Home Archives for January 2011

Sri lankan police tortured a man with hot chilies on his genitalia

(January 31, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Mr. Sunil Shantha was illegally arrested by the Anguruwathora police. A non-state agent abducted Sunil from the street and assaulted him in a private confinement. Later, they handed him over to the police whom the abductor entertained with liquor. The police officers tortured Sunil by massaging chopped hot chilies on his body including his eyes and genitalia. The next morning Sunil was released. At no time was he shown or informed of any complaint against him and no statement was recorded. In this instance the police have tortured an innocent man to please an influential private party, which the Sri Lankan police do as a common practice. The case is yet another illustration of the exceptional collapse of the rule of law in the country.

Mr. Sunil Shantha (38) of Werawatha; Delgahakanda; Anguruwathota is married and a labourer. He was illegally arrested, detained and subjected to cruel and inhuman treatment on 18 October 2010 by police officers attached to the Anguruwathota Police.

While Sunil was working at his one of his employer's houses on 18 October, he went to a boutique close by to buy some cigarettes. At the boutique, Mr. Samarapala Edirimanna (who resides in the same village as Sunil) abducted him and took to his home. There he assaulted Sunil, accusing him of stealing cattle. After he assaulted Sunil Samarapala telephoned an officer of the Anguruwathota Police Station. He then took Sunil in the direction of the police station in his car and on the way they met a police vehicle. Samarapala treated the officers in the vehicle with liquor and they then brought Sunil to the police station.

At the police station he was taken into a room. An officer, Thennakoon, stripped off Sunil's clothes and then cuffed his wrists. Thennakoon then hung Sunil from the roof and started to chop and crush hot chilies using a cup. When the chilies were ready he poured them into Sunil's eyes and rubbed them into his genitalia. Sunil was kept in this condition for some time before being brought down.

Then officer Thennakoon tied Sunil's wrists and ankles together and placed a pole through them which he then suspended on two tables with the assistance of another officer. While Sunil was suspended in this manner officer Thennakoon beat the soles of his feet. After this torture Sunil was locked in a cell.

The following morning Sunil was released. He states that the officers at the station did not record anything from him. Further he states that the police did not produced him before court nor is there any case against him. At no time did the police show or inform him of any complaint made by any party to the police. Sunil states that by listening to the conversation inside the station he learned that the Officer-in-Charge of the crime branch, Chaminda, of the Anguruwathota Police Station commanded officer Thennakoon to torture Sunil at the station. Sunil denies that he was ever engaged in stealing cattle. He further states that the police officers at Anguruwathota Police Station tortured him to please Mr. Samarapala Edirimanna an influential person in the area. In this the officers acted ultra vires in that they had no authority to arrest, detain and mistreat him. It is evident that they were acting on behalf of an influential party.

He narrated the way that he was tortured and the violation of his rights by the police officers in the video here.

(January 31, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka Guardian) The Asian Human Rights Commission has once again written to the Western Embassies in Saudi Arabia to request their intervention in the case of Rizana Nafeek. Following is the text of the letter:

Your Excellency,

You will remember the appeal by the Asian Human Rights Commission regarding the young Sri Lankan house maid facing the death sentence in Saudi Arabia. We wish to thank the several Ambassadors and Consul Generals who graciously responded to our appeal and made efforts to intervene with the Royal Government of Saudi Arabia. I am writing this to inform you that no successful response has yet been received from the Royal government and that Rizana Nafeek's life is still in danger. The Asian Human Commission again seeks your kind assistance to take this matter up again with the Royal Government and spare no effort to safe this innocent young girl's life.

This young girl comes from a war thorn village in the Eastern Sri Lanka who due to the destitute poverty of her family, was sent for work in Saudi Arabia when she was seventeen years old (17). Within month of Rizana's arrival, the four months old infant in her care choked ad she was bottle-feeding him. Due to her inexperience and young age, she failed to rescue the infant, who tragically died. This young girl only spoke her native Tamil language and she was unable to explain herself adequately in the first instance at the police station. Unfortunately, the tragedy was therefore believed to be a crime and she was charged with murder and sentenced to death in 2007. The death sentence was recently confirmed in after a highly criticisable process in court. Consequently, she is likely to be executed anytime soon unless she is pardoned by His Royal Highness King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia. The Hon. President of Sri Lanka has announced that he has appealed to His Royal Highness to pardon Rizana Nafeek.

We are also appealing to him to take the special circumstances of the case into consideration and intervene on behalf of this young girl to save her life.

Kindly see a brief summary of the case for further details on the sad story of this young girl.

Thank you

Sincerely Yours

Basil Fernando
Director, Policy and Programmes
Asian Human Rights Commission. Hong Kong

Summary of the case :

Coming from a poor and war-torn family Rizana Nafeek went to Saudi Arabia as a maid in May 2005. A recruitment agency in Sri Lanka altered her date of birth in her passport making her 23 years-of-age in order to employ her, when in fact she was only 17 at the time. When the infant of her employers died in her care, a confession of murder was drawn from Rizana under harsh treatment and without a proper translator at the police station. On this ground, she was charged with murder and sentenced to death by beheading in 2007. After getting access to a lawyer and being able to express the circumstances in Tamil, the confession was later retracted. According to Nafeek, the child suffocated while being bottle-fed and due to her lack of experience and young age, she was unable to save him. The case was appealed enabled by funds from human rights groups. However, after a highly questionable and arbitrary process in court, the death sentence was confirmed in late October 2010.

One year since the Disappearance of Journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda

by Sandhya Ekneligoda

(January 31, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) I welcome you on behalf of the wives and children, of journalists in Sri Lanka, who have been abducted, killed or forced to flee the country as a result of their work. These journalists have consistently defended the right to think imaginatively and creatively and the right to appear for truth and justice in Sri Lanka. I welcome you, to a country, where thousands of women and children weep silent tears for a nation of innocent civilians who have been killed or disappeared on account of their ethnicity. Welcome to Sri Lanka.

I am the wife of Prageeth Ekneligoda, a journalist, cartoonist and human rights defender who was disappeared on 24th January 2010. He was last seen by colleagues at the Lanka E-News office in Rajagiriya, Colombo at around 8.30 pm. Prageeth never reached home. He has not been seen or heard from since.

Prageeth is an outspoken critic of the present Government. He worked ceaselessly to expose the gross human rights abuses committed against Tamil civilians during the war with the LTTE, including the use of chemical weapons against civilian communities by Government forces. On 27th August 2009, Prageeth was abducted for the first time, by a group of men in a white van. He was held overnight in a military torture chamber, and released the following day based on orders from a ‘higher official’.

Despite an obvious threat to his life, Prageeth continued to publish scathing attacks against the current regime, including the President and several key Members of Parliament. In the run up to the January 2010 Presidential Election, Prageeth was openly critical of the brutal suppression of dissent and media freedom by the present Government. On 24th January 2010, two days prior to the election, Prageeth was disappeared while on his way home from work. Prageeth has a serious diabetic condition and requires two insulin injections a day. He is also a heart patient and requires daily medication following an open heart, bypass surgery. All attempts to trace him have failed so far.

I have lodged several complaints with the local police and the Inspector General of Police regarding Prageeth’s disappearance. I also complained to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) regarding his disappearance. To date there is no progress by the police or the NHRC which indicates a credible inquiry into Prageeth’s disappearance. A Habeas Corpus Application demanding details of Prageeth’s whereabouts was filed in the Court of Appeal but proceedings have been repeatedly postponed due to non-cooperation by the State.

I have also submitted letters pleading for information on Prageeth to the Attorney General of Sri Lanka, the Presidential Secretariat and key Government and Opposition figures. Details of the case have been sent to the U.N. Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances and the UN Panel of Experts on Sri Lanka.

This Government’s consistent refusal to investigate Prageeth’s disappearance or provide information regarding his whereabouts, has led me to believe that the Government or its agents are complicit in my husband’s disappearance. Since I have been unable to obtain any redress or information from the Government, I have been compelled to submit the matter to the U.N. Secretary General through his representative in Sri Lanka, seeking his intervention in this case.

Prageeth is the father of two sons, Sanjaya and Harith, aged 13 and 16 respectively. Both children have been severely traumatized by their father’s disappearance and still live in anticipation of his return, even though one year has passed, with no information of his whereabouts.

My appeal to you is that upon returning to your home country, you take steps through your organizations and networks to persuade your Government, to relentlessly raise questions regarding my husband’s disappearance with the Sri Lankan Government. I appeal also, that you intervene in any manner possible, to help me and my children to obtain information regarding Prageeth’s whereabouts or to secure his release.

My only hope is to hear the voices of my sons calling ‘thatha’ (father) in the presence of a living Prageeth.

