As a student of Ananda College, Nihalsinghe considered joining the Army. But the gift of a 16mm film camera, given with uncanny foresight by his father, the distinguished journalist and editor D. B. Dhanapala, changed the course of his life, though he went on to graduate in economics from Peradeniya.

Even though he didn’t find employment in a related field, this training developed his business acumen and served him well in later years. His new-found passion for film making, though, earned him the Most Promising Filmmaker award for his documentary Bhakthi at the Cardiff International Film Festival in 1965. 

This was followed by an opportunity in the same year to work as a newsreel cameraman for Hearst Metrotone News, an American weekly newsreel. He was even sent to Vietnam during the height of the war to work for the News of the Day weekly newsreel.

Back in Sri Lanka, he sought to make a name for himself. The turning point in his film career was the opportunity to work as cameraman and film editor of Dr. Siri Gunasinghe’s 1967 film Sath Samudura. 
His fluid camera work was a clear departure from the then prevalent Indian style where the static camera was dominant. It was Nihalsinghe’s ‘film school’ and he learned there all that he needed to know to make Welikathara which established his reputation as Sri Lanka’s most daring and innovative film maker.

He made several more films, including Ridi Nimnaya, Kelimandala and Maldeniye Simeon, which won Anoja Weerasinghe the best actress award at the 16th New Delhi film festival. But none of these films added up to the excitement created by Welikatara. It may be that, affected by criticism that Welikatara (scripted by Tissa Abeysekara) was ‘commercial’, he focused on more artistic ventures. Clearly, though, his best talent lay in the film noir genre. If he had continued in this vein, Sri Lanka would have been proud of some very good psychological thrillers.

But Nihalsinghe was a man of many parts. In 1972, he became the founder chairman of the National Film Corporation (NFC). At age 29, he had already become the youngest director the Government Film Unit (Nihalsinghe was born in 1933). His enthusiasm for practical, cost-effective technology could be seen in his successful effort to have the medium format 120 negative film then popular with documentary still photographers replaced with the more practical and cheaper 35mm film. It is also a tribute to his management skills as this move was opposed by almost all still photographers working at the time.

He did brilliantly well as general manager of the NFC from 1972 to 78. When he started, foreign films had an 80 percent share of the film market. By 1979, the local share was 58 percent and annual attendances surged from 30 million a year in 1971 to 74.4 million by 1979. This was the golden age of the Sri Lankan cinema.

But the industry began to decline in the 1980s. In retrospect, one can wonder if Nihalsinghe himself played a role in that decline, knowingly or otherwise. Sri Lanka got its first television station only after regime change after 1977. With an uncanny eye to the future, he threw his energies into the new technology, leaving the NFC in 1979 to form his own television production company called Telecine.’
This production house became a word for television entertainment and advertising throughout the 1980s and 90s. His first teledrama Dimuthu Muthu was a huge success, and he directed several more. He can be said to have created Sri Lanka’s teledrama industry almost single-handedly. But one can wonder if that success had a detrimental on the film industry, which became increasingly mediocre.

From 1995, Nihalsinghe’s extensive experience in television saw his services required in Hong Kong and Malaysia, where he as general manager and executive director of feature film production at ASTRO in Kuala Lumpur. 

He returned to Sri Lanka in 2006, eager to offer his services as a teacher. Sadly, the result left him increasingly frustrated. In retrospect, one must ask why the country was unable to make proper use of his vast talent and experience, which would have been the best possible tribute to this iconic figure.

He is the only Sri Lankan who has been conferred Life Fellowship of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, USA, the oldest and film organisation in the world, established in 1915. 

Harvey Skinner from Toronto has embarked on a journey in encouraging health promotion worldwide. Dr.Arun Chokalingam is a Doctor of Philosophy in Cardiac Physiology and Pharmacology. His experience encompasses a unique combination of global health research, policy, training, and administration in addition to international leadership within the global health community. Dr Harvey Skinner, is a psychologist and the Founding Dean of the Faculty 
of Health at York University. 

This new Faculty has a mission to be an integrative force for promoting health – locally and globally.After a series of success stories in India, now their focus is Sri Lanka.
 When asked as to why they chose the University of Rajarata over all other universities in Sri Lanka Dr. Chokalingam said, “Rajarata has done phenomenal service for the promotion of health. It is only in this University we find people specializing in the field of health promotion and thus offering an undergraduate degree.” He further added that 80% died due to injuries and non-communicable diseases which could have been prevented if health promotion had been effective.

Dr. Skinner elaborated on the key points of health promotion,“ Health promotion focuses on an array of aspects such as: facilitating health policies of the government, awareness of Non-communicable and communicable diseases, environment conservation and pollution, food habits for disease prevention and healthy living, prevention of smoking and drinking among the youth etc…”

He elaborated further on the health promotion activities in Sri Lanka and its indispensable need for our nation. “Sri Lanka is presently a rapidly developing nation. With high economic growth rates, we find there is more of a burden on the work force, which is the middle aged and younger population. Today the birth rate is very low and the ageing population is increasing. As a result those in the middle face consequences as they have to equate the work force that is not replaced. Another issue that can be observed is the increasing dependency ratio.

Therefore, since there is an increase in the older population, Sri Lanka should focus on disease prevention and awareness, to sustain a healthy population,” he said. Canada was the first country to introduce health promotion to the world. The two doctors have collaborated with partners in Sri Lanka and have formed a student and staff exchange programme where they hope students from Sri Lanka and Canada would communicate and enrich each other’s lives. 

“Health promotion is all about mobilizing the community. It is about empowering children to become leaders, empowering women to face daily challenges. We have observed how colourful babies’ rooms are. There is a deep attachment between the mother and child. We see a deterioration of this attachment with technology and our hectic lives. However, we perceived that the mothers in Rajarata are notably attentive to their babies. Babies are given nutritious food and the mother is very playful and talkative with the child. This stimulates the baby’s brain,” said Dr.Skinner.

 He further added that feeding the child was a symbol of security. When the child felt insecure they did not display their potential, he said. Elaborating on the necessity of brain stimulation which is an integral part of health promotion he noted, “When a child learns two or more languages it wards off dementia by four and a half years.” 

Referring to the outbreak of CKD-mfo Dr.Chokalingam said, “Kidneys become totally dysfunctional as polluted water cannot be processed. Farmers, factories throw waste into water bodies. Over a period of time waste is accumulated and consequently it emerges as an outbreak. This is why we need to educate the people.This is where health promotion comes to play” 

On a final note he said, “Rajarata can lead the world. It sets out an excellent example for not only Sri Lanka, but also to the world. You really need to see the health promotion activities in Rajarata yourself, to truly value and appreciate it. Therefore, we have decided to have a student exchange programme in the near future where students of York University visit Rajarata and vice versa where students expand their knowledge on health promotion activities from a global stand point.”

Jayani has always attempted to create an enchanting world through her painting which would bring happiness to the Art lovers. Her borne is on the positive aspects of life. Her painting speaks of beauty of life, the serenity of environment the unforgettable expressions of people, the lovable and graceful existence of animals and birds and the beauty of flowers. Jayani’s use of vivid colours and shadows enhance the depth and the natural image of the painting ‘Blues and Blues’ one of her new paintings, she has used mostly blue colour and without using green which she thinks is a good experience.
The whole painting, including water, trees and bushes are painting using only blue colour. In some paintings she uses very few colours, sometimes two colours, sometimes two or three colours to complete the creation.

The colours used in the background of painting ‘In sorrow’ brings out the feeling of sadness ‘helplessness’ is a painting of an elderly woman which was done during the Tsunami disaster. When travelling to other countries she takes her time off to visit museums, and places that display painting. The exposure gained through her travels abroad, has had positive effects on creating her own work.

Exhibition hours

February 01- 5. 30 p.m. to -7.30 p.m.
February 02- 9.30 a.m. to 7. 30 p.m
February 03- 9. 30 a.m. to 7. 30 p.m

f there were nothing else for its credit, the new government can claim that at least it unshackled the judiciary that has been subjugated by its predecessor. In the normal context, there is nothing to crow about that -- anywhere in the free world, the judiciary is meant to be independent. However, since our circumstances not long ago were a major anomaly to that norm, the new found independence of our courts is no mean feat. The problem is that unlike when the President and a rubber stamp Parliament sacked the Chief Justice, or his stooges masquerading as Judges sentenced journalists for 25 years in jail, an independent judiciary does not usually make news headlines. That is because, as an old journalistic adage goes, when a dog bites a man, it is hardly news, but if a man bites a dog, it surely is. Not long ago, there were plenty of dogs eating into our freedoms, including the integrity of our courts that are  meant to hear our grievances and dispense justice. 

