A ruler’s duty in the internal administration of the country is three fold: raksha or protection of the state from external aggression, palana or maintenance of law and order within the state and yogakshshema or safeguarding the welfare of the people.  -Kautilya-The Arthashastra

Mob attack on Courts in Mannar, a deplorable political criminal intimidation of a Magistrate.

This column dedicated to the notion of fulfilling the aspirations of Sri Lankan society turns its spotlight on the recent deplorable political criminal intimidation of a Magistrate at Mannar by a Minister and the emergence of the diabolical specter of mob rule in Sri Lanka as Sri Lankan society would aspire to be rid of such political intimidation and interference with judicial independence in our land.
The President has been reported in the media as saying that he too is a lawyer and would not permit anyone to mock the law after the disgraceful conduct of a Minister at Mannar resulting in severe damages being caused to the Mannar Courts by a pack of goons but the stark fact is the Minister who intimidated the judicial officer still remains at large without the long arm of the law being able to reach the said politician. As Kautilya, one of the greatest intellectuals produced by India said palana or maintenance of law and order within the state is one of the supreme duties of a ruler or a regime. If a politician is permitted to get off leniently after committing a serious threat to the law and order situation in the country it will undoubtedly pave the way for the ultimate breakdown of law and order in our country.
The present regime appears to have failed in the performance of its supreme duty of palana or maintenance of law and order within the state as evidenced by the severe decline of the rule of law in Sri Lanka in the recent past. Although some Cabinet Ministers have said that no one is above the law in this country it is evident that politicians like the said Minister at Mannar and goons like Julampitiye Amare appear to be above the law in our islands paradise.
A large stone hurled by the mob of goons at Mannar had broken the window pane of the Honourable Magistrate’s Chamber and landed on his table as shown in photographs published in the media. It is divine intervention that had saved the courageous judicial officer from death. This column applauds and salutes the courage displayed by the Honourable Magistrate of Mannar for upholding the principles of justice and not being intimidated by hooligans in the garb of Ministers. The fate of that great gentleman, who was the Chief Justice of Uganda at the time of that brutal dictator Idi Amin who was the President of Uganda comes to mind. Idi Amin telephoned the then Chief Justice of Uganda and wanted a British Journalist brought before the Supreme Court of Uganda on false charges to be sentenced to imprisonment just as the Minister at Mannar had intimidated the learned Magistrate to change his ruling. The Chief Justice discharged the journalist as there was no evidence just as the learned Magistrate at Mannar refused to change his order and immediately afterwards a squad of goons sent by Idi Amin took the Chief Justice from his chambers and assassinated His Lordship in a staged motor car accident and in the same manner a bunch of goons led by the politician attacked the Mannar Courts and the learned Magistrate narrowly escaped death. It has been reported that the megalomaniac Idi Amin intoxicated with absolute power got the brain of the Chief Justice to be sent to his palace after the autopsy and had the brain for dinner. The brute Idi Amin, who lacked sufficient intelligence as evidenced by his actions but knew only the art of violence and intimidation may have thought to acquire some intelligence by eating the brain of an intellectual. Up to the date of extermination of all humanity that great judicial officer will be venerated and revered by human beings all over the world for His Lordship’s courage in delivering impartial justice but the brute Idi Amin according to all religious beliefs would be rotting in hell for a long period of time to come.
Lawyers all over Sri Lanka have protested over the unprecedented incidents at Mannar as this is the first occasion that a Court house has been damaged by a mob incited by a politician as reported in the media.
If this incident is also to be swept under the carpet like all other past incidents concerning errant politicians it will ring the death knell of the rule of law in Sri Lanka. The diabolical spectre of mob rule and anarchy would very soon emerge in greater strength which would become detrimental to the regime itself as was seen in Libya and the unfortunate fate of Muammar Qaddafi on the streets of Libya. Just paying lip service and making statements that wrong-doers will be brought to justice and no one is above the law and uttering packs upon packs of lies to safeguard errant politicians and hoodwink the public by the politicians will make the situation worse.
The people of Sri Lanka are not that foolish to be fooled or taken for a ride all the time although some may have been fooled for some time. The Sri Lankans all over the world now await justice to be not only done in their land but also seem to be done by the regime.
A team of seven lawyers have applied to the Court of Appeal to order the arrest of the Minister concerned for contempt of court in order that the due process of law is preserved. The Bar Association of Sri Lanka considered the said event at its Bar Council meeting held yesterday and decided on appropriate steps to be taken in this regard.
As usual let me conclude with an amusing anecdote. A driver caught speeding was brought before a judge. The judge said “What will you take, thirty days or a hundred dollars.” The accused said:”I think I will take the money.”

This column dedicated to the notion of fulfilling the aspirations of Sri Lankan society turns its spotlight on the escalation of violent crime and the need for the immediate depolticization of the Police in Sri Lanka as Sri Lankan society would aspire for the prevention of such violence.