Please click here to read Mr. Basil Fernando's recent article on Prageeth.

by V. Suryanarayan

(January 31, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) Two recent incidents, allegedly committed by the Sri Lankan Navy, have sent shock waves throughout Tamil Nadu. In the first incident, on January 12, Veerapandian and three other fishermen left Jagathapattinam, presumably entered the Sri Lankan waters, when the Sri Lankan Navy opened fire, killing Veerapandian. In the second incident, which occurred on January 22, three fishermen, Jeyakumar, Senthil and Rajendran, set sail from Pushpavanam village and they were apprehended by the Sri Lankan Navy around 11 pm. The Naval Officers asked the fishermen to jump into the sea, Rajendran and Senthil obeyed, but Jeyakumar hesitated as he had lost two fingers during Tsunami, making it difficult for him to swim. Even as he was pleading, the security forces tied a rope around his neck, dragged him, pushed him into the sea and left the scene. By the time Rajendran and Senthil lifted Jeyakumar, he was found dead. As the news spread, political parties entered the fray making it an emotive issue.

Fishermen through out the world are no respecters of maritime boundaries and poaching into each other’s waters is a common occurrence. Sri Lankan fishermen enter Indian and Maldivian waters, Indian fishermen enter Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Bangladeshis enter Myanmar and Japanese and the Taiwanese roam around the Asian waters. Taking this reality into consideration Articles 73 and 145 of the UN Law of the Sea characterize poaching as a civilian offence. When fishermen from Sri Lanka and Pakistan are caught poaching, the Indian Coast Guard ensure that they are tried according to the law of the land, The Coast Guard has never resorted to firing. But the behaviour of the Sri Lankan Navy has not conformed to universal practices. Since the escalation of the ethnic conflict, more than 100 Indian fishermen have been killed, 330 fishermen have been seriously injured, 50 fishing boats have been destroyed and fish worth crores of rupees have been dumped into the sea.

Colombo has emphatically maintained that the Sri Lankan naval personnel were not in the scene, implying that forces interested in spoiling bilateral relations, have committed the crime. Obviously they imply pro-LTTE elements, but the LTTE has been completely decimated. The only way by which truth can be ascertained is to appoint Joint Investigation Teams, check the log books of the Sri Lankan Navy to find out their exact location when the incident occurred. Colombo is unlikely to accept this suggestion, making fact finding exercise a difficult proposition.

What perhaps is not appreciated in Tamil Nadu are the strong feelings of Sri Lankan Tamil fishermen who have resumed fishing now after years of ethnic strife. I visited the University of Jaffna recently to participate in a workshop on small fishers. The organizers took the delegates to the fishing villages of Gurunagar, Karainagar, Vadamarachi and Point Pedro where we had an opportunity to freely interact with Sri Lankan Tamil fishermen. In order to put their point of view in proper perspective, it is necessary to highlight certain realities.

Fishing is one of the major vocations of the Tamil areas. 38 per cent of the island’s fish production used to be the share of the northern districts of Jaffna, Mullaitivu and Mannar. According to government statistics Jaffna produced 48,776 metric tons of fish in 1983, it declined to 2211 metric tons in 2000, the corresponding figure for Mannar was 11,796 metric tons in 1983, this went down to 3614 metric tons in 2002.

The Tamil fishermen were the worst victims of the protracted civil war. The conflict affected the fishermen in several ways. First, for security reasons, Colombo prohibited fishing. Even today many fishing villages come under High Security Zones. What is more, the coastal villages were targeted in savage bombing, compelling the fishermen to come to Tamil Nadu as refugees. According to the Needs Assessment Survey 90 per cent of the boats, engines and gear were rendered unusable.

After the return of peace, the Sri Lankan Tamil fishermen have resumed fishing. There are three obstacles confronting them. Mention has already been made of the High Security Zones, which dot the coastline. Second, the last thirty years have seen the southern part of Sri Lanka making rapid progress in fishing techniques leaving the northern and eastern areas behind. The fishing boats from Negombo regularly come to the northern coast for fishing. Third and perhaps the most important is the unscrupulous poaching by Indian trawlers. They penetrate deep and fish near Delft Island, Karai Nagar, Point Pedro and Pesalai and in so doing pose a grave challenge to the livelihood of Sri Lankan Tamil fishermen. The fishermen complained that the Indian trawlers destroyed their nets and took away their catch. Trawling is banned in Sri Lanka, but this rule naturally does not apply to Indian trawlers. In the Indian side of the Palk Bay fishing is permitted for only three days, but the Sri Lankan fishermen complain that the trawlers can be seen on all the days of the week. According to informed sources, trawlers from Nagapattinam and Karaikal are also poachng into Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan fishermen wanted to hold demonstrations before the Indian Consulate in Jaffna, but they were dissuaded from doing so by the Sri Lankan Minister Douglas Devananda.

It is inhuman to deprive the Sri Lankan Tamil fishermen of their livelihood. The Government of Tamil Nadu should not continue to turn a Nelson’s eye to this gross violation of human right. Prof. Soosai of the Jaffna University told the author that the Tamils are not opposed to Indian fishing in Sri Lankan waters, what they are opposed is trawling which is bringing about havoc to the marine ecology. A fisherman added that if the trawling continues in this scale, like the Indian side of the Palk Bay, the Sri Lankan side also will be devoid of fish.

Mention should be made of three futile attempts to resolve the issue amicably. In July 2003, the Sri Lankan Government agreed to consider proposals for licensed fishing in Sri Lankan waters, seven years have elapsed but the Government of India has not yet submitted any proposals. In October 2008, during the height of the Fourth Eelam War, MK Narayanan and Shiva Shankar Menon discussed the problem with Gotabaya Rajapakse and it was agreed that the Indian fishermen could fish in Sri Lankan waters, Colombo would not resort to firing on them, but the fishermen should not enter the high security zones. No formal agreement was signed between the two countries. The war is over and a different scenario has emerged. Colombo is unlikely to formalise this understanding into an agreement.

More noteworthy was the agreement which was signed by the fishermen of the two countries in August 2010. For the first time, Indian fishermen agreed to phase out the trawlers within one year. The Sri Lankan side agreed that Indian fishermen could fish in Sri Lankan waters up to three nautical miles. The fishing days were reduced to seventy days in a year. This agreement was to have come into effect on November 1 after getting the formal approval of the two governments. Colombo and New Delhi unfortunately were very lukewarm in their approach; more tragic sections of Indian fishermen did not evince any interest to abide by the provisions of this understanding.

Dark clouds are gathering over the Palk Bay. Unless the situation is diffused immediately, it may lead to strains in the relations between two sections of Tamils, living on both sides of the Palk Bay. A great responsibility devolves on Tamil Nadu, we should immediately take steps so that Sri Lankan Tamil livelihood is not endangered by wanton poaching by our trawlers.

(Prof. V. Suryanarayan is Senior Research Fellow, Center for Asia Studies, Chennai)

JDS: A website office attacked

Statement issued by the Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka

(January 31, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) An unidentified group of men broke into the office of Lankaenews.com website and set fire to it in the early hours of Monday (31). The website, which is known for its critical views on the SL government has been a target of repeated intimidation by the authorities. Journalist and political cartoonist Prageeth Ekneligoda who went missing one year ago was also attached to the same website.

The Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka appeals to all concerned groups and individuals to take necessary action to condemn the attack and to demand an immediate investigation.

Please act - make phone calls and send emails to:
The President of Sri Lanka – + 94 112447400/ email -president@presidentsoffice.lk
Secretary to the President – +94 112 2326309 / email – prsec@presidentsoffice.lk
Inspector General of Police Mahinda Balasuriya – +94 112 421750 / +94 773088400 email – igp@police.lk

Can history repeat itself across the Arab World?

by B.Raman

Reuters Pictures:

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak at the White House in Washington in this August 18, 2009 file photo. Obama on Sunday urged an "orderly transition" to democracy in Egypt, stopping short of calling on Mubarak to step down but signaling that his days may be numbered.

(January 31, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) Everybody wants the discredited Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who is still tenaciously sticking to power, to go.

2. But nobody knows who can command the respect and confidence of the street protesters after he goes. The faces of the real leaders of the revolt are still hidden.

3.What are the characteristics of the revolution now sweeping across the Arab world?

4. Is it a genuinely democratic revolution? Many of us, including me, thought it was and still hope it is, but we --- at least I---are no longer certain it is.

5. Is it an Islamic Revolution with a democratic mask?

6. Many of us, including me, thought it was not and still hope it is not, but we--- at least I-- are no longer certain it is not.

7. Particularly after seeing the welcome that was accorded to the 69-year-old Rachid Ghannouchi, the Islamist leader of Tunisia, who returned to Tunisia this week-end after having lived in political exile in Europe for nearly 22 years. Thousands of people -- it is a large number for Tunisia--- welcomed him at the Tunis airport. No political ambition, he proclaimed, but nobody in Tunisia takes his proclamation seriously.

8. The democrats and secularists in Tunisia, who are concerned over his return, were also at the airport to caution him to behave and not to try to hijack the Jasmine revolution after it has succeeded and turn its white colour into green.

9. They shouted: " "No Islamism, no theocracy, no Sharia and no stupidity! " The number of people whom they could mobilise was very small. Some reports say less than a hundred.

10. Is it a harbinger of an emerging struggle between democrats and Islamists---with the Islamists ultimately expropriating the gains of the revolution and imposing an Islamic rule instead of the democratic rule hoped for by the protesters and for which many of them sacrificed their lives?

11. This is not a far-fetched scenario. It happened in Iran post-1979. The children of what seemed a democratic revolution in the beginning were devoured by the Islamists after they came to power with their help and an Islamic rule was imposed on Iran.