Another problem is that no matter how independent the judiciary is, some fringe groups, and their bedfellows, who have made a multi-national industry out of a war crime probe would not be satisfied. More than anything else, that insatiable nature is born out from the bitterness of the annihilation of their champions, the terrorists of the LTTE. 

However, there is another group that wants to reverse recent gains: The unabashed apologists of the excesses of the former regime for the very reason that the judiciary is investigating the past abuses. Not long ago, those were ‘simple matters’ that can be sorted out with just one phone call from the President House to the sitting judges or to the CID.  Now, those groups are out to derail the process. 

Ven. Galagodaatte Gnanasara Thera and his Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) are a creation of the former regime which used it to legitimize its rule, defend its excesses and to intimidate the dissent through its xenophobic venom. Last week, the Thera fired the first salvo against the independent courts and shot himself in the foot. Attending a court hearing on the disappearance of Prageeth Ekneligoda, over which three officers of the military intelligence are now arrested, the prelate disparaged the judiciary. The following day, when he was produced before the court over the contempt of court charges, a horde of monks belonging to nationalist Buddhist groups ran havoc in the vicinity of the Homagama Court.

Throughout our recent history, this country is not short of demigods. If it were not an opportunistic Sinhala Buddhist, who would exploit largely affected sense of grievances of the Sinhalese majority, a Tamil from privileged positions would do the same in his constituency. Successive governments were reluctant to contain them,fearing that it would provoke unrest. That is the dilemma of democracy.

"The bigotry of the BBS ideology has its receptive audience. When its ranks and file swell, religious radicalisation leaves its effect on the public"

Since the British who due to the same concerns were disinclined to lock up Anagarika Darmapala, whose rants most of the time were a thinly veiled bigotry against minorities,   successive leaders of this country through their inaction let extremism and bigotry foster. Nonetheless,public unrest that they wanted to avoid, in fact, happened, at a much larger scale than any initial response would have provoked.  Both Rohana Wijeweera and Velupillai Prabhakaran are creations of that sense of complacency. And on more than one occasion in the recent past, we also went very close to the emergence of an equally nasty  Sinhala Buddhist extremism, which somehow could not sustain its xenophobic fervour in the long run. But, there is no reason to believe that it would not make a comeback. And the BBS is working overtime to make that happen.  Former President Rajapaksa and his siblings under whose watchful eyes the BBS reached its earlier momentum are now in their deeds and words fostering bigoted agenda of the BBS. (Former President Rajapaksa himself visited the detained intelligence officers who were accused of playing a role in the disappearance of Ekneligoda).

In the past, the BBS created issues out of nothing to promote its agenda. First came the rather innocuous campaign against the cattle slaughter, however, its true intent was soon revealed as the marauding thugs turned against Muslims. Those antics could have led to dangerous extremes as the Indians witnessed when the Hindu Right thought cows were more sacred than human life, and their goons killed a Muslim for allegedly having beef in the fridge.

"BBS poses a threat not only to the security of ethnic and religious minorities, but also to the sanity of Sinhala Buddhists"

Then the BBS concocted a campaign against Halal food, and finally ran havoc in Aluthgama which cost several lives. It fomented hatred against evangelical Christians, and attacks on those churches followed.

BBS poses a threat not only to the security of ethnic and religious minorities, but also to the sanity of Sinhala Buddhists.

Now, with its targeting of independent institutions of the State, it has taken its threat to a new dimension: the very structures of the Democratic State.

The BBS claims it is campaigning against Islamic extremism -- which though not yet a phenomenon in this country, is a fact of life in many parts of the world. Radical Islam not only kills, but it also perverts the State. It subjugates State organs and freedoms of the people, turning the State into a captive of the religion. From Iran to Saudi Arabia to Pakistan, there are plenty of examples. However, it is the exact strategy that the BBS is attempting in Sri Lanka. It is intimidating the very institutions of a civilized state, in a bid to hijack the State itself. An attack on the judiciary is worrisome for the very reason that we do not need monks to dispense justice in legal matters. There are courts and judges to do that. Though the separation between the religion  and the State in Sri Lanka has been somewhat murky, there has been a clear separation between the temple and the court. That should not be encroached.

The bigotry of the BBS ideology has its receptive audience. When its ranks and file swell, religious radicalisation leaves its effect on the public. When a sizeable portion of the population is radicalised, that is reflected in the state and its discriminatory policies and laws.  That is when discrimination against minorities becomes legitimate in the eyes of the laws of the State. The recent antics of pasting Sinha Ley stickers on buses and three-wheelers should be viewed as an unholy attempt at radicalising the grassroots. Those devious attempts should be confronted through democratic means.

 No religion is immune from violence. Buddhism is no exception. Ashin Wirathu, the Burmese monk who visited Sri Lanka in 2014 on the BBS invitation is accused of instigating   Burmese Buddhists into an orgy of violence against  Rohingya Muslims.

Of course, the BBS did not reach those extremes of its counterparts. There is an explanation as to why. The BBS operated with the tacit approval of the former regime. It bit when it was told, and was brought in line whenever it overstepped its limits. However, the new government does not have that luxury. And the patrons of the BBS, including the key interlocutors of the former regime, now find the utility of the BBS more than when they were in power. The government should be discerning enough to see where this would lead, unless the BBS is contained through lawful means. It has to do that now, before the BBS and other actors of ultra-nationalism reach their unholy ends.

Follow RangaJayasuriya @RangaJayasuriya on twitter.

Well-known for his conduct and controversial statements Minister Mervyn Silva has come to the limelight once again with yet another allegation that there are some people who prevent him from carrying out his duties as a people’s representative.

Recently, we had the opportunity of seeking the minister’s views on the subject and on a range of other issues at a face-to-face session with him when he did not mince his words.

 Why have you made yourself scarce these days?

Is a lion so commonplace for you to see it whenever you want? Is an eagle a commonplace sight? Can you meet or see the Queen at Buckingham Palace whenever you want? Is it easy for you to see an Arahant in a forest retreat? I am not interested in doing trivial things. I make it a point to appear in the public eye whenever the need for it arises. I am always prepared to respond to the media. I make myself available to Buddhist monks first and secondly to media.


 

You had recently declared at a meeting in Kelaniya that there would be no purpose in being with this government if the co-operation you expected of it was not forthcoming?

Definitely true. It was the President who assigned Kelaniya to me. Sripathi Suriyarachchi turned against the government. On that occasion, the President may have taken into consideration that I am a good Sinhala Buddhist hailing from Beliatta in Ruhuna. Of course, I was residing in Colombo. The grandson of King Kavantissa named Jatalatissa was born in Tissamaharama, my previous parliamentary seat. The President may have picked me for Kelaniya having considered this historical link between Ruhuna and Kelaniya.

Since then, I have been doing good work in Kelaniya. I solved the problem of flooding; flyovers, pandals, Buddha statues, new roads and many other new things came up on my initiative. Some people were not happy with what I had been doing for them and for the area. I shall name them at the appropriate time. The good work I was doing caused jealousy, anger and hatred in the hearts of some people who hatched a conspiracy against me.

 

Do you face such hostility from your own party people?

Yes, from my own party. I had been maintaining a close contact with the Pradeshiya Sabha. The best chairman I had, died. I didn’t want to know whether he wore rubber slippers or whether his trouser was crumpled. I didn’t look into his assets either. Inquire about their [political candidates’] beginnings from the people of their villages. Then you would come to know what they were then and what they are now. They remind of the proverbial chameleon on the pandal. They hatched a conspiracy against me, tried to implicate me in a murder case. My secretary was remanded. A section of the media called me a murderer. However, I remained unmoved and unruffled like the Buddha. The final meeting of the Nil Pavura and Nil Rella of the SLFP was held in Kelaniya on October 5, Sunday. Over 5,000 party members and supporters participated. The presence of such a large crowd provided testimony to my popularity. People love me and I love them. I live with the people and among the people. I want to be a doormat for them. I am prepared to be their laundryman. However, I fear no conspirators.