During the past few weeks many incidents of horrendous violent crime from many parts of our island paradise were reported in the media. These included the murder of an aged mother by the son wielding a mammoty, raping and murder of children around the age of five and the gang rape of a school girl by a group led by a provincial politician. These crimes have led to the people of Sri Lanka demanding the re-instatement of the death penalty for such horrendous crimes.
A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the occasion of the Human Rights Day 2010 speaking of the status of the policing system in Sri Lanka stated that:-‘The policing system in Sri Lanka has lost its capacity to uphold the rule of law. Lawlessness has spread into all areas of life as the police remain incapable of dealing with crime and upholding law and order. The Inspector General of Police and the high-ranking police officers no longer have the capacity to ensure discipline within the police as the policing system is controlled from the outside by the executive president and the politicians of the ruling regime. This process is known as the politicization of the police force. The Sri Lankan police have a reputation of the widespread use of torture at all police stations. Hundreds of cases have been recorded in 2010 relating to use of torture and extrajudicial killings that have taken place throughout the country. However, there is no machinery to investigate such allegations. A few years ago, Special Inquiry Units (SIUs) of the CID were assigned to investigate allegations of torture and extrajudicial killings. In many of the investigations, SIU teams found that the allegations were credible and many indictments were filed against the police for violating the country’s law against torture….When allegations of abuse of police authority are made to the Inspector General of Police, he promptly sends a reply promising investigations. However, nothing credible ever happens. As a result\ the practice of torture and extrajudicial killings continues at police stations.’
In the light of these observations the depoliticization of the Police in Sri Lanka has become an immediate necessity if the rule of law in our country is to be upheld. The practice of appointing political stooges to police stations in various electorates as Officers-in-Charge on the recommendations of politicians of the ruling party must be halted forthwith and independent officers must be appointed to uphold law and order in various areas of the country. Wrong-doers irrespective of their political leanings should be brought to justice.
The shameful political interference with police investigations must be stopped paving the way for unhindered investigations in order to bring the wrongdoers to justice. The media reported last week that several Cabinet Ministers have said that no one is above the law in Sri Lanka. What a blessing it would be to our country if this were true. Some appear to be more equal before the law than the others. Under what law in Sri Lanka did Julampitiye Amare carry a T 56 weapon, don a uniform similar to that of the STF and continue to terrorize the villagers in his area, commit murder in broad daylight, then visit a prison inmate unhindered when there were 100 warrants out for his arrest and finally surrender to court under the protection of prison officials are questions that these Ministers would do well to answer. Due to the halting of the death penalty, the criminal elements in Sri Lanka have lost their fear of committing any horrendous crime and then spending a paid holiday in prison with their old friends.
The report speaking of the status of judicial independence in Sri Lanka further stated: ‘The country’s court system is beset with extraordinary delays and inefficiencies to the extent that it is incapable of ensuring fair trial….The ever diminishing authority of the courts has made its adverse influence felt in all public institutions….The actual possibilities of judicial protection of the individual against the state has been reduced to an extent that today, the power of the judiciary is marginal. Judges who dare to act with independence to uphold the writ jurisdiction for the purpose of safeguarding individual citizens seriously risk their own judicial careers… At the heart of the failure of justice in Sri Lanka are several factors: Inadequate budgeting for justice allows for extraordinary delays and inefficiencies within the system. Besides this, the overall politicization of the public intuitions has also penetrated into the area of administration of justice. The public trust in the process has been seriously eroded over a long period of time.’ Although the situation in 2010 was as reported the status of judicial independence in Sri Lanka has been further eroded during the last two years. The statements made by former High Court Judge Hon.W.M.T.B Warawewa and reported in the media bear testimony to the said fact.
Speaking of the present political status in Sri Lanka the report states: ‘Political opponents are subjected to fabricated cases, as demonstrated in many cases filed against the former opposition candidate in the presidential election, Sarath Fonseka. The only way out of fabricated charges for such political opponents is to find a way to compromise and to abandon their political opposition. The serious pursuit of destroying the multi-party democracy has been a pursuit of all political regimes since 1978.
The present regime has mastered this art and thus multi-party democracy in Sri Lanka is under serious threat.’The apparent weakness of the divided opposition to mount a challenge to the ruling party has become obvious in recent times with Cabinet Ministers boasting that the opposition parties have become powerless to present a challenge to the ruling party at the forthcoming provincial elections.
Speaking of disappearances the report states: ‘The result is the continuous occurrence of serious abuses such as forced disappearances….It is common to hear threats of disappearances. The possibility of such occurrences has created a climate of fear in every part of the country….In Sri Lanka, the possibility of realizing human rights continues to become bleaker as the power and authority of the courts are continuously reduced due to the expansion of the power of the executive president.’ If a powerful official in Government is bold enough to say ‘I don’t care for the bloody courts’ one may realize the parlous state of the Rule of Law presently prevailing in Sri Lanka.