12. As the cliche goes, every revolution begins with noble intentions and ends up by devouring its own children.

13.What happened in Iran post-1979 could happen in Tunisia, Egypt and the rest of the Arab world in the months to come.

14. Irrespective of whether Mubarak lasts in power for a few more hours, a few more days or a few more months, he is already passee. He is already on his way to the dustbin of history.

15. How to ensure that it is democracy and religious and political moderation that will emerge as the ultimate victor? That is a question to be tackled by the people of these countries. The international community will have little role in deciding the future shape of things to come in these countries. Its options are very limited. One thing it can and should do is to refrain from supporting elements which stand discredited and which have become the anathema of the people. And hope for the best, while mentally preparing itself for less than the best.

( The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )

CaFFE and CHR condemns the attack on LankaEnews website in Sri Lanka

by Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon

(January 31, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) and Centre for Human Rights (CHR) strongly condemns the attack on Lankaenews office in Malambe, Sri Lanka in the morning which destroyed property worth up to fifteen million rupees. This latest attack on media, right after the end of the Galle Literary Festival (GLF,) when the attention of the whole world is focused on Sri Lanka is not only a serious blow for media freedom and right to information but also damns our international reputation.

We believe that Lankaenews played an important role in disseminating news items which were not used by main stream media for various reasons and they were unflinching in their belief of the right to information to the people.

However due to the same reasons they have been facing intense pressure from various sections from 2006. While cartoonist and political commentator Prageeth Ekneligoda was abducted and is missing for over one year, their chief editor and his family members live abroad fearing for their lives. Due to frequent threats and pressure Lankaenews had to shift their office from Rajagiriya to Malambe last year and Lankaenews journalists faced grave challenges in continuing their work.

We assume that the main reason behind these attacks were the revelations and investigations carried out by Lankaenews. From looking at the damage done it is obvious that this was a well planned attack carried out to inflict maximum damage.

The challenge before us now is to assure the safety of journalists who are working to disseminate information to the people. CaFFE and CHR also hope that Lankaenews will recover from this latest attempt to silence them as they have done after such previous attempts and urge the citizens who believe in democratic values to come forward and protect media institutions like Lankaenews.

Two Nations One Country Option - way out of impasse

by I. S. Senguttuvan

(January 31, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) If President Mahinda Rajapakse and his advisors are patting themselves on the back for taking an Ostrich-like stance in the National Question where they feel they have so far managed to avoid a settlement, they do so at their on their own peril and that of the country. After half a century of negotiations of various forms between the two parties the Question remains unengaged. The Sinhala-Tamil sides find themselves far apart than ever before. The deliberate indignity to the Tamil Nation is far too pronounced and continues. An organized Sinhala attack by thugs on peaceful Tamil MPs performing Satyagraha at Galle Face Green in 1957 to the brutal incarceration of more than a third of a million in May 2009 where they were projected on live television lining up for water and food in rags. This may have pleased a Sinhala electrorate celeberating “yet another battle victory against the Demalas” going down two millennia. The fortunes of the Rajapakse regime in the inebriated stupor of the Southern electorate is certainly assured in the short term. While on the other side over 300,000 people lost their homes and livelihoods. Over a 40,000 were killed or died as a result of gunfire. Around 20,000 remain unaccounted for while the State is in record over 10,000 are in their custody Yet the government continues to refuse to show where they are held. Habeas Corpus applications filed with the Supreme Court remain virtually ignored. Appeals both by lawyers and recognized NGOs to see them is refused by the Ministry of Defence despite various sanctimonious claims GoSL has “acted by the letter and spirit of the law” and goes to make the astonishing claim “not a single civilian was killed” during the events of May 2009 in the Vanni. If things were all that good why is transparency denied under a blank of “security considerations” both to the local and foreign media remains the unanswered question.

The return of Mahinda Rajapakse twice and the promises in his Chintanaya since 2006 spelled hope that at last the country has empowered yet another leader since 1977 with more than the necessary Parliamentary power to heal the wounds of the country. But more than half a decade has gone since he seized absolute power with no resolve from his side to move towards unity. “He has squandered many chances” (The Economist, London) is the considered view of the world media. That carefully hidden and unresolvable problem of the spiralling Cost of Living had to come out to the open. The humble, ubiquitous and indispensable Coconut that was at a high Rs.15 an year ago is now hard to get even at Rs.65. It has vanished from the kitchens of even the marginalized. That cheap drama of the Minister in charge of matters connected with the development of the Coconut industry personally delivering Coconuts at Rs.30 at Narahenpita has exposed the nakedness of the State in its gross inefficiency. The man and the Coconuts are missing for weeks now. Green Chillies that was never beyond Rs.10 per kilo a few years ago has crossed the Rs.600/kg mark. Middle class homes will see fried eggs in their homes about once a week only. Tunisia, Egypt and Saanah are waiting to happen in the streets of Colombo and the rest of Sri Lanka. With the country’s landscape dotted with Coconut trees and the island surrounded by a marine-rich Indian ocean to be woefully short of both is a poor reflection on the government’s managerial capacity. What more, a member of this Cabinet and a close confidante of the President - Dallas Allaperuma, openly admits “we badly lack the good calibre of Ministers” suggesting very little can be expected from the current motley crowd of non-performers. Ironically, the development of both Coconuts and Agriculture are areas entrusted to more than one Ministry in a country where government Ministers exceed their MPs in Parliament. Reckless borrowing on massive Projects that are more likely to be non-performers than otherwise will add to the nation’s financial woes because almost all of them are financed by short and long-term borrowing. It is estimated a child when born already is in debt to around Rs.200,000 the second he is born in Sri Lanka. Cradle to the Grave, as it were. Adding to the list of serious lapses by Ministers is the current news the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation – a defaulter for the first time in the country’s history in the eyes of the Banking and Petroleum worlds – is forced to cough up Rs.10.3 billion plus interest to CITIBANK on an arbitration filed by the bank in Singapore for a default by CPC in 2008. Two other banks are expected to gain from similar awards in London by March. By the way, these payments cannot be delayed or denied – something which the Minister and the man chosen as Chairman CPC then may not have known. The Chairman was nothing more than an average fast bowler with no known previous administrative experience. He has, predictably, only succeeded not only no-balling himself but getting GoSL suffer a hit wicket in the sensitive financial markets in the world as well.

As to the solution of the National Question that should have been in the front Agenda of the regime, only a chronic optimist will look at the immediate future with a degree of hope. In both exercises of insufficient allocation of resources to the Tamil-dominated regions of the North East and the rubbing of the Tamil psyche in the National Anthem issues, Rajapakse has lost even the minor faith the Tamil Nation had in a workable solution. Some wonder if his flybynight visit to the USA on January 19, after the Oxford University debacle of December last, is to fill the void in Sinhala minds of the “Tamil enemy”poison that died with Prabakaran in May 2009. “An enemy” is clearly necessary to keep the visceral Sinhala voter happy. And, therefore, “Federalism” of 1956 gave way to “District Councils” in 1965. While the bogey of Federalism found a willing place in Southern minds 1976 provided a far more lethal fear in the “Separate State” project. Better still was “the LTTE bogey” that was buried in mid-2009. Now that the “Tamil curse” is over what does one do to answer the Revolution in the Sinhala kitche. The Southern wife has to have more than bogus promises and bogeys to feed the children. Johnny-come-Lately is as bad a flop as the tuition-master and so the problem multiplies. Have the spin masters in the government side, therefore, now come with the “Tamil diaspora” excuse to keep the amnesia-prone Sinhala mind at bay is the much talked of question now. If the government side only had men like Jayantha Dhanapala, Lionel Fernando or even Kalyananda Godage aboard they would have very likely converted this over-estimated diaspora threat into a veritable opportunity. Such a prospect would have assured the nearly million Tamils making Sri Lanka their first-preferred point of holiday destination. In a few years if Sri Lanka can assure their safety both in arrival, stay and return – now in considerable doubt – they could be persuaded to invest here as well – a task in which the former LTTE leader KP has clearly under-performed. Create the conditions to treat the Tamil diaspora with respect and they will respond in good measure is crystal clear. Using opportunistic and spinless men of the kept Press to revile the diaspora disparagingly as “LTTE rump” “macabre diaspora” is counter-productive to Sri Lanka’s interest is a lesson that the State should learn pronto. Even a usually responsible and moderate English Sunday Newspaper, run by respected citizens, this week unfairly faults the TNA of stating in Parliament “the Law and Order situation in Jaffna has collapsed” In contradicting itself, while implicitly denying the ground reality goes on to state serious offences complained of are carried out by Tamil ex-militants within the government in a continuing saga of going after each other. Analysts seem to be generally agreed the government’s long-term strategy is to keep the people of Jaffna in a state of flux so that the Emergency Regulations – the main instrument in which the people in the South and elsewhere can be kept on leash. An incident or two of shootings – now in the sea as well – is engineered to claim in Parliament the climate is still not right to be rid of the ER. In the process senior men in the government are caught stating both “the LTTE is finished” and the “LTTE is still alive” to suit the convenience of the occasion. This was seen a few years ago in the South as well when Police and army sources “discover” dynamite, landmines, arms caches here and there – all a few days before the ER is debated in Parliament. The game to fool the people goes on – without the mass of the people not realizing it sufficiently yet.