There is a fellow in government who plays a bigger role in directing media activity than the Media Minister does. I brought a crowd of over 5,000. The party’s national organiser also participated. So far no TV channel showed this large gathering. Why? That fellow ‘cut’ it.

 

Both government and opposition politicians make conflicting statements about the outcome of the Uva PC poll. What is the message that this election result conveyed?

Our government is in power for the last 20 years. There are things called side-effects when the same medicines are administered for a long time. I accept that the government is advancing at the current pace thanks to the humility and the political sagacity of the President. Ministers also deserve the credit.

But, some giddy with power forget their origins. They will incur the wrath of the people if they refuse to listen to them and turn their noses at their smell. The outcome of the election turned in our favour thanks to campaigning by the President during the final days of the campaign. We failed only in sending someone into outer space. The President’s youngest son is now getting ready to gain even that achievement. What have we failed to do? When you arrive in Colombo now, can you identify it as the city you knew so well for ages? I am from Beliatta in Hambantota. The landscape there has undergone such transformation, I find it difficult to find my way to my ancestral house.

 

Why were you hardly seen in the Uva campaign?

I don’t go out of the way to offer help. Nor do I go out of the way to seek help. I am Meryn Silva. I don’t seek to clash with anyone. But If am hit, I will hit back. None knows about me as much as the Rajapaksas. I had to play a very minor role in the campaign. I was asked to look after Kataragama and I did my part to the best of my ability. I went to Bibile because the President asked me to accompany him. I told the President that neither our oratorical nor physical skills were made use of during the election campaign in Uva. In the course of time ‘tourists’ enter the ranks of political parties.

 

You say that you were not made use of in the Uva election campaign. Does it mean that you have been subject to a ‘kepilla’ in the government?

I am like a python. I cannot be cut. I am a king python. They say even Emperor Ashoka was born as a python.


 

They say that a snap presidential poll is in the offing. If a common opposition candidate enters the fray, would he be a challenge to the government?

Can the Kelani River challenge the ocean? Mahaweli, Kelani, Kalu and Walawe originating from the Adam’s Peak end up in the ocean. If this government, like the ocean, represents all in the country irrespective of racial, religious, caste and all other differences, can anyone challenge it?


 

There were media reports that your son was planning to enter politics. Your comments…

He will definitely enter politics


 

When?

[At a] parliamentary election.


 

How far have you implemented the promises you gave the people at the last general election? Do you look forward to contesting the next general election as well?

I have a little bit more to do by way of fulfilling the promises I held out to my electors. If I am not given the necessary support to meet them, I will not come forward to contest again.

 

If you quit the government, will you say adieu to politics?

Yes


 

You will not join the opposition?

No! No!

Is there any truth in the story that a group of government MPs are holding secret talks with a view to crossing over to the opposition?

Believe me, I don’t know of such a thing. I am quite friendly with Ravi Karunanayake. We chat to each other when we meet. I am on talking terms with even Anura Kumara Dissanayake although we get involved in heated exchanges in parliament. I talk to my former leader Ranil Wickremesinghe whenever I meet him. This cordial relationship does not mean there is a move on our part to cross over.


 

Bodu Bala Sena made a proposal to change the name of our country. What have got to say about it?

Devadatta Thera requested the Buddha to prescribe 10 precepts to be observed by the Sangha. In a world where people are unable to observe at least five precepts, what would be the situation if ten precepts are prescribed for them to observe. Ask those calling for a change of the name of our country to peruse their birth certificates.

Bhikkhus of the BBS are my good friends. There was a time when I used to call on Gnanasara Thera at his temple. He also hails from the South. I did something that none in the world had done when I embraced the Pontiff when I visited the Vatican. I have the courage to commit suicide if I am not allowed to live the way I want. If I am not allowed to live my life, I would kill him and kill myself.
 

Didn’t you say that a liquor licence has been issued in Kelaniya without your knowledge?

It was I who stopped the slaughter of cattle in Kelaniya. A hotel came up in Nahena in Kelaniya. Minister Dulles Alahapperuma invited me to attend the opening of this hotel, and I did.  Thereafter, I did not go to this hotel even for a cup of tea. They asked for a liquor licence. All Buddhist monks in the area protested against issuing a liquor licence to this hotel. But a liquor license had been issued despite my objection to it. If liquor outlets come up in this fashion in my electorate, what is the purpose of my being the organiser?

I am kindly requesting Minister Alahapperuma to cancel the liquor licence issued to the hotelier. I want to quit the government over this liquor licence issue. I am going to write to the President about this matter. The self-respect of the electorate organiser should be safeguarded. I do not want to remain in this government even for a second if this state of affairs is to continue unchecked.

As far as I know neither the commissioner general of excise nor the assistant commissioner concerned has approved the issuance of this liquor license. If illegal things continue to happen in Kelaniya, I may have to make an exit from here. Prince Siddhartha renounced the world after seeing the Satara Peranimiti (four-fold omens). I also have begun seeing the omens that say I should quit this government.


 

What is the message you want to convey to your electors?

If you have eyes to see, there is no reason for you to go in wrong directions. Cast your vote to politicians who love the people, are able to look on them with equanimity, call a wrong a wrong and uphold humanitarian values. Don’t vote for politicians who cannot be called human beings.

All fish live in water; dolphins are fish; therefore dolphins live in water. The construction of logical arguments such as this may not apply to politics. Don’t they say that politics defies logic? Nowhere is this truism more evident than in the crises involving ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

The Syrian government fights ISIS a.k.a as ISIL and IS. The United States also fights ISIS. Therefore, a logical conclusion could be that the US is with the Syrian government. But in reality, the US is not with the Syrian government.

The ISIS fights the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria. So does the US. On this score, it is logical to assume that the US is with the ISIS. But it is not.

Even the cliché ‘running with the hare and hunting with the hound’ looks inadequate to describe the conundrum. The confusion is further compounded by other complications. For instance, regional players Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are now bombing the same rebels whom they once armed, funded and trained. Even now they arm and train ‘moderate’ rebels, although there is no guarantee that these moderate rebels would not change sides and become ISIS fighters. Syria watchers say almost all the rebel groups are Islamist in nature.

Adding another dimension to this conundrum is the Iran factor. Together with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Syria and Iran form a Shiite Crescent, which also includes the Shiite-dominated sectarian government of Iraq. The United States’ Gulf allies fuelled the rebellion in Syria, a Sunni majority country ruled by a pro-Shiite Alawaite president, with the intention of neutralising Iran and installing a puppet Sunni regime in Syria.

But today, these Gulf countries and Iran fight a common enemy: ISIS. But hang on. Don’t come to any logical conclusion. The situation differs from theatre to theatre. While Shiite Iran fights ISIS in Iraq by arming and training Shiite militia groups, the Sunni Gulf Arab countries wish for an ISIS victory in Iraq.  Again in Iraq, the US provides air support to Iranian-backed Shiite militia forces that once killed American soldiers but now fight ISIS. Hang on. No logical conclusions, please. This does not make Iran a friend of the United States.

The situation changes in Syria where Iran protects the Assad regime while the US and the Gulf Allies fight ISIS. 

The Iranians, who want to see ISIS defeated in Iraq, will be more than happy if the US and its Gulf Arab allies get bogged down in their military campaign against ISIS in Syria. This is because the longer this campaign takes, the weaker Syria’s rebels become and the stronger the Assad regime will emerge eventually.

Then take Turkey, which claims that it is in the US-led coalition to fight the Syrian regime and ISIS. But when ISIS fighters advanced towards the Kurdish city of Kobane on the Syrian side of the Turkey-Syria border, Turkey played a different game. Instead of attacking ISIS, Turkish warplanes targeted the positions of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, known as the PKK. Not only that, Turkey caused an uproar when it denied on Tuesday a US claim that Ankara would allow its air bases to be used by the coalition forces to launch air attacks on ISIS positions just a stone’s throw away from the Turkish border.

Turkey has also refused to arm Syrian Kurdish fighters who are defending Kobane. It has also dismissed a PKK request to send reinforcement to Kobane to help the Kurds battling ISIS.  Turkey’s stance may have drawn criticism from the West. But analysts say Turkey has seized the opportunity in the battle for Kobane to allow both its enemies – the Kurds and ISIS – to kill each other.

So here, while the US is bombing ISIS positions in Kobane and helping the Kurdish fighters to defend their city, Turkey, a US ally, seeks to bleed the Kurds to death. Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has insisted that ISIS and the PKK are both terrorist groups and both must be confronted.

