as it is a sham.  The College is only taking  200 students  out of about 2000 sitting for the Examination.  And the Exam she said is to eliminate a maximum number of  candidates to allow the Minister Rauff Hakheem to admit the maximum number of those students in his list to the Law College.

Somewhere in Hambantota a village had been created specially to help the Sri Lanka Cinema Producers to h     ave ready made locations to shoot their films. But I heard a man seated next to me in the train coming from Kandy to Colomo telling his friend that this Village for Cinema built at a considerable cost is now abandoned, and no films have been shot there.

A Case has been filed against TNA- Additional information.

After the article  “ A Case has been filed against the TNA” was published in the Lanka web and copied to an email Forum with Google, a question was raised as to the transparency of accounting for the contributions sent to the Account of the  Sinhala Jathika Peramuna on behalf of its secretary Jayantha Liyanage. 

Some of the forum  members expressed their willingness to contribute provided an assurance could be given as to how far Jayantha Liyanage could assure  transparency of contributions received on account of the case against the TNA.

I have been working solely in the interest of the Lankaweb to keep its readers informed of  what is happening vis à vis  the legal action against TNA to proscribe it as it openly contravenes the Constitution of  Sri Lanka.  The contributors and commentators in the LankaWeb had  taken a long time interest in denouncing the activities of the separatist TNA and it is  therefore why I took it on myself to keep  them informed.

I met Jayantha Liyanage personally and  keep in contact with him through emails to get the latest information about the case against the TNA and also to be careful not to publish any thing Jayantha  may consider detrimental to the on going case.

With regard to the transparency of the accounting procedure of the contributions made to the account of the Sinhala Jathika Peramuna of which Jayantha Liyanage is the Secretary, to be used for the case against the TNA,  Jayantha Liyanage  writes as follows;

“  Please forward this to all those who have doubts about our transparency.

Ours is a political party and we have to maintain proper accounts and auditing has to be done from time to time and we have to send all those details as well as details of our office bearers  personal wealth to the election commissioner. Otherwise we cannot function as a political party. The law is tough for political parties.

According to our constitution, the Treasurer and the General Secretary have to sign when money is withdrawn and accounts have  to be approved by the central committee members ( office bearers) during the meetings. 

I will send receipts to every one who contributes as  and when  we receive the contributions and in due course. 

Best Regards!
Jayantha Liyanage.”

FUTA President Nirmal Devasiri is mislead and suffers from a complex

Lanka Truth of the JVP reported on 28 July,2012, “  The Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) today said it is not prepared to accept the invitation of Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayake, to report to work from July 30” . Nirmal Devasiri says, “ the strike action will not end until their demands are met.”

This man Devasiri who is thinking of bring the Minister and the government to their knees is being manipulated  by the  anti- government forces such as  the JVP and Dambara Amala. 

Nirmal Ranjith Devasiri, is holding the University students as a “shield” in his personal vendetta against the Defence Secretary and the government,  which the JVP is trying to use to regain if possible its dwindling popularity.

A few days ago the former  General Secretary of FUTA Dr. Rohan Fernando  had said that they would be ready to teach a double batch if the government admitted all those students to Universities.  But Dewasiri instead holds the students to ransom and delays the admission of the new batch of students  in his stubborn, and in a way a violent demand to implement a salary increase and the request for the allocation of the  6 percent of the GDP to Education. The latter demand  which is a camouflage to  cover his egoist call for a salary increase.  In his own admission a Senior University Professor already gets a salary of one Lakh seventeen thousand per month and others  Rs.84,000,00 per month.

They are also under the influence of the JVP activist the Dambara Amala. These are the antigovernment political hands behind the FUTA  Strikes. They have less concern for the students and their parents. 

I know family in a village in  Kandy District whose child is in a Colombo University. As boarding houses are in itself a money making racket in Colombo, her parents pay  Rs.3500, 00 to a makeshift room in a corridor without windows where the child is forbidden to use a fan or use the power plug to  heat water.  The “room” is infested with rodents and cockroaches and a noisy neighbour.