The caravan of VVIP arrivals from India is indication enough the big neighbour is getting pretty impatient. Mrs Nirupama Rao has been here twice in the last 3 months and is due again in the next few days. Shri S. M. Krishna was here not only to open the Jaffna Consular office but to express India’s exasperation as the tone and tenor of his Communique revealed. The powerful voice of Rahul Gandhi, General Secretary of the powerful Congress Party at a young age, “Lankan Tamils will get their justice soon” emphasizes India’s capacity to endure the deliberate procrastination on the part of GoSL is running out. The attack on the Maha Bodhi at Egmore in Chennai, though savage and unfortunate, is unlikely to be the last. Young woman lawyer Kaya alias Angayakanni and her friend Thirumalaiu were taken in by the army and was grilled at the 4th floor for days a few days ago. She knew even before setting foot in the island the security officials in Sri Lanka cannot subject her to the excesses they are well known to administer on other Tamil ladies taken in. She had to be released on representations made by Vaiko to PM Manmohan Singh. The matter did not end there. She has now spoken to the Tamil media in South India and has become a sensational heroine in her accounts. These, as expected, are quite unfavourable to the Lankan State and very sympathetic to Tamil civilians in the eyes of the 65 million in Tamilnadu.

The time has finally arrived for resolution – either way. This writer wishes to summarise the positions that have stood in the way and possible solutions.

(1) For the right or wrong reasons the Sinhalese, starting with school texts, have been fed with the image the invader from the North is the cause of all our problems. The negative events in history is invoked to suggest Tamils in the island are no more than “fifth columnists” Little has been told in the South that Tamils in the North East lived in their own kingdom for long until the arrival of the Portugese at the beginning of the 1600s. The arrival of the North East Tamils in the South in sizeable numbers is around 100 years only. It has now reached the stage Tamils do not wish to be fooled any longer by this regular proliferation of various elections. They are of the unanimous view instead of improving their lot, they have only made it absolutely unbearable for them.

The presence of the Buddhist clergy since the 1950s in matters clearly outside ecclesiastical boundaries and essentially within the realms of the political has

distorted the Parliamentary system of government. While political power is believed to be vested with Parliament the Buddhist clergy has often frustrated all efforts at a coming together of the Sinhala and Tamil forces in the country.

The growing influence of Sinhala supremacism characterized by the clergy, the Mudalali clique, the politicized army-police has reduced the space for any form of rapprochement. The recent rise of the JHU, PNM and similar extremists with clear anti-Tamil inclinations makes National Unity virtually impossible.

(2) The instrument of Provincial Councils in 1987– that proved a form of acceptable political arrangement to the Tamil moderates – and which was more in the centre of thought of the authors of both the 13th amendment and the 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord were blatantly denied to the Tamil North-East. It was allowed to every other Province in the country. Every Sinhala government since then failed to provide the necessary arrangements for the Tamils to run their affairs in an undivided country – although the Tamil side came down substantially from the demands of a Separate State which secured popular mandate in the General Elections in 1977.

(3) Even the minor concessions under the leadership of Ranil Wickremasinghe were sabotaged although he enjoyed a popular mandate. These arrangements gained the encouragement of stake-holders India, the EU, Japan and the USA needs to be borne in mind.

4) The arrival of President Rajapakse at the centre of the political scene and the enormous mandates he received from the Southern Electorate was expected to usher in a period of National Unity as enunciated under the letter and spirit of the Mahinda Chintanaya. In spite of the defeat of the LTTE in May 2009, he has failed to win the confidence of the Tamils who live in greater fear and insecurity than ever before. That they are relatively freer today than during the days of the LTTE fascistic rule is conceded. But the fact is, as suggestive in the National Anthem issue and the climate of fear in the North East Tamils have no reason to trust President Rajapakse will bring them the peace, order and happiness that is their long denied but rightful due. The National Anthem controversy is no more than vendetta for the Oxford University debacle is widely known. In the circumstances, it is feared his hasty departure from Houston and the legal action filed by the Tamils against Genocide can generate further punitive and group punishment onLankan Tamiles by his regime.

The “War” and the aftermath, wide-scale corruption and nepotism continues to suck at the roots of the country’s resources and the country becomes poorer everyday. This is now illustrated by the punishing high prices in daily essentials – which the government is unable to control.

(5) Our conflict is essentially race-based. From ancient times two nations have lived in the Island. In the circumstances, a way out on a Two -Nation One-Country formulae (Sinhala and Tamil Nations) should be looked into. The Israeli-Palestinian question is being negotiated currently under the same formulae is relevant to be borne in mind. Hardline Tamils also should note a Separate State altogether is harmful both to them as well. However, deep their wounds of the present and the past a certain degree of give-and-take is necessary for the sake of the future. The region and the world too will not accept any effort at bifurcation. Last week Norway herself came out against dividing the country. The arrangement now suggested, it should be noted, will not in any way jeopordise the territorial integrity of the country. On the other hand, as it has been convincingly shown, this arrangement will only go out to free the country from most of our serious pressures. Control in Finance, Foreign Policy, Security of the State will remain in the hands of the Centre. The Principle of supremacy by majority rule is in no way compromised. This is no different to the “13th Amendment plus” the President has been suggesting now and then.

Going by the past, admittedly, there is likely to be initial opposition to the proposal. Presumably this will be mainly spear-headed by the radical and politicised Buddhist clergy. But, as in the case of Language Parity (1957) and the Citizenship (1948) issues. Although these were portrayed to set the entire country aflame acolypsically – both were eventually conceded with hardly any serious political turbulence. It is left to the political and intellectual leadership of the country to get the people educated to the far-reaching benefits of the captioned formulae.

by FS

(January 31, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) At a recent discussion on education convened by a group of concerned doctors, a key focus was on the misleading contents in textbooks in schools and also an overload of information. One doctor explained how his daughter’s history textbook contained such a lot of information that it was virtually impossible to remember everything in time for the final examination. “For example, one page has the names of 16 people and many other names of places? How can a 12-year old remember and memorise all this? Why do we need all this information when many, many years ago, information in text books were essentially to give a rounded knowledge to the child and prepare them for life?” he asked.

At the same discussion, a principal of a reputed school pointed out the many flaws in the process of preparing question papers saying some of those involved in this were not competent, apart from other issues. Recently an enterprising medical teacher created a school bag that has been approved by the authorities as compulsory use by children to reduce or balance the weight on the back and ensure they don’t suffer from stiff necks or have long term damage to their spine and back.

Likewise, an overload of information is growingly become a problem in the education syllabus. That’s not the only issue. Look at the rising number of tutories which has become a compulsory part of a child’s daily routine. Often students are taking extra classes at a tutory from their own school teacher! “What has happened to our education system,” lamented a parent, standing outside one tutory in Colombo, waiting to pick up his daughter.

Add to these woes is a gradual move to reduce state spending on government schools, an issue which is drawing protests from unions. Joseph Stalin, General Secretary of a teachers’ union says that the government is gradually putting pressure on school societies and communities to meet all expenses in schools other than the salaries which is what the government is likely to fund in future. “What is happening to free education?” he asked.

Presently there are two categories of non-private schools. There are the fully, funded government schools and the partly-funded (assisted schools) in which the government only pay the salaries of teachers while the school takes care of all other expenses through charging of facilities fees and donations.

With the return to English-medium education during Chandrika Kumaratunga’s tenure as President, the tuition culture has become ingrained in social structures – so much so that even the most brilliant student seeks some kind of tuition guidance to ensure there is no psychological disadvantage. “My daughter doesn’t need tuition but when you are in a classroom where the majority are taking tuition, then there is pressure on the child as to whether she could pass without tuition,” said another parent, again waiting outside a tuition school.

The tuition syndrome, which was seen as a menace some years back but come to accept as a part of societal pressure, has many other concerns – a proper environment for the children and proper teaching standards. Most of these tutories are in unsafe locations, are fire-hazards and where dozens of students crowd around in tiny cubicles. There are no fire-escapes and/or other safety precautions.

As per standards, that’s another issue. Education – which has become a business commodity rather than an essential need – finds parents running helter skelter looking for the ‘best teacher’ for their children in maths, commerce or science at the ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels. In the absence of standards (and now that tuition has become an unofficial requirement), word-of-mouth about the best tutory or best teacher is the only guidance left for parents and students. Often students end up spending a lot of money moving from tutory to tutory looking for the best teachers.

There are no common standards or guidelines from state authorities in this ‘unofficial’ sector. (The government is only now preparing guidelines for international schools, more than 30 years after they were created and registered as businessess under the Companies Act).

Ironically many schools have also been dragged into this education ‘mess’ and watch helplessly as their own teachers spend more time outside the classroom (in tuitories or providing individual tuition at home – earning a lot of money in the process).

Education is becoming like the country’s health sector where private hospitals are becoming more crowded than state hospitals and engaging government doctors whose time spent in state hospitals is questionable. What has been discussed here is only the tip of the iceberg in education. There are many more issues in this sector.