Then there are claims that the ISIS was created by US and Israeli secret service units with the ultimate objective of a regime change in Iran. Many of ISIS leaders were trained by US military experts in bases in Jordan in the early days of the Syrian civil war in 2011. No wonder ISIS fighters are at ease with US military equipment that fell into their hands when the US-trained Iraqi soldiers fled in the face of ISIS advance in Iraq in April this year.

Award-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh in an article in the New Yorker in 2007 predicted that the then US administration’s policy of undermining Iran would backfire.

“The U.S. has also taken part in clandestine operations aimed at Iran and its ally Syria. A by-product of these activities has been the bolstering of Sunni extremist groups that espouse a militant vision of Islam and are hostile to America and sympathetic to Al Qaeda.”

Iran is not naïve to believe that an ISIS defeat would usher in peace to the troubled region. If ISIS is eliminated, then the next target would be Syria and Iran itself. It is in this light that Iran’s alleged role in the crisis in Yemen makes sense.  While the West and its Gulf allies turn their attention towards the fight against ISIS, Iran-backed Houthi rebels – who are Shiites – are making lightning military gains in Yemen with the once pro-Saudi government there being reduced to a puppet of the Houthis. A final Houthi victory will be a major security threat to Saudi Arabia as the rebels will be in a position to disrupt oil supplies and vessel movements in the Red Sea.

As countries with conflicting aims and ambitions weave a tangled web of alliances in the fight against an enemy shrouded in cloaks of mystery and intrigue, President Obama on Tuesday said the fight against ISIS “is going to be a long-term campaign.”

Giving it a codename ‘Operation Inherent Resolve’, Obama told defence chiefs from more than 20 countries in the coalition on Wednesday, “There will be days of progress and there are going to be some periods of setbacks… (but) our coalition is united behind this long-term effort.”

So it seems, there will not be an easy or early solution to this logic-defying Middle Eastern conundrum.

The article is based on a speech delivered by Dr. Damayanthi Perera at the symposium held at the Annual Scientific Sessions of the Medico Legal Society of Sri Lanka.

Dr. Damayanthi Perera, nutritionist and an independent researcher, Ms. Deepika Seneviratna, Assistant Government Analyst, Mr. Yasantha Kodagod, Deputy Solicitor General and Dr. Ruwan Wijayamuni, the Chief Medical Officer of the Colombo Municipal Council presented papers at the symposium while Mr. S. B. W. de Silva the President of the Medico Legal Society chaired it. Attorney General Palitha Fernando PC was the chief guest.

The Medico Legal Society was founded in 1937 and currently having a membership over 700 representing the fields of law, medicine, science and law enforcement. There were 60 free papers presented in the afternoon session representing the fields of law, medicine, science and law enforcement.
 

re we poisoning our children; is a topical subject but I would like to modify the title slightly to, Are they poisoning our children?  I leave that to you to decide who, they are. This presentation is not about conventional forms of food poisoning. This is about ‘white collar food fraud’ and ‘slow poisoning of our children’ via ultra-processed food and mind- poisoning (via mass media advertising and professional promotions; i.e. brand promotions and prescriptions).  Concerned professionals and consumers have a right to use the Precautionary Principle to safeguard public interest.
 

Globalisation & Globesity

Post World War II globalisation is partly the result of planning by politicians from the Global North to break down borders hampering trade. Globalisation is dubbed ‘Neo-economic colonisation’ or Coca-colonisation. Transnational Companies (TNCs) undermine time-tested ‘Traditional Diets’, food cultures and agricultural practices to boost the sale of highly unnecessary, harmful and potentially harmful ultra-processed ‘Transnational Diets’ (i.e. burgers, colas and other fizzy drinks, imitation milk, margarine (fake butter), unnecessarily fortified breakfast cereals, noodles, malted milk, yogurt etc, Genetically Modified Food and agro-chemicals.
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) was created in 1995 to regulate the global free trade. An important observation is that parallel to WTO-driven globalised, unrestrained free trade, there is a global epidemic of obesity dubbed Globesity. There is also an increase in diabetes, cardiac disorders, cancer and other diet related diseases leading to long-term debility and premature death of millions of consumers from industrialised nations and their children. Global food companies are changing global diets, global disease patterns and death patterns.

Many Americans in the prime of their life are ailing or dying due to morbid obesity (Pai, 2006), diabetes, heart disease, cancer and other diet-related chronic diseases. In the UK, children as young as three are dying, literally chocking on their own fat. (UK Parliamentary Select Committee on Health: Third Report, 2003). Remember, babies do not choose their food neither read food labels. Most disturbingly, it has also been reported that children of this generation from industrialised nations are facing the prospect of dying before their parents (IASO, 2009-10). Ultra-processed, industrial foods produced by industrialised nations are largely responsible for reversing the Post World War II gains in life expectancy. What an achievement!

‘Food companies unable to increase their sales in the United States have moved marketing campaigns for their products to emerging economies in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, with predictable effects on the body weights and health of those regions’ populations (Nestle, 2002, Rev.ed.2013).

In essence, humanity has finally arrived at the most dangerous era of human civilisation – Death by ultra-processed, industrialised Diet.With various ‘simulated (fake) milk’ products in the market and faulty western nutrition and agricultural practices and policies. We can expect a similar scenario in Sri Lanka too, unless effective nutrition and agriculture policies and consumer protection measures are introduced soon. It is in this context that we need to examine the issue of poisoning our children.

 

POISONING

Advertising, Trade Puffery  and Mind Poisoning
‘Neither the print nor audio visual media take an interest in the welfare of the consumer on whose doorstep or living room, the most elaborate trade puffs are landed on a mass scale. For instance, sections 28 and 29 of the Proposed Consumer Protection Authority Bill, holds a trader liable for misleading or deceptive conduct, and false representations made in connection with product promotions. Instances of advertisements violating these laws and regulations are not all that rare. Nevertheless, the media, which is very much a ‘partner in crime’, is absolved from any liability’. If the media organisations develop a more responsible approach towards advertising it will be a definite and healthy turn towards consumer welfare (Gunatilake, LST Review; Volume 13 Issue 175 May 2002, Pg. 18).  

 

Brand Promotion via Mass Media and Professional Associations

The Food Industry engages in aggressive, unethical, ‘Brand Promotion’ via print and electronic media using trade puffery, legal loopholes and regulatory lapses to grab the biggest market-share.  Ultra-processed food products are also promoted through direct and indirect, unethical medical and nutrition promotion and patronage. TNCs buy professional allegiance, collusion or silence via unethical sponsorships, research grants, etc. Consumers are duped into purchasing harmful and potentially harmful ultra-processed food products.  Such organisations and professionals are betraying the public trust and are failing in their public duty.
Worryingly, advertising is not regulated in Sri Lanka and the advertising industry and the media are having a field day, literally at the expense of consumers. Ironically, even many media, medical and legal professionals have fallen prey to advertising gimmicks and the plight of the ordinary consumer is unfortunate. Therefore, even belatedly, it is time to bring in effective mechanisms to regulate advertising.   


 

SLOW POISONS AND SERIAL KILLERS!

Transnational companies are undermining our time-tested food culture and agricultural practices that have evolved successfully over thousands of years, simply to boost their profit. Post-Green Revolution agriculture(which is in reality an agro-chemical marketing revolution)is destroying the global eco-system at an alarming rate due to agro-chemical based intensive agriculture and animal farming models promoted by industrialised nations. When the environment is poisoned, the entire eco-system perishes. Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown aetiology (CKDu) appearing in epidemic proportions in the North-Central Province of Sri Lanka and spreading to the rest of the country is an example of a ‘deadly system’ that poisons the eco-system in the name of modern agriculture and increased yields.

Just to cite one example of slow poisoning, Cadmium contained in agrochemicals is a ‘silent, serial killer’ and a ‘prime suspect’ in the aetiology of CKDu. ‘Cadmium is a chemical with a long half-life (17-33 years in man), where small daily exposure over long periods leads to accumulation of toxic levels in the kidney’ (Garrow & James, 1996, pg. 533).  Similarly, global citizens are being poisoned slowly through the modern, Western food system. Should we not worry about the ever increasing cocktail of chemicals added to our food, in the name of processing and preservation? ‘Extended shelf life’ may lead to ‘reduced real life’ for consumers! Following are examples of two great professional blunders.