During their forced “vacation”  due to their  “erstwhile professors” being on strike claiming still higher salaries.  This  girl from a Colombo University  has come back to her parents in Kandy.   The family is not rich and with the meagre income, they have  now to feed their daughter and a young son and pay the rent for the makeshift room in Colombo.  

In the mean time the parents have found a better room closer to the University to share with another for Rs.4500, 00 . They  have to pay for it in advance in order to keep it reserved until the beginning of the University  which they do not know when as  Devasiri of FUTA wants to continue the strike until the government gives the salary increase under demand.  On top of this is the fact that the children have to buy food from outside.  And they are unable even to make a cup of tea in the room as they are prohibited the use of plug points to heat water. These Parents have to pay the child her travel expenses to and fro Colombo , when ever there is a strike of the academic or no-academic staff.

This is only one case how many more poor parents ‘who cannot dream of a Rs. 84 000,00 salary per month), suffer this way. Do Devasiri, and  the thousands of  the supposed to be the top intelligentsia of Sri Lanka who follow this man Devasiri like  “cattle without using their “golden brains”, think of these poor parents who suffer financially and get into debt because of them, apart from the inconvenience and loss of study time by the students ?

I met a Professor from the Peradeniya University who said that he has ample leisure at the moment because of the “strike”, but he regretted that they have inconvenienced the students  who have nothing to do with the cause FUTA claims to fight. But he  said he cannot opt out as his colleagues have joined the Strike, after all a salary increase is a very tempting “carrot” held before them by FUTA. 

With that they could buy cars build houses perhaps with swimming pools, while the poor parents some times skips meal and feeds the other children less to ease the financial burden forced on them  in sending a child for a University education.

Why want Devasiri the FUTA president does not want to give in for the request of the Ministers to return to work, for the sake of the children who have gone without an education for 24 days and delay the admission of new student ?  

FUTA can continue the dialogue with the government after returning to work. They  will surely not die of starvation if they do not get the salary increase they claim. The 6 percent GDP to education is outside a trade union demand, as such allocations are made from the Government Budget and by the Treasury, which have been explained by the Secretary of the Ministry of Higher education.

Now Devasiri is making a big issue of the 6% GDP for Education to fool the public and the students to portray that they are not really after a salary increase,  but help the University Education by getting a bigger allocation in relation to  GDP. 

This is a matter that had already been explained by the Secretary of the Education Ministry and it is a matter that has to be discussed with the government without making it an issue for a strike.  A 24 or more days strike by the intelligentsia of the Nation is not understandable as their primary duty is to look after the welfare and the education of the graduate student, and enhance the quality and the standard of the University Education in Sri Lanka.

But the fact seems to be  that Devasiri does not want to go back empty handed and wants some thing in return  as  he  has got his feathers ruffled by an unwanted strike followed by a greedy set of University Professors who try to benefit from a further increase of a salary by joining  Nirmal Ranjith Devasiri’s  personal strike, backed by JVP. 

 

That is where Devasiri is wrong  and shows his mental suffering  from a complex of  having to give in to the Minister’s demand and return to work. He may  on the other hand perhaps be applauded for at least now realising the folly of following the brain child of the JVP and Dambara Amala and give up the strike and return to work.

If he can see reason and less greedy for money he would call off the strike for the sake of the students who have already lost more than two months of proper studies and my also delay unnecessarily  the admission of new entrants;  other than the inconveniences and financial loss the parents of the students have been put into.

Will FUTA compensate the Parents for the financial loss and mental suffering they were put into ?

Devasiri and FUTA can easily put off their demand for a salary increase as they are not that badly off now, and ask the ministry to make them a party to the disbursement of Funds from the budget for education.  That is a matter they can easily demand the Ministry to accept without having to go on a futile long drawn strike .