With Sri Lanka moving into a new era of development in the post-war period, it is imperative for the evolution of proper models for education, health, society and the economy. (Haven’t we and many others said this before to no avail!). The Business Times has often proposed the creation of a think-tank to chart a development plan or revive the National Development Council of yester-year.

Sri Lanka, in particular, needs a proper education, health and social structure, to ensure children receive a proper and decent education, communities are cared for properly by the state, and an ageing population has decent access to health and care-givers. An economy must be built on these fundamentals not on a bits-and-pieces-formula like what is seen happening in education.

by Rajpal Abeynayake

(January 31, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian)Never have more sanguine predictions been made about the Sri Lankan economy. All the talk about quadrupling per capita income etc., have been treated with either derisive scoffing or grunts of admiration considering the audacity of these claims.

If the government is able to deliver, the Sri Lankan economy - it is predicted - would be akin to that of Singapore, or any of the dragon economies of the Far East. Sounds fantastic, but is there any real chance that the government can deliver as it did deliver on the war?

People in general harbour a healthy dose of skepticism on this issue. Well, one reason is that there have been several false dawns before, but the other more important consideration is that people have an inherent sense that the war and the economy are two separate things, and that delivering on one certainly does not guarantee delivering on the other, the economy having been the one issue that brought down several promising rulers both regionally and globally, almost before one could utter the word hubris.

My personal take on this is that it is moot whether state policy alone could graduate a middle-income economy to high performer, akin to the Singaporean or Malaysian model?

I know it is a discordant note, but many would wager that Sri Lankans do not have simply what it takes to catapult our economy to Dragon status.

For example, we have what are called work ethic issues. Despite the accelerated tourism drive for instance not the slightest effort has been made to clean up our beaches. The operational industry paradigm is that the tourists would 10-2simply roll in if we increase the number of rooms in the country.

Beach-pollution etc., can all be seen essentially as service centered issues that at the end of the day could be traced to issues of a work ethic, (or to be more precise a lack of one.)

The assumption that the end of the war would necessarily send the economy on overdrive until it reaches astronomical heights reached only by the Far Eastern Dragons, can be a fallacious one, particularly considering certain other economies which have atrophied in spite of the fact that there has been no violence, or significant disruptions of civilian life in those countries.

Take the Philippine economy which has always been poor compared to the competing economies of say Vietnam or even Indonesia for instance.

There have been no significant disruptions of the Philippine economy, certainly not in the order of the Tamil Tiger violence that disrupted the Sri Lankan economy for more than two decades. It is true that the Filipinos have seen more political upheaval in terms of changes of government etc. what with the famed Filipino people power movements of the 80s and all.

But even after a relative measure of political stability settled in, the Philippine economy has remained largely static, and the fact that it has lagged behind those of Indonesia and Vietnam leave alone those of Singapore and South Korea, has been a considerable source of heartache to the elite leadership and the economic planners of that country.

Though the Filipinos are by and large a so-called “Mongoloid’ race despite the admixtures of Polynesian and Spanish lineage in the Filipino gene pool, the country has not displayed any of the aspects of the famed Confucian work ethic that most of the so-called ethnicities coming under the Mongoloid description are known for.

I know this comment is bordering on the racist, but perhaps the contamination of the Polynesian and the Spanish element destroyed the work ethic aspect in the Filipino Mongoloid gene pool, considering that a largely Mongoloid race would have normally been expected to have elements of the fabled Confucian work ethic written into the gene as it were!

My point is, issues such as work ethic matter and there can be no assumption that the Sri Lankan economy would automatically reach a plateau merely because the war is over and the current ruling dispensation has staked everything on economic development, and is willing-it to happen by their own troth as it were.

Work ethic mind you is not something that can be laid exclusively at the door of the large mass of people as it is observably a top-down phenomenon; i.e.: if the people are not known for an assiduous work ethic, the politicians who rule over them are invariably cut from the same cloth.

Who is guilty of keeping the beaches unclean even as stupendous tourism target figures are being released by the government?

One could say the people continue to pollute the beaches; but a government which does not have rudimentary plans to deal with long ingrained habits and clean up the national act with regard to tourism, cannot be doing very well in the work ethic department, can it?

From a strictly development and economy centered standpoint work ethic is probably more important than probably the issue of effectively tackling corruption, for instance. This is not to say that I consider corruption to be an unimportant factor.

Rampant corruption can have a deleterious effect on investment and economy and that goes without saying. However, considering for instance that South Korea was one of the most corrupt nations on earth at the time her economy grew, almost at an exponential rate, it can be safely surmised that no nation can grow without a work ethic, even though it can power its way to exponential development if work ethic and attitude prevails, despite there being certain levels of corruption observable in the bureaucratic landscape.

In the final analysis, in Sri Lanka, this writer identifies the work ethic issue as the main stumbling block against reaching the developmental levels of Singapore and Malaysia, while hoping fervently that his pessimism on that score is undue.

Attack on the LankaEnews ( Photos)

The office of www.lankaenews.com local news website in Malabe has been has set fire and completely destroyed.

(January 31, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The office of www.lankaenews.com local news website in Malabe has been has set fire and completely destroyed.

Its news editor Benett Rupasinghe told the Lanka Guardian from Colombo that the arson attack had taken place between 1.30am and 2.30am today (Jan. 31).

Just before the incident, around 1.00am, an anonymous caller had accused him of campaigning on behalf of UNP MP for Hambantota Sajith Premadasa and threatened him with death, he said.

Firefighters had been called into the scene of the fire, but by the time they had arrived, the news website office had been completely gutted.

www.lankaenews.com is a news website popular among Sri Lankans, including expatriates, and has been a strong critic of the government.

by J.L. Devananda

(January 31, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) First of all, let me thank Dr. Rajasingham Narendran for his response (click here) to my article (click here). Dr. Narendran has made a lot of effort to enlighten me by highlighting the positive aspects of the Mahavamsa. Of course, as Sri Lankans, we must appreciate the fact that the Mahavamsa is the greatest Epic Poem written in Pali in our country but, there is a saying, “no matter how thin you slice it, there are always two sides”. I remember the well respected Pali scholar (a Sinhalese), late Dr. E.W. Adikaram once said in an interview after the 1983 black July, the only way to have peace in Sri Lanka is by burning all the copies of the Mahavamsa. I am sure the Pali scholar must have perceived the negative side of it. It is not the question of reliability of Mahavamsa, it is the question of how the present day Sinhalese Buddhists try to interpret that great work.

Let me also thank Mr. Bandu De Silva for his reply (click here) to what he calls ‘Polemics’. Shakespeare once said, 'A rose, by any other name, will smell as sweet'. We in Sri Lanka have had the benefit of several waves of cultural influences. It is necessary that we should assess them with a certain amount of objective impartiality and admit the contributions made to our country by others. Our culture in the past has been a synthesis of different cultures, and in evolving a new culture these influences have to be taken into consideration. If the so called ‘Polemics’ can help at least a few members of our community (Sri Lankans) to burn the veils that have shut them from appreciating the beauty of pluralism and multi-cultural diversity that exists in our country for thousands of years and the secularism Sri Lankans practiced in the past as we saw in Kandy where the Sinhalese accepting the Nayakkar dynasty of Madurai, South India (presently Tamil Nadu) as their Kings, then let it be called by whatever name.

I am sorry to say that in his reply titled “Can the charge of “Racism” levelled against the chronicle be sustained?” the learned gentleman Mr. Bandu de Silva has totally missed my point. If anyone has read my article carefully, s/he would have understood that, I did not accuse Ven. Mahanama thero as a racist or his poetic literature (Mahavamsa mythology) that he wrote for the ‘serene joy and emotion of the pious’ as a racist doctrine. I even mentioned that during the turbulent period when Buddhism was under threat, the Mahavamsa author Ven. Mahanama and the Mahavihara monks had a genuine reason (cannot be blamed) for the mythology. Also, my article was not a document/paper on deep analysis of Sri Lankan historiography (which many number of academics and scholars have already done) but only a political overview to highlight the belief system (Myths and fallacies) of the present day Sri Lankan society or rather the Sinhala-Buddhist majority due to the influence of Mahavansa, which has manifested into a prejudiced way of thinking known as the Mahavansa-mindset [Rata (Sinhala Country) – Jathiya (Sinhala Nation/Race) – Aagama (Sinhala Buddhist Religion]. The outcome of such a state of mind is the Sinhalese-Buddhist Nationalism spanning from Anagarika Dharampala's Revivalist Movement to Sinhalese-Buddhist Ultra-Nationalism of Jathika Chinthanaya and presently the Hela/Sinhala Urumaya that has lead to Sinhala-Buddhist chauvinism, one of the main causes for the unresolved ethnic crises in Sri Lanka that has resulted and continue to cause misery to our Sri Lankan nation. Even though Politics, History (academic), and Religion (spirituality) are three different disciplines, in Sri Lanka they are interlinked, and in order to understand the mindset of the present day population of Sri Lanka, we need to pay attention to all the three, the only reason that dragged me into Mahavamsa and Buddhism. Having said that, even I do not want to engage in any ‘Polemics’ but at the same time I also do not want to disappoint my readers who are expecting a reply. This is only a clarification and should not be misunderstood as a rebuttal.