 

Margarine & Mad Cows - Death by Professional Endorsements.

Many consumers may not be aware that partially hydrogenated fats containing toxic Trans Fatty Acids (TFAs) and TFA laden partially hydrogenated margarine recommended and endorsed whole-heartedly by the American Heart Association, American Dietetic Association and many other Apex Health Organisations to prevent heart disease caused heart disease! It has been estimated that more than thirty thousand consumers per annum in America may have died due to heart diseases caused by such food. This figure excludes those who suffered heart ailments due to the same (Willette & Skerrett, 2001, pgs. 28, 74, 82). Those who may have died of cancer have not been estimated.The bottom line is: Consumer beware, highly processed food may kill or maim.

Many margarine brands are not hydrogenated today but margarine is nothing but a cheap imitation of butter sold with a fancy price tag and the use is highly questionable. Note: Hydrogenation is detrimental to health but the process is still used in many countries due to the power of the oil lobbies (Erasmus, 1993, pg.105). Another western blunder is, the man-made (scientists) Mad Cow Disease (MCD) that led to CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease) or the human form of MCD that killed many cows and beef consumers in the UK. Details are beyond the scope of this article.
 

Synthetic Vitamins and Minerals are Toxic

In addition to the long known toxicity of fat-soluble vitamins (A & D etc.) and minerals such as iron, zinc, etc. in excess, there is emerging data that calcium supplementation may lead to heart disease. When you switch on the TV, many product advertisements boast that their product contains added vitamins and minerals – some even twice the requirement. How justifiable is it to add unnecessary vitamins and minerals to milk, instant noodles, yogurt etc? (indiscriminate fortification). These are the foods consumed regularly by the children. There is a global move by the global fortification industry to promote mass fortification of staple foods. Details are beyond the scope of this article and have been published elsewhere (Perera, 2013). There is an urgent need for public debate and discussion on mass fortification, GM food and rice.

Fake Milk and Fake Gold The milk industry markets simulated milk powder brands containing many questionable ingredients, as products are superior to natural milk. Such products are promoted heavily via the mass media and nutrition and medical patronage and prescription. These products contain various ingredients that may be harmful on the short and the long-run (Valleys, 2008). If you are duped in to purchasing imitation as a product better than gold, at a much higher price, how would you feel? Refer following section for more details.

 

MILK OF HUMAN UNKINDNESS?

Is History Repeating With the Plus, Plus
Fake Milk?
Those in nutrition and medicine may be aware of the chequred history of the transnational infant formula manufacturers. History reveals that during the 1930s, aggressive and unethical marketing of infant formulas in developing countries resulted in severe malnutrition and death of thousands of infants. The International Code on the Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes (World Health Organisation – WHO) was subsequently developed as a result of relentless public pressure and consumer boycotts of Nestlé products.

The Code prohibits advertising of infant formulas for children below one-year. To make good any financial losses that can arise as a result, the industry has resorted to ‘manufacturing’ simulated milk powder for children over one-year and marketing them under various brand names. Please note: Children over one-year do not need any special milk powder. This is a false need created by the milk powder industry. Also note:  Only cows can produce real milk. The following citation titled ‘Milk and Murder’ highlights the perverse influence of commerce on child health.

Milk and Murder ‘If your lives were embittered as mine is, by seeing day after day, this massacre of the innocents by unsuitable feeding; then I believe you would feel as I do that misguided propaganda on infant feeding should be punished as the most criminal form of sedition, and that those deaths should be regarded as murder’ (Dr. Cicely Williams, commenting on the title of her speech, Milk & Murder, 1939). ‘

‘In 1939, a woman doctor spoke at the Singapore Rotary Club. Dr. Cecily William’s subject for the evening was Milk and Murder. Cicely Williams charged the artificial baby food industry with murdering babies by promoting their milk as food for infants. Ironically, the president of the Rotary Club, who presided over the meeting that evening, was the local president of Nestlé.’


 

Commerciogenic Malnutrition

‘Dr. Williams’ scathing indictment of artificial feeding of infants was followed in the 1960s by Dr. Derrick Jellife’s research on the impact of artificial feeding on the health of babies. He coined the term “commerciogenic malnutrition” to highlight the connection between commerce and increase in bottle feeding at a special meeting organised on the issue by the Pan American Health Organisation -PAHO’ (The Boycott Book).

Dr William’s speech and Dr.Jeliefe’s reference to severe malnutrition of bottled fed babies as “commerciogenic malnutrition” highlight the perverse influence of commerce on child health. Their statements are more valid today than then.  

 

Brainwashing of Consumers

Due to globalisation and ‘unrestrained’ free trade, healthy traditional diets are influenced negatively and the ecosystem is destroyed. TNCs use many unethical marketing practices such as undermining wholesome, natural food such as rice and milk as nutritionally inadequate to promote branded, fortified food products. They also create a fear psychosis in the minds of the consumers via the mass media to promote sales of fake milk, fake butter (margarine) and even soap. Currently, some brands of yogurt and soap are marketed via creating a bacteria-phobia (i.e., an unnecessary fear regarding bacteria). Gene-engineering is complemented with mind- engineering (i.e., brainwashing).
 

The Nexus

There is a nexus between the TNCs, Western governments, media, professional associations, and ironically even the United Nations (Hertz, 2001; Nestle, 2001, 2010; Palmer, 1988, Rev.2009, Chapt.15). Sri Lanka lacks strong and powerful consumer lobbies and the country is a haven for such TNCs. The following is an interesting eye opener for consumers.
 

Functional Foods Deconstructed!

Marion Nestle, Professor of Human Nutrition and author debunks the irrationality of functional foods: ‘These days, food products constructed for this purpose are classified in their own special category and are variously called, ‘functional foods,” designer foods,” or sometimes, nutraceuticals.” I much prefer the designation ‘techno-foods…….’ (Nestle, 2002, Rev. 2013, pg. 295). Please note the word ‘constructed’.

‘Functional foods are about marketing, not science or health’. …..European Food safety authority has been so reluctant to allow health claims for most functional foods much to the distress of marketers (Nestle, 2010) but public health officials have been slow to respond to protect public health (Stuckler & Nestle 2012, loc. cited; Nestle, 2001).  

 

Eat Natural Food – Not Food-like Substances!

So what is the final answer? Leave the 320, 000 ultra-processed, food-like substances on the supermarket shelves and purchase natural or minimally processed food. It will be good for health as well as for your wallet, and this is called ‘Voting with your Wallet’. When you see those advertisements on TV, promoting powdered milk products for children over one-year, remember that they are not real milk but milk-like substances!

‘.... And you are better off eating whole fresh foods rather than processed food products. ........ For a while it used to be that food was all you could eat, today there are thousands of other edible food-like substances in the supermarket. These novel products of food science often come in packages elaborately festooned with health claims, which brings me to another, somewhat counterintuitive, piece of advice. If you are concerned about your health, you should probably avoid products that make health claims. Why? Because a health claim on a food is a strong indication that it is not real food and food is what you want to eat ‘(Pollan, 2008).

 

Processed Food and Genocide?

Available data indicate that ultra-processed food is killing or maiming the Western consumers. Nevertheless, despite the evidence, the Global North is exposing the Global South to deadly epidemics of obesity, diabetes and other Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) such as cancer and CKDu by marketing and promoting unhealthy food products and agro-chemicals. There is also relentless pressure and coercion to accept highly unnecessary, dangerous and potentially dangerous fortified food and Genetically Modified (GM) food and rice. If Williams was alive, what would she call this - murder or genocide?

When you see advertisements full of fake science, industrial love and corporate humanity, I hope you will now be able to see through the trade puffs and the hype. Monteiro et al. (2010) highlight the need to enact laws to protect the people from commercial exploitation by Transnational Companies.

 

7 Golden Survival Rules for Modern Consumers

1. Fresh, liquid milk is the best.

2. Natural foods need little or no advertising. Do not purchase food products that are advertised with various claims. Use natural or minimally processed food on a regular basis.

3. Children over one-year, pregnant and lactating women or the elderly do not need the so-called ‘specialised milk or special age-specific milk or food products’.  Such products contain unnecessary and questionable ingredients that may pose short and long-term health problems.  