Without altering or diluting the original content of my writing, let me elaborate further on the major issues that are raised here (which I think is worth replying) with more reasoning/clarification with references and additional examples wherever possible to support my views. Once again it is not a deep analysis because if I were to do a deep analysis, each statement/paragraph that I have written (my article) can be expanded into separate articles and that is beyond the scope of my intention of highlighting the present day Sinhala-Buddhist (Mahavansa) mindset.

.....they who know truth as truth and untruth as untruth arrive at truth..... Dhammapada

1. Is Mahavamsa the History of Sri Lanka?

History is basically the capacity of the society in remembering the past. The mode of exerting this capacity differs from society to society. Archeology (ancient artifacts, ruins, potsherds, burials, coins, stone inscriptions, cave writings, rock edits, writings on Ola leaves, etc), ancient literature, chronicles, cultural anthropology, folk stories, historical linguists, etc are some of the tools to understand the history of a society.

1.0. The Chronicles

The Mahavihara monks of Anuradapura maintained Pali chronicles in Sri Lanka which were intended primarily to record the activities of the Theravada Buddhists. There are two sets of Chronicles on which the historians of Sri Lanka have placed their reliance for the study of the Island’s story. The Dipavamsa (5th century A.D), the Mahavamsa (6th century A.D), and the Culavamsa (12th century A.D) were written in Pali, while the later chronicles the Pujavali (13th century A.D), the Rajaratnakara (16th century A.D), and the Rajavali (18thcentury A.D), generally considered to be less reliable as historical documents than even the earlier Pali chronicles were written in Elu/Helu (Sinhala-Prakrit). There is also a commentary to Mahavamsa written in Pali by an unknown Buddhist monk in the 13th century AD known as the ‘Tika’ or Vansatthappakasini to explain/interpret the verses in Mahavamsa. It is the Tika that talks about a mysterious "Sihala atthakatha" (Vamsa text known as original source) that has disappeared after the Mahavamsa was written, the main reason for calling the Pali chronicle of the Mahavihara as the chronicle of the Sinhalese. (What is believed to be “Sihala Attakatha” is nothing but the Indian Epics and Puranas written in Sanskrit).

The Mahavamsa (Great Chronicle of historical poem) was written not as a history of Sri Lanka (or Sinhalese) but as a history of the Mahavihara (Theravada Buddhists). The Mahavamsa and Dipavamsa speaks ONLY of Theravada Buddhists and NOT Sinhala Buddhists. The original Mahavamsa (Mahawansha), is a historical poem written in Pali, which covers a period starting from the arrival of Vijaya (543 BC) to the time of Mahasena’s rule (334-361 BC) written by the Venerable Mahanama Thero, an uncle of King Dhatusena.

To study the history of Sri Lanka (put it into context) and its people (Sinhalese/Tamils), its ancient religions (Buddhism/Hinduism), its languages/scripts and its culture we need to also study/understand the history of India (North and South) because the origin (roots) begin from there and both histories were always interconnected (umbilical cord) until independence.

1.1. Theravada Glorified

From the archeological/epigraphic evidence and the chronicles itself, it is clear that during the same period there also existed other religions such as Mahayana Buddhism, Saivism, Vaishnavism, Jainism, etc but they were all left out. It is also clear that, not only Yakkas, Nagas, Demadas and Kalingas, but also a few other tribes such as Kabojas/kambojas, Milekas, Muridis, Merayas and Jhavakas have also lived in the island during that period but right from Devanampiya Tissa to the end of Anuradapura period the Mahavamsa glorifies only the Theravada Buddhist kings, even though their ethnic background is never mentioned (an ethnic group or a dynasty called Hela/Sinhala is not at all mentioned accept twice in the beginning chapter about Vijaya/Lion myth). Only the non-Buddhist kings were identified in the Mahavamsa (even though not mentioned in any epigraphy) as Damelars (outsiders/invaders). Therefore the Pali chronicles on which the authoritative history of the island is still based cannot be considered as a complete history of Sri Lanka or the history of the Sinhalese, and is also not much helpful to understand the Tamil history of Sri Lanka. In that sense, the Archaeological explorations and epigraphy are much more important than the biased and distorted past records of the chronicles that refers to events which happened many centuries earlier, as an account of the history of the island. In other words, we have to look for other sources to understand the actual history of the country and its people. Unfortunately none others, not even India (North & South) maintained any such chronological record or any other organized system to preserve their historical records, but that does not mean that they did not have a history or they do not have any other historical evidences.

The Pali chronicles were written long after the events described took place (some of them more than 1000 years). Therefore these cannot be considered as accurate records of the events. These were written by Theravada Buddhist priests who mainly tried to convey a religious message using the events to illustrate the importance of the Theravada Buddhist religion, hence a very biased version. The description of the events had a very heavy religious flavor and the history was modified to glorify those kings who patronized and supported Buddhism and those who did not were portrayed as "bad kings", or “invaders”. There was also a tendency to remain silent on the issues which did not portray Buddhism in a favorable light.

1.2. Bias towards North India

It is also clear that the Mahavamsa is biased towards North India against the South. This may be because Buddhism and Pali came from there. It has been trying to minimize the South Indian component of the Lankan culture, adopting an anti-Tamil attitude and trying to maximize on an imaginary North Indian component of Lankan culture. Brahmanic revival, Bhakthi movement and extinction of Buddhism in India and the South Indian dynasties intervening in Sri Lanka may be the underlying reason for the formation of a Sinhala-Buddhist identity. To create the Sinhala-Buddhist society in the 5th century AD, the Mahavihara monks have imagined/visualized a mass ‘Aryan migration’ from North India during the proto-historic period. This myth created the foundation for the authoritative history of the island, conditioning the minds of the people from generation to generation and it still continues to the future generation. In reality, there is no objective evidence of an Aryan migration from North India; the ethnic structure in Sri Lanka is quite South Indian with close affinities to Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Many renowned Historians, Archaeologists, Geologists, Epigraphists, Genealogists, Anthropologists, etymologists and Linguistic Scholars have engaged in research, on the ancient history of Sri Lanka for more than 30 years, conducting Archaeological excavations. The latest Archeological and Genealogical discoveries in Sri Lanka using modern technology show that not only the Flora and Fauna but the people of South India and Sri Lanka are of the same stock. This has been further established by findings relating to their culture, language and religion which show that the people of these two regions were closely connected. The recent excavations in Rajarata (Anuradapura) by Dr. Siran Deraniyagala and a team of archeologists discovered a very large number of inscribed potsherds with Brahmi writings going back to the 4th century BC, very clearly indicating that Anuradapura was settled by people who have adopted the South Indian Megalithic culture. Nevertheless, the modern archeologists and historians accept that the ancient people of Sri Lanka belonged to the Dravidian Language family and followed the Dravidian (Megalithic) culture. The findings also show that there was a strong similarity between the ancient people of Sri Lanka and those of South India. The geographical proximity of Sri Lanka and South India with 22 miles of shallow sea could have been the reason.

On the other hand, even the South Indian great Pali scholar Buddhaghosa who came to Sri Lanka from Tamil (Chola) country in the 5th Century AD and made a remarkable contribution to Buddhism was depicted (in the Mahavamsa) as a Brahmin from North India and born near Bodh Gaya showing a clear bias towards North Indians (Magadhi) against South. It also failed to mention the other South Indian Tamil Buddhist scholars such as Buddadatta and Dhammapala who worked with Buddhaghosa and contributed to the Pali canon.

1.3. Against Mahayana

The Mahavamsa is also highly biased towards Theravada against Mahayana. It failed to mention the influx of Mahāyana Buddhists from South India. All the kings who supported Mahayana were portrayed as the worst men possible. The biggest victim was Kassapa who was termed as a father-killer for a crime he probably never committed. There are still some Tamil Mahayana Buddhist establishments (Palli) in the east and possibly in the Jaffna peninsula. The best known was Velgam Vehera, which was renamed Rajaraja-perumpalli after the Cola emperor. Another was the Vikkirama-calamekan-perumpalli. The number of ancient Buddha statues found other than in Sri Lanka was in Tamil Nadu showing a strong presence of Buddhism.

1.4. Tamil Buddhist Epics

The well known Tamil Buddhist epics found were Manimekalai, Silappadhikaram, Valaiyapathi, Kundalakesi, and Jivaka Cintamani. The lost Tamil Buddhist works include the grammar Virasoliyam, the Abhidhamma work Siddhantattokai, the panegyric Tiruppadigam, and the biography Bimbisara Kada. Manimekalai, a purely Buddhist work of the 3rd Sangam period in Tamil literature is the most supreme and famous among the Buddhist work done in Tamil. It also talks about the Tamil Buddhists in the island/Nagadipa but, neither Manimekalai nor Silappathikaram is a historical work.

Commenting on the very great popularity of the story of Pattini in Sinhalese villages, Dr. Godakumbura writes: “Literature, dealing with Pattini and the origin of the worship, is very large, and most of it has come from Tamil sources.” He gives a fairly comprehensive list of Sinhalese writings based on the stories of Silappathikaram and Manimekalai.