4. Nature provides natural, safe, healthy and nutritious food. Avoid fortified or enriched milk and milk products (yogurt), beverage (malted beverage, etc.) and food (biscuits, instant noodles). Common fortificants are: Vitamins, minerals, synthetic DHA & ARA, probiotics etc. Purchase non-fortified products and lobby for change. Margarine & skimmed milk are required to be fortified with vitamin A & D by law, but both are not natural food.

5. Avoid Energy Drinks - They may be dangerous and excess energy leads to obesity.

6. If a Professional Association or a professional recommends or prescribes any simulated (fake) milk products or highly processed, branded food products with added vitamins, minerals  or novel ingredients (synthetic DHA, ARA etc.), request for information on natural or minimally processed alternatives to the product, the necessity, the cost benefit and the short and long-term safety of the product. You have a right to request for a written prescription.

7. Exercise your consumer rights – unlike Medicine, Nutrition is not a regulated profession in Sri Lanka. Check the credentials of the prescriber, and if possible, for any conflicts of interest

Knowledge is the key to good health & survival – not ‘Branded Food’.

Consider the ‘Seven Golden Survival Rules’ as your free ‘Life Insurance Policy’.

 

At all these meetings, the Minister tried to be cautious not to refer to a presidential election. Instead, he talked about a national election. However, at one point, probably at the slip of the tongue, he mentioned the presidential election.
The UPFA is to focus mainly on strengthening the women’s wing ahead of an election. Minister Rajapaksa emphasised that it was all the more important to woo female voters to the UPFA fold.

“Woman voters play a pivotal role. They constitute the bulk of the voter population. We have to appeal to them,” he reportedly told the gathering.  





The main opposition United National Party (UNP) is also bracing for the election. In this effort, the party has appointed a group of 20 members. The group called ‘G 20’ is engaged in mobilising the strength of all the common thinking parties. Already, the party has made representatives to various political entities in the opposition both at formal and informal levels.  
Foremost among all, the party believes the executive presidency has become a bane for the country, and that it should be abolished forthwith while ensuring parliamentary supremacy in governance. The UNP is slated on strategising its campaign based on these aspects. It says a sense of decency should be introduced to governance.   

Besides, the party is to include measures in its manifesto to ensure relief for the people in terms of the reduction of the cost of living.
 

"The group called ‘G 20’ is engaged in mobilising the strength of all the common thinking parties. Already, the party has made representatives to various political entities in the opposition both at formal and informal levels.  "

So far, the G 20 has met a couple of times.  Apart from the members of the party’s Leadership Council, several MPs, who previously remained disappointed with the party hierarchy over different issues, have been assigned responsibilities in this new group.

They are Puttalam district MP Palitha Range Bandara, Moneragala district MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara, Kurunegala district MP Asoka Abeysinghe and Ratnapura district MP Talatha Athukorale.  The party’s Uva Province Opposition Leader Harin Fernando is also a member of it.
The G 20 is slated to meet again on October 17 to discuss and to work out strategies.




Ven. Madhuluwave SobhithaThera, who spearheads a political   movement for  good governance, particularly for the abolition of the executive presidency, is working out a set of political proposals to be presented to the prospective candidates at the presidential election. Last Monday, he met  former MP Mano Ganeshan, the leader of the Democratic People’s Front, in this regard.

Ven. Sobhitha Thera has noted that he will support any candidate accepting to implement   these proposals upon election to office.

Mr. Ganeshan, as a politician representing ethnic Tamils, asked Ven. SobhithaThera to include some proposals to address the political rights of the minority communities.  Mr. Ganeshan has a vote base among the Tamils concentrated in the Colombo district.




The Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP), an ally of the Government, also met Ven. Sobhitha Thera yesterday at Sri Naga Vihare in Kotte, and discussed the current political situation and socio-economic situation on a broad range of aspects.  Here, the MEP led by Water Supply and Drainage Minister Dinesh Gunawardane discussed the need for new electoral reforms, the revision of the tax system, lessening the burden on the ordinary masses, and  the new income generation activities

Mr. Gunwardane also said though the university intake had been increased, thousands of students still dropped out at the two national examinations. He, therefore, said vocational education should be improved to accommodate such dropouts.  The discussion primarily centred on issues confronting the general public in areas of health, education, maternity health, cost of living, relief measures and the development of the local economy.   
 

"Besides, they were assigned the task of countering ‘malicious propaganda’ against the UPFA in the cyber space, particularly  in social media networks such as Facebook."

The MEP presented a copy of the resolutions adopted at its annual convention. MEP Vice President Somaweera Chandrasiri, Assistant Secretary Maithri Wijesinghe, party’s youth wing Chairman Yadamini Gunawardane and Central Committee member Lalith Rohana Liyanage attended the discussion along with the leadership.
Ven. Sobhitha Thera stressed that the education system should be modified for the national economic development as a matter of urgency,   even as articulated by Anagarika Dharmapala and C.W.W.Kannangara (dubbed as the father of free education).




The pople in Jaffna, both adults and children, were in revelry on Monday as they saw the historic and iconic Yal Devi train reach Jaffna after a gap of 24 years. People of villages straddling the 38 kilometre railway line from Palai to Jaffna stood in front of their house gazing at the train passing by. Schoolschildren with national flags in their hands lined up besides the railway track to greet the train with President Mahinda Rajapaksa on board.

The Colombo-Jaffna train service ground to a halt completely in January, 1990 after the LTTE terrorists carried out a bomb attack.

After the war was over, the government, under a US $ 800 million Line of Credit from India, undertook to reconstruct the railway tracks in the North. Accordingly, the work on the track up to Jaffna is now complete allowing the Yal Devi to ply on it.    The President was in the North for three days for discussions and inaugurations. He was in Kilinochchi on Sunday, and at a function, he was amazed to find a Tamil schoolgirl speaking fluent Sinhala. Then, he inquired about the success behind her bilingual skills.

The schoolgirl said that she studied up to the G.C.E. Ordinary Level Examination at Kotahena, Colombo, and chose to do her Advanced Level studies in Kilinochchi under the newly introduced Technical Scheme. The cut off for university admission point is low in Kilinochchi. Therefore, she has chosen Kilinochchi for her studies with the hope of securing university entrance easily.  

After the inauguration of the train service the following day, the President   participated in the Jaffna District Development Coordinating Committee meeting conducted in the Weerasingham Hall.   The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) which controls the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) did not attend it despite being invited for it.  The President was critical of the TNA, and said some road development projects could not be implemented in Jaffna due to lack of cooperation from the TNA. Afterwards, Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Minister Douglas Devananda, the chairman of the Committee, addressed the meeting, and took a swipe at the TNA. “If you offer plain tea to the TNA, they will ask for milk tea. If you give them milk tea, they will demand plain coffee. Even if you give them plain coffee, they will go further and ask for milk coffee.  Their demands are endless and impractical. Any government cannot satisfy them,” he said.  



Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) leader V. Anandasangari, who was with the TNA and later fell out, has written to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In his letter, he had made a scathing attack on the TNA, while revealing its alleged links with the LTTE in the past. He has even found fault with the TNA leader for his exclusion from the delegation that went to India to meet with Mr. Modi.

“A delegation claiming to be that of the TNA (Tamil National Alliance), now supposed to be comprised of five political parties namely the ITAK, TELO, EPRLF, TULF, PLOTE met you recently. But this delegation that met you in India was comprised of four members from the ITAK and one each from the TELO and EPRLF with none from the PLOTE although its leader polled over 40,000 votes and came third at the recently held Northern Provincial Council elections. As usual they never discuss anything with the TULF leader who is in politics for more than 55 years. The reason is obviously on orders from their top,” he said.

He said, “Your Excellency, I do not know what transpired at the meeting this delegation had with you. No local paper carried any details except some reference to your expectations and advice etc. But after going through an interview given to the press by a Member of Parliament who was in the delegation, I hasten to deny, although belated, some references made by him relating to the relationship of the TNA with the LTTE and about the mandate the TNA repeatedly got from the Tamil people, through various elections, to speak for the Tamils. The relationship the TNA’s constituent parties have among themselves and with others are not at all cordial as claimed.

It is the same story about the TNA as well. The TNA was started by four parties of which TULF was one. The TULF was replaced by ITAK without any reference to anybody or to the party concerned. All concerned parties should now accept that both the TNA and the ITAK had been revived by dishonest means on the instigation of the LTTE to look after their interest. It is this TNA that nominated candidates for all electoral districts in the North and in the East for the 2004 elections, Mr. Thamilselvan retaining half the number of slots in each one of the electoral districts. Of all the members elected to the 2004 Parliament, the majority belonged to the LTTE. Not only that, the worst part was the declaration the four secretaries of the four parties made was carried in the manifesto issued by them for the 2004 Parliamentary elections. The signatories were Mavai Senathirajah,G.G.Ponnambalam, Presanna Indrakumar, and Suresh Premachandren representing the ITAK, ACTC, TELO,and the EPRLF respectively.



Wild Life Conservation Minister Gamini Vijith Wijayamuni Zoysa remains disappointed since he was not formally thanked by Uva Province Chief Minister Sashindra Rajapaksa upon his swearing in to hold office for the second term.
“I worked for the election campaign of the Chief Minister. I even asked people of my electorate to mark a preference for him. Yet, I did not receive formal thanks.  However, my name has been mentioned in a thanks-giving note. I am happy with it at least,” he said at a recent function in Bibile.

"The Nobel Committee regards it as an important point for a Hindu and a Muslim, an Indian and a Pakistani, to join in a common struggle for education and against extremism"

However, India’s society continues to be surprisingly blase about child labour; it is common to see  eight-year-old kids with shoe-shine kits and 12-year-old kids sweating it out as cooks in roadside chai-shops or as welders bent over the bonnet of a car. I won’t comment on Pakistani civil society, but let it suffice to say that both Malala and Satyarthi fully deserve the honour. And except for a few disgruntled villains in the Taliban who have threatened Malala all over again for winning the world’s highest honour, and jealous moaners in India (who have been bitching about Satyarthi’s ‘media-savviness’ but have nothing to say when one points out that publicity is essential to highlight such an evil) millions of Pakistanis and Indians are thrilled.

But in a typically neo-imperialistic stroke, the Nobel Prize Committee didn’t rest at simply awarding the two deserving activists. Instead, it chose to spoil it by making one of the stupidest statements heard in the history of the Nobel Prize, at least as far as India is concerned.

“The Nobel Committee regards it as an important point for a Hindu and a Muslim, an Indian and a Pakistani, to join in a common struggle for education and against extremism,” Norwegian Nobel Committee Head Thorbjoern Jagland said.

Other than racial oneness between North India and Pakistan, 1.25 billion Indians from southern, western and northeastern India see very little commonality between themselves and Pakistan.  There is a chasm even between their respective literacy rates.  According to Pakistan’s own Education Atlas 2013, the country’s literacy rate has stagnated at 58%. Almost half the adult population cannot read and write. In India on the other hand or according to its official statistics of 2011, the adult literacy rate had grown to 74.04 %, ten percentage points under the world average of 84%.

Of course, nothing can be found objectionable in suggesting a joint campaign for improving education in both countries. Indeed Satyarthi told this columnist in his first worldwide exclusive print interview and just hours after receiving the news in New Delhi last Friday, that he intended to work together with Malala against the exploitation of kids and for promoting the schooling of girl children. Even without the Nobel Committee’s schoolmasterly cane wagging at them, both activists are intelligent and committed enough, to have mulled a joint initiative on their own.

But extremism is another thing altogether. In the overwhelming opinion of Indians who have borne the brunt of terrorism in Pakistan, in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir and in Mumbai, any suggestion that there could be a cross-border joint campaign against ‘extremism’, is the height of absurdity.  And a ‘Hindu’ and a ‘Muslim’? Is that what Malala and Satyarthi are reduced to? Sadly, the pedantic speech by the Nobel Committee implies that it is their respective religions, and the tense relationship between their countries, and not their tremendous achievements as activists, that are the real reasons behind the award. Sri Lankan readers need no further explanations, having suffered this kind of neo-colonial ‘mentoring’ for three decades, during which the world hectored and lectured them, too, about how to run their country and make peace between the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority.

“It is my express wish that in awarding the prizes no consideration whatever shall be given to the nationality of any candidate but that the most worthy shall receive the prize,” wrote Alfred Nobel in his will.

It would be fair to assume that the late Nobel would not have wanted religions to be brought up either. Indeed and when announcing the earlier physics and chemistry Nobel Prizes some weeks ago, the Nobel Committee had made no mention of whether the awardees were Christian, Jewish or Buddhist.  So why in the case of the subcontinent ?

But of course. Those awardees live in the civilised West. Satyarthi lives in a banana republic. It doesn’t need a degree in quantum physics to read the statement for what it really is; very obviously, the Nobel Committee had the recent tension along the India-Pakistan border in mind.

Indians will continue to celebrate the international recognition that the Nobel will bring Satyarthi’s very crucial campaign against child labour.

World recognises struggle of an Indian and a Pakistani in a common cause

By Russell C. Chitty
It was not long ago that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa Jeyaram was convicted and sentenced to a four-year jail term in a disproportionate case. It was lauded by many the world over as a loud and clear sign which shows what an independent, robust and vibrant judiciary could do in meting out justice, irrespective of status, station or standing of the person found guilty of crimes against the country and its people.

Against this background and soon after the world marked Children’s Day and on the eve of the International Day of the Girl Child came the refreshing, inspirational and uplifting news that the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to India’s 60-year-old Kailash Satyarthi and Pakistan’s 17-year-old Malala Yousafzi – the first Pakistani and youngest ever Peace Prize winner -- for their struggles against the suppression of children and for young people’s rights, including the right to education.
Malala came to global attention after she was shot in the head by the Taliban two years ago for her efforts to promote education for girls in Pakistan. After a miraculous recovery she took her campaign to the world stage with a speech last year at the United Nations.

 

"What can Sri Lankans learn from the selfless service to humankind by MalalaYousafzi and Kailash Satyarthi?"

Malala, who was at her chemistry class in England at the time the award was announced, was conveyed the good news by a teacher. She said it was a great honour for her to share the prize with Satyarthi. She said the award would not mark the end of her campaign for the education of girls but was really the beginning. “Children around the world should stand up for their rights and not wait for someone else,” Malala said adding that awarding the Peace Prize to a Pakistani Muslim and an Indian Hindu gives the people the message of love between India and Pakistan and between different religions.

Satyarthi is known to have shown great personal courage in heading peaceful demonstrations focusing on the grave exploitation of children for financial gain.
He said the award was about many more people than him and that credit should go to all those who sacrificed their time and their lives for the cause of child rights. What can Sri Lankans learn from the selfless service to humankind by MalalaYousafzi and Kailash Satyarthi? The Nobel Committee sees this as an eye opener where a Muslim and a Hindu join in a common struggle for children’s right to education and against extremism. It says that today there are 168 million child labourers the world over, 78 million less than what it was in 2000.

Are we doing enough for children in Sri Lanka apart from spewing out slogans and organising marches on Children’s Day? Are we doing enough to provide a proper education to children tied down by poverty and are compelled to seek employment for a pittance often in difficult and dangerous circumstances to earn something more for their families? These are questions that the authorities need to focus their attention on and provide tangible answers to.

Malala and Satyarthi shine as beacons in a world filled with hatred, wars and the greed for power and filthy lucre at any cost. They show us that to make a change we do not need politicians most of who enter Parliament vowing to serve the people but end up serving themselves.

The hype about the rising GDP and the economic growth rates mean little or nothing to the vast majority of Sri Lankans living below the poverty line and struggling against all odds to survive while  political leaders, rulers and their sycophants serve themselves with what rightly belongs to the people. Empty rhetoric and lip service to high ideals will take us nowhere other than to keep wondering around imagining that this is the Wonder of Asia.

No united Opposition: no victory at Presidential Elections 

“Swordsmanship untested in battle is like the art of swimming mastered on land.”   
~Hanshiro Tsugumo
(a warrior without a lord)


Those who do not learn from history will be condemned to relive it. The United National Party (UNP) and the mainstream parliamentary Opposition in Sri Lanka should be condemned for throwing away a fighting chance to grab electoral victory at the forthcoming Presidential Elections. That is, if they choose to go alone without the help of the rest of the Opposition in the forthcoming Presidential Elections. Everything that could go right for the Opposition went right in the Uva Provincial Council (PC) elections. And they managed to save face and show the rest of the country that the UNP is still breathing, stirring and waking up.