The ancient Tamil literature and the excavations (archeological findings) in Jaffna proves the existence of Tamils including Tamil Buddhists (Theravada and Mahayana) but there is no evidence what so ever to prove the existence of a separate Tamil Kingdom in Jaffna before the 13th century AD and the same goes to the Sinhalese. The temptation to consider that everything Buddhist in Sri Lanka is necessarily Sinhalese has to be resisted, as it must be remembered that the Tamils, Andhras, and Kalingas, also were at one time Buddhists, and had a very large share in the dissemination of Buddhist culture in the countries of South-East Asia.

The history of Sri Lanka, from the 3rd century A.D. to the 9th century A.D, is permeated with the influence of Buddhism and Buddhist culture. This includes from early historical times, the intrusion of Pali and Sanskrit languages and their spread among the ancient Tamils of Sri Lanka and their Dravidian culture, as well as the origin of the new language from Sanskrit, Pali and Tamil languages known as Elu/Helu (Sihala Prakrit).

1.5. Nagas (Chera/Sera), Pandyans/Pandu and Cholas/Sola (Damelas)

The evidence of the presence of Nagas in Sri Lanka during the early historic period and how they freely assimilated with the Pandu (Pandyans) through marriage is fully corroborated by the ancient artifacts, inscriptions literary work and the Pali chronicles. The Pali chronicle Mahavamsa projects the Non-Buddhists as Damelas (foreigners/invaders) but still it could not help linking the Pandyans of Tamil country even in the genesis of Sinhalese in Sri Lanka indicating the strong presence of Pandyans (Pandu) during that period. Let us not forget that the Nagas were not unique to Sri Lanka, in the early historic period, the Nagas not only occupied Nakanatu/Nagadipa in Sri Lanka but also Nagar-Kovil, Naga-Pattinam and a few other places in South India and as per Prof. Indrapala, both Nagas and Damelas were also moving back and forth between Sri Lanka and South India.

Today the Nayar (Nagar) from Chera (Kerala) are believed to be the descendants of Nagas. Dr. G. C. Mendis ‘Early History of Ceylon’, p. 23, Northern Ceylon is indicated as the Nagadipa which corresponds to Serentivu in Tamil.

‘The Sera or Chera (presently Kerala) is the Dravidian equivalent of the Nagas. Chera Mandala has the same meaning as Naga Mandala” – ‘Anthropology in India’ (Bharatiya Vidiya Bhavan Publication).

The Arab traders/merchants who first landed in the North of the island called Serentivu/Serendipa as Serendip.

Let me give some examples of the Naga Kings who bore the Naga clan names,

The first Queen, Anula (47-41 BC) was the widow of Chora Naga and Kuda Tissa. She made Siva, the palace porter as her consort. Subsequently she poisoned Siva and lived with an Indian carpenter, Vatuka, a firewood carrier Dharubatissa, and a palace priest named Neeliya, all of whom she poisoned, till she finally ruled the country alone and continued to live an infamous life. She was burnt alive by Kuttakanna Tissa, the second son of Cula Maha Tissa, who found that he had the backing of all of the people of Lanka to put an end to such an ignominious sovereign. King Candamuka Siva (44-52 AD) the Son of Ila Naga married Damila Devi. Looking further, Khallata Naga (109BC) son of Saddha Tissa, Cora Naga (63BC) son of Valagamba and grandson of Saddha Tissa (incidentally he was the husband of Anula (48BC) whose first paramour was Siva), Ila Naga (36AD), Mahallaka Naga (136AD), grandson of Vasabha (67AD) and brother-in-law of Gajaba (114AD), Kudda Naga (188AD), grandson of Mahaliaka Naga, Siri Naga I (184AD), likewise grandson of Mahallaka Naga, Abhaya Naga (231AD), son of Siri Naga I, Siri Naga II (240 AD) grandson of Siri Naga I, Maha Naga (565AD) etc, and King Siva (515 AD) the Uncle of Kirti Sena.

The kings belonging to the Tissa and Lambakarana dynasties that ruled the ancient Buddhist kingdom of Anuradhapura were Prakrit speaking Nagas. Dutugemunu, the national hero of Sri Lanka, was a Naga king belonging to the Tissa dynasty. His mother Vihara Maha Devi was the daughter of the Naga king of Keleniya, and his father Kavan Tissa, was the great grandson of Maha Naga, who established a kingdom in Mahagama in Rohana. Maha Naga's older brother, Devanampiya Tissa, a contemporary of Emperor Asoka, was the first king of the Tissa dynasty. Some of the Tissa kings who proudly bore Naga clan names were Khallata Naga (Dutugemunu's nephew), Cora Naga, who was one of the many victims poisoned to death by the amorous Queen Anula, Mahadathika Maha Naga and Ila Naga. Yasa Lalaka Tissa was the last king of the first dynasty that ruled the Anurdhapura kingdom.

A few known names of the Naga poets of Sri Lanka who contributed to ancient Tamil literature are Elaththu Pootha Thevanar (whose compositions are included in anthologies known as Nattrinai, Kurunthokai and Puranaanooru), Mudingarayar, Musiri Asiriyar, Neelakandanar and Ela Nakar.

On the other hand, the old Tamil names found in South India – Sri Lanka region are very similar to those Prakrit names (do not end with an ‘N' or an ‘M'). For example, some of the names of ancient Sri Lankan Tamil kings (mentioned in Mahavamsa) were Sena, Guttika, Elara, Pulahatha, Bahiya, Panayamara, Parinda, Dathiya, and so on. Similarly in South India, the names of the ancient Tamil kings, for example some Chola kings were Kulothunga Chola, Vikrma Chola, Aditya Chola, and so on. Some Pandya kings were Kulasekara Pandya, Vira Wickrama Pandya, Parakrama Pandya, Sundara Pandya, and so on. Some Chera kings were Kulashekhara Varma, Rajashekhara Varma, Rama Varma Kulashekhara, Goda Ravi Varma, Bhaskara Ravi Varma, Vira Kerala, Rajasimha, and so on.

Neither the epigraphy nor the Pali chronicles mention the ethnic background of the Buddhist kings of Sri Lanka. Since we cannot identify the ethnicity of them from the names, if not for the Mahavamsa, we would have never come to know that these non-Buddhist kings (such as Sena, Guttika, Elara) were Tamils. Similarly, some or most of the Theravada Buddhist kings of Sri Lanka (whose ethnicity is not known) also would have been Tamils but we will never know.

This only proves that the present day Sinhalese and Sri Lankan Tamils originate from both Prakrit speaking Nagas, Tamil speaking Damelas (Pandyans & Chola), and all the other tribes that lived in the island other than the Veddas.

According to historians, it was only during the 9th century AD, the term Nagas totally disappeared from the stone inscriptions and the two major ethnic groups Hela/Sihala and Demela clearly appeared. Historians believe that the Nagas were assimilated into the two major ethnic groups Hela/Sihala and Demela. The Archeologist/Historian Dr. Parnawitharana says, "We know next to nothing about the pre-historic autochthonous people of Sri Lanka. They could have been the ancestors of the present day Sinhalese and Tamils." As per Prof. K. Indrapala, 'The Sinhalese and Tamils of Sri Lanka are descended from the common ancestors who lived in the country in prehistoric and proto-historic times and have a shared history going back to over two thousand years'. If we agree with these historians, the people who call them Sinhalese and Sri Lankan Tamils today originate from the same stock. What is seen from the evidences is that the Tamil identity of Sri Lanka was not only parallel to the Sinhala identity but also parallel to that of the Tamils of Tamil Nadu. It is not merely an extension of the Tamil identity of Tamil Nadu. The Sri Lankan Tamil social formation is an evolution and is a result of people interacting with the land of Sri Lanka throughout its phases of history.

Analyzing the Sinhala writings called Vittipota, W.A. De Silva states that from very early times the island was colonized by people from all parts of India. Therefore those inhabiting this country should not say that they belong to some one particular family or race.

The Sinhalese argue that they are unique to Sri Lanka (there is no other Sinhala Nadu) and therefore Sri Lanka is a Sinhala country. We should not forget that the Arab/Muslim traders married local (Sinhala/Tamil) women and therefore their decedents share the same ancient ancestry of the Sinhalese/Tamils. Since the Malay and Portuguese did not bring their womenfolk but married local women, even the Malays and Burghers also share the same ancestry. The fact is, as a race, not only the Sinhalese but also the Sri Lankan Tamils, Sri Lankan Muslims, Burghers, Malays and Veddas are all unique to Sri Lanka, they have no other place on earth, the only difference is they adopted a single language where as the Sinhalese adopted Sanskrit, Pali, Tamil, Vedda, a very few words from unknown origin and later Portuguese, Dutch, English and developed a new language (due to their heavy mixing).

1.6. Ancient Sri Lankan heritage

The ancient Sri Lankan heritage, the Vevas (tanks/reservoirs), Dagobas (dome enshrining sacred relics) and all other massive ancient structures were constructed by the Buddhist Nagas and Demelas (not Sinhalas). The development of wet rice cultivation, a rudimentary tank system, and iron technology were common features of development for both Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu. The tanks and fields, which were the main support of the kings and their armies and a large body of priests and monks, were damaged frequently either by wars between rival kings of the island supported by their sponsors in the Chola or the Pandyan country or through natural forces as well as sheer neglect. Repairs to these tanks and the maintenance of irrigation and cultivation could not be affected without the aid of specially trained men from the Tamil country. Sir James Emerson Tennent, Colonial Secretary to the British Government of Ceylon (1845-1850) tells us even during his time, the expertise/services from Tamil country had to be obtained for repairing tanks in the North Central Province.