In the wake of the Uva PC elections, the average UNPer, Sirisena of the South, Mohamed of the East, Theagarajah in the North and Kandasamy in the Hill Country started breaking their cobwebs; they realised that there is a chance, a fighting chance, at ousting this corrupt, nepotistic and dictatorial regime. But to their utter dismay, the leaders of the Opposition don’t seem to have realised that. Instead of prepping and motivating their supporters to achieve greater heights, challenging the three-term controversy, bringing the people to the road and exerting every ounce of pressure upon this regime and the Rajapaksas, they chose to indulge in an orgy of premature celebrations; disbursements of party positions and cake-cutting ceremonies that punctuated the days when organisation should have been the order of the day. The Party is in the hands of political tyros and the general secretary with no political acumen, is declaring party positions with no context in mind.

An acute sense of false-jubilance has set in; twenty years of intellectual infertility cannot be erased in one single stroke by the Uva voter. When options are available and thrown in by those who are not even remotely connected to the UNP, its general secretary rushed to make statements regarding the current incumbent’s ineligibility to contest the third time for Presidency. Instead of making use of each and every opportunity, where political capital could have been made and exploited to the hilt, leaders of the UNP who are responsible for every debacle it had suffered for the last two decades are once again showing their lack of class and poise when confronted by challenge and need.

The current political status is quite simple and unambiguous. The present regime could be made to look utterly vulnerable and pathetically hopeless. And I have reasons:


1.    The Uva PC elections show that incumbency-fatigue is setting in
2.    Patriotism and war-victory as a political slogan and a platform are waning
3.    Corruption has reached
monumental levels
4.    Nepotism has made even the strongest of Rajapaksa supporters within its own ranks scared and jittery; it’s making the Family Tree (Seven Years’ Scourge – ‘Hath Vasaka Saapaya’) of the Bandaranaikes look like an empty, undecorated and unlit Christmas tree.
5.    Random price-slashing of essential items such as cooking gas, electricity, petrol and diesel looks more and more akin to election gimmickry rather than alleviating hardships and the people are beginning to see through  it.
6.    Lies and more lies are getting fully exposed before they are even
being told
7.    Rampant hooliganism among government ranks as manifested in the Sajin Vaas/Chris Nonis incident is making average and reasonable men and women sick.
8.    The manner in which the regime is handling crisis after crisis is baring open the severe deficiencies and lack of professional and honest governing.
9.    The last but not the least, the serious argument that is building ahead of the Presidential Elections that Mahinda Rajapaksa is not eligible to run for a third consecutive time is gathering momentum


All this and much more is convincing enough for a regime change. The voters are getting increasingly aware of the misdoings of those who wield power and the voter-disillusionment is manifestly appearing in street corners, boutique interiors, inside three-wheelers and of course in social clubs. It’s cutting across all walks of life and more so among those who work hard each day to put food on the table. Families are being stressed out; schoolchildren are being subjected to the most uncomfortable exercises; university students are up in arms against a maniacal minister; the community of academics and professionals are increasingly getting alarmed about the ‘real’ status of the economy. Social and moral values are showing vivid and sure signs of decay. The values held aloft by the average Sirisena, Mohamed, Theagarajah and Kandasamy are being shoved aside and street fighters and ruffians who are not fit enough to be workshop supervisors are being treated and crowned; their acts of hooliganism in international scenes are being vindicated and excused by government media spokespersons.

Instead of a set of individuals who value human life and its decent ideals and principles, we have got a set of individuals for whom political power is everything and the only thing that matters.

It is crystal clear as to what ought to be done. But there is no leadership at a moral level. That is the fundamental disagreement the writer has with the current Opposition and its lackadaisical leadership. Men who should take bold and courageous action are missing. On the day of the Dedigama by-election in 1973, when confronted by thugs and thuggish parliamentarians of the then government, J R Jayewardene, the then leader of the UNP, walked alone to the Warakapola Police Station and lodged complaints; Gamini Dissanayake and Lalith Athulathmudali, when attacked by ‘Soththi Upali’ and thugs at the Fort Railway Station, led their troops to the respective police stations and made their entries.

However much I’ve written, I simply cannot overstate the importance of showing unflappable leadership at the top of the line. Political power is not cheap nor is it easy to attain. Only those who strive would ultimately benefit. Given the current context of a divided Opposition, there is no reason why the average voter should repose faith in the Opposition.

If all signs are indicative of a voter-propensity towards a regime change and all mathematical and statistical analyses are showing a strong likelihood that a regime change is possible, that alone is still not enough. The unknown variables are many and varied. Elections are not fought on paper, are they? They are fought on paddy fields in remote villages; they are fought on street corners of urban cities and they are also fought in exalted corridors of Colombo social clubs. If the UNP and the rest of other political parties choose to play a different game, holding on to their cocoons and nests, there is no way they can defeat Mahinda Rajapaksa. Only a common opposition led by a common candidate could lead them to that ‘promised land’. There are no buts and ifs. Period. Untested field marshals cannot lead a weary battalion to victory. General Fonseka knows that well. As Napoleon said:“The battlefield is a scene of constant chaos. The winner will be the one who controls that chaos, both his own and the enemies.” The country is calling out for that person who could control the chaos. It’s time that such a leader emerged. Otherwise we will be merely committing collective hara-kiri.

There’s a form of apartheid that’s been taking place worldwide in every society, culture and religion known to mankind. This apartheid isn’t well recognized, and is therefore a silent and extremely subtle variation to the apartheid that took place in South Africa. Ask around and you will find that not many people even know about this apartheid. What is this apartheid I am talking about?

"In a world where society has evolved to become more intricate when compared to our cavemen beginnings, it’s unfair on women to expect them to stick to a social structure laid down millions of years ago because times were quite different then"

In a world where society has evolved to become more intricate when compared to our cavemen beginnings, it’s unfair on women to expect them to stick to a social structure laid down millions of years ago because times were quite different then. Women cannot be expected to take a backseat anymore because the evolution of society means that women are able to enjoy the most important feature of evolution itself - improvement. Women don’t need to stay ‘safely’ away and bring up children. They are able to walk side by side with men and enjoy the same status as men and occupy the same jobs. The only thing standing in the way of women’s integration into society is gender apartheid.

The reasons for gender apartheid are wide and varied, with power, dogma and societal norms being the most significant. Men have physical power over women, and physical power is everything in a world where ‘might is right’ and this means that they are able to dominate women and ‘have their way’ with them. This is supported by the dogmas of the many faiths followed by man (because men are priests and holy men who make the rules) and further supplemented by the norms society dictates. this is something so ingrained in society that it’s hard to go against the grain, especially when women agree to different degrees about what rights women should and shouldn’t have.

Google the words ‘women should not’. Before you hit search, you will see many suggestions such as women should not drive, vote, work etc.That’s gender apartheid. Ask around and see what people think about a woman who either goes to work and has the child in daycare or decided not to have a child at all. Regardless of economic requirements, most people will say that a mother belongs at home (and somehow the role of a father doesn’t even come into discussion). That’s gender apartheid. Start talking about rape and people will say that the girl was innocent only in selective circumstances, i.e. if she was dressed decently, not ‘provoking’ the attack or ‘asking for it’!!! That, my friends, is gender discrimination.

If anyone still feels that women aren’t treated as subordinates, just take a look at the English language. The race of humans is defined as mankind. MANkind, as if women are a subspecies. We always speak of caveMEN but what of the women? Most jobs are expected to be held by men and therefore when women hold these jobs, additions are made to signify that this is abnormal. We call a man a doctor and a woman a ‘lady doctor’. All of this shows that women aren’t taken seriously or treated equally.

In the animal world, the females of the species are void of rights. Male dolphins rape, female lionesses hunt and allow the males to eat first while female birds of some species must raise their young alone. However, even certain species of animals such as wolves, beavers, gibbons, and a small African antelope known as a dik-dik all live in stable, monogamous pairs, while male penguins keep the eggs the females lay on their feet until they hatch and certain species of fish too respect the rights of females by helping build nests and protect the eggs. Therefore, it’s upto ‘MAN’ to decide if they can truly earn the title of most evolved species or if they will be beaten by the animals whom ‘HE’ calls ‘primitive’ by deciding to continue to discriminate against women. It’s sad that there’s an apartheid going on right under our noses, and we aren’t even aware of it. Gender apartheid needs to be taken more seriously in order to create a stable future where women too can feel like they too deserve to live on equal terms on this planet we all love.