1.7. Tamil Names Twisted

The Mahavamsa written a millanium after the events took place and a century after Deepavamsa, has added mythical/supernatural stories and legends (from Indian epics, not from mysterious Sihalattha katha) that are not known to Deepavamsa and at the same time some names/stories were twisted. Let me mention an example,

The Deepavamsa does not say king Panduvasudeva, it says Panduvasa. As per B.C. Law,

“It may as well be a Pali or Prakrit equivalent of Pandya Vasa meaning one from the Pandyan country i.e., A Pandya by his nationality”. (B. C. Law, ibid. p. 52).

How Pandu-Vasa in Deepavamsa became Pandu-Vasudeva in Mahavamsa is a mystery. (Vasudeva must have been adopted from the Indian epic Gita). The name Panduka is apparently of the same import. After the death of Panduvasa (Panduvasudeva) his eldest son Abhaya became the lawful king. Panduvasudeva’s mother is said to have been the daughter of the Mada king (‘Mada-Sanskrit Madura was the capital city of the Pandyans). Their son was named Panduka Abhaya, the name being a combination of the names of Panduvasa and Abhaya, the best example of a Naga-Pandya mix. Pandukka Abhaya gives his son a Tamil Saiva name Mutasiva (elder Siva). We are not told whom he married, but his second son Tissa succeeds him. His real Saiva name is not known. (Devanampiya is a title given to him by Emperor Asoka for accepting Buddhism, it is not a Tamil name). B. C. Law has pointed out that the name of neither Devanampiya Tissa nor of Dutugemunu, the two heroes of the Mahavamsa, is found in the early inscriptions. (B. C. Law, ibid. pp. 65-66).

True to the tradition of the early Buddhist writers in Sri Lanka who had twisted Tamil words sometimes out of recognition in transforming Dravidian names into Pali or Prakrit forms, Dr. Paranavitane, the first Sinhalese Archaeological Commissioner of Sri Lanka continued the same tradition.

1.8. Earlier Language and Script

The Hindu/Brahmanic scriptures Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, etc and the Indian epics Mahabaratha, Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, etc were all written in Sanskrit (the sacred language of the Hindus). Similarly, the Buddhist scriptures and the Sri Lankan chronicles were written in Pali/Magadhi Prakrit (the sacred language of the Buddhists). Even the Tamil Theravada Buddhist monks of South India (Chola Sangha) have used Pali language in preference to Tamil in their writings.

One of the most significant areas in which the North Indian influence made a lasting impact in South India and Sri Lanka was the language. As trade between the Northern and Southern regions of India (including Sri Lanka) began to develop actively in the 1st millennium BC, the Prakrit became the lingua franca of this trade. Going by the earliest inscriptions in South India, it would appear that Prakrit had a greater impact in Andhra, Karnataka and Northern Tamil Nadu. But in Southern Tamil Nadu almost all the earliest stone inscriptions are in Old Tamil, some of them showing influence of Prakrith. It was the only region in South Asia where inscriptions were in a language not belonging to the Indo-Aryan sub-family.

The Sanskrit/Indo-Aryan Prakrit language is found in the Brahmi inscriptions in the 3rd century BC. Brahmi was used to write the early dialects of Prakrit. Its usage was mostly restricted to inscriptions on stones/rocks, caves, buildings and graves. Even though Brahmi script had been used throughout South Asia, it had regional variations. In addition, South Indian Brahmi needed special characters to write some special letters of Dravidian, especially Tamil.

Ancient Brahmi inscriptions of Lanka had been written in Prakrit language like other contemporary inscriptions of South Asia, excluding ancient Tamil country, but they have so many words which are not found in Prakrit or Sanskrit in other parts of South Asia. Early Brahmi inscriptions of Lanka have all the symbols of south Indian Brahmi. Paranavitana, believing the Mahavamsa version of the story, was very ingenuous in trying to argue that the early Brahmi script of Lanka was following the north Indian version of Brahmi, but a considerable number of them appear to be Tamil terms and they could be easily explained as Tamil terms, drawing comparable material from ancient Tamil Sangam literature as well as ancient Tamil Brahmi inscriptions.

Iravatham Mahadevan has published ‘Early Tamil Epigraphy’, which has been included in the prestigious Harvard Oriental Series, where he points out the occurrence of all the special sounds of early Tamil Brahmi letters among early Lankan Brahmi inscriptions.

In the 19th century AD, Wilhelm Geiger who translated the Mahavamsa studied the language of the inscriptions/island at various time intervals and gave some name labels. He labeled the earliest Prakrit/Sanskrit language spoken in the island as Prakrit-Sinhala but a somewhat developed Elu/Helu/Sihala language was found for the first time only on the 8th century AD Sigiri mirror wall and not before that. Sanskrit, Pali, Tamil and a very few words from unknown origin appear to have influenced the formation/evolution of the Elu/Helu language.

1.9.Outdated History

The 1965 PhD Student Mr. K. Indrapala

It is surprising that, like many pseudo-scholars, even Mr. Bandu de Silva says, Indrapala has had no reasons to alter the pronouncements he made in his 1965 PhD though he came under heavy ethnic pressure to rewrite history as the facts had not changed.

In any historical research, it is natural to change the views and assumptions, because up to now, we have no definite answers to so many unanswered questions in the fields of Archaeology, history, anthropology, epigraphy and etymology in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, daily we stumble across several new findings and they contribute to new historical vistas. Therefore, based on new facts, one's earlier conclusion has to be compromised to adopt changes. History is a continuous process of investigation without any end in sight.

For example, for the last 40 years, the Sinhalese Pseudo-historians and bogus scholars (charlatans) had been using the Tamil PhD student Mr. Karthigesu Indrapala’s 1965 PhD thesis which was not in favour of the Tamils as a guide in all their arguments/writings. When the well renowned and recognized former History professor of the Jaffna University, the same Prof. Karthigesu Indrapala retired from his profession after 30 years of research as a Senior Archaeologist/Historian/epigraphist and a University Don. Prof. K. Indrapala published a book in 2005; 40 years after his 1965 PhD thesis where he says his PhD dissertation is completely out of date that even he does not have a copy of his 1965 PhD thesis what he wrote 40 years ago as a PhD student. It is absolutely natural that people change their opinions upon new findings (not ethnic pressure) but the bogus scholars (charlatans) want to still continue to quote the obsolete theories what Indrapala himself has abandoned.

This is what Prof K. Indrapala says about his 1965 thesis:

I was planning my postgraduate research, the late Prof. W.J.F. LaBrooy, my revered teacher and, at that time, Head of the department of History at the University, advised me to research into the early history of the Tamils of Sri Lanka for my doctoral dissertation, as he considered this aspect to be a serious gap in the known history of the Island.

The thesis was completed with the material that was available in the early 1960s.
As long as excavation work remains undone, I pointed out; much that is relevant to our study will be wanting... Even the inscriptions and literary works that we have used have proved to be inadequate in the reconstruction of a satisfactory history of the settlements and in the solution of many important problems.

The thesis was presented as the first major attempt to bring together all available evidence on the subject. THE FACT THAT IT WAS IN NO WAY A COMPLETE STUDY WAS ADMITTED. In view of these limitations and difficulties, while we may claim to have added something to our knowledge of the history of the Tamils of Ceylon, the account presented here is inevitably incomplete and not always definite. We have often been led to state our conclusions in hypothetical terms.

NEEDLESS TO SAY, THAT DISSERTATION IS NOW COMPLETELY OUT OF DATE. MY OWN PERSPECTIVES AND INTERPRETATIONS HAVE CHANGED SINCE ITS COMPLETION.

More importantly, significant developments, both in terms of archaeological research and changing historical perspectives, have taken place in the last four decades.

Nilakanta Sastri

Another Historian that the Sinhalese Pseudo-scholars always quote is Nilakanta Sastri of Tamil Nadu. Nilakanta Sastri's historical research was over 50 years old. According to historians/scholars in Tamil Nadu, Nilakanta Sastri's Tamil proficiency was not good and he relied on others for understanding Tamil literary works. Thus he was not able to analyze the changing meaning of words over time. They say, the professional historiography in Tamil Nadu practiced during K. A. Nilakanta Sastri's period there was rarely any interrogation of sources.

Dr. Paranavithana

Dr. Senerath Paranavitana, an Archaeological Commissioner, was a dominating figure in archaeology, epigraphy, and ancient history of Lanka for more than fifty years during the last century. For him, the Mahavamsa was like a holy book. Instead of giving primacy to archaeology and epigraphy, and supplementing his findings with material from the Mahavamsa, he was trying his best to interpret archaeology and epigraphy in the light of the Mahavamsa. His research was one sided (biased), beginning with the conclusion (Mahavamsa), he was only finding evidence to prove his conclusion. If the archaeological/epigraphical findings did not match the conclusion (Mahavamsa) he redefined/misinterpreted them using his own theories, assumptions, hypothesis and analogies to prove that the Mahavamsa was right.

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