As usual let me conclude with an amusing anecdote. Two magistrates arrested for drunken driving agreed to try each other’s cases the following morning. The first magistrate fined the second five dollars, but when the first magistrate’s case was heard he received a hefty hundred-dollar fine and a two month ban. The first magistrate was furious “Why did you do that?” he asked his colleague ”I know”, said the second. ”But there is too much of this type of thing going on these days. Yours is the second such case this morning.”
(Vide: The Giant Book of Jokes Editor. Dave Phillips, Magpie Books London-2005.pp173-174.)

This column dedicated to the notion of fulfilling the aspirations of Sri Lankan society turns its spotlight on the protection of the environment in Sri Lanka while engaging in sustainable development that will fulfill the aspirations of all Sri Lankans thereby ensuring preservation of the environment in our land.
Environmental concerns in Sri Lanka include deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by poaching and urbanization; coastal degradation from mining activities and increased pollution; freshwater resources being polluted by industrial waste and sewage runoff; waste disposal; and air pollution in Colombo and other cities due to emissions from motor vehicles and factories and other industrial establishments.
The forests in Sri Lanka have been removed to make way for agricultural land and plantations and to provide fuel and timber. The sale of timber is a part of the national economy to raise revenue. The country is a major producer of tea and the land required for tea plantations is substantial. Population pressure is also a significant factor as is the removal of forested areas to make way for irrigation networks which were a major process in the 1980s. Apart from the environmental implications deforestation in Sri Lanka has caused ill effects such as flooding, landslides and soil erosion from exposure of the deforested areas. It is also the primary threat to the survival of Sri Lanka’s biodiversity. Sri Lanka has 751 known species of amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles of which 21.7 percent are endemic, and over 3314 species of vascular plants, of which 26.9 percent are endemic.
One of the main threats to the sustainability of Sri Lanka’s forests is government development policies in relation to the demand for timber and fuel and also the need to create plantations to raise revenue. Government policies are focused primarily on timber production and tree plantations. The Sri Lankan government working in conjunction with multi-national institutions has seen a major change in timber harvesting in Sri Lanka for the cause of sustainable development. Commercial plantations have gradually been brought under management system in Sri Lanka to produce wood in an economically efficient and sustainable way.
The harvesting, processing and the sale of wood products from state forests is conducted by the state owned State Timber Corporation. In the 1980s the cause progressed significantly with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) funding the Community Forestry Project (CFP) which concentrated on the development of fuelwood plantations and agro-forestry in 5 of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka. While illegal logging in Sri Lanka is not a major problem as it is in many countries, deforestation has still affected the lives of every day people in some parts of Sri Lanka where removal of forests has resulted in greater time and energy being spent gathering firewood typically by women who have to travel relatively long distances, affecting their health and well-being. Deforestation is one of the most serious environmental issues in Sri Lanka. In the 1920s, the island had a 49 percent forest cover but by 2005 this had fallen by approximately 20 percent. Between 1990 and 2000, Sri Lanka lost an average of 26,800 hectares of forests per year. This amounts to 1.14 percent of average annual deforestation rate. Between 2000 and 2005 the rate accelerated to 1.43 percent per annum.
However with a long history of policy and laws towards environmental protection, deforestation rates of primary cover have actually decreased to 35 percent since the end of the 1990s due to a strong history of conservation measures. The problem of deforestation in Sri Lanka is not as significant in the southern mountainous regions as it is in northern Sri Lanka, largely due to the nature of environmental protection.
The government and international environmental organizations have taken several steps to address the problem over the years, establishing national parks, reserves and sanctuaries, which now cover as much as 15 percent of the island’s total area as at 2007. The Sinharaja Forest Reserve, which was established in 1978 to protect the nearly extinct tropical lowland rain forest, was flagged as a World Heritage Site in 1988.
The history of environmental policy and law in Sri Lanka however goes back much further in history. In 1848, the Timber Ordinance No. 24 was signed for the reservation of forests, largely for timber production. In 1873, Hooker advocated the protection of natural forests above 5000 feet as climatic reserves and in 1938 a law was passed prohibiting the removal of forest above 5000 feet. In 1885, the Forest Ordinance No. 10 for the Conservation of Forests saw some protection of forests primarily for sustainable wood production but also some protection of wildlife in sanctuaries.
This was developed further in 1907 with Forest Ordinance No. 16 with some protection of forests and their products in reserved forests and village forests, again for the controlled exploitation of timber. In 1929 the first authoritative forest policy statement was given in regard to species protection and in 1937 the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance No. 2 was signed with the intention of protecting the wildlife in national reserves. However this was restricted to wild life in sanctuaries, and such habitats were protected only on state land, with complete freedom to exploit privately owned land. The Amendment Act No. 44 in 1964 saw the nature reserves and jungle corridors formally recognized as categories of Sri Lanka’s protected areas of national reserve.
In 1990, the National Policy for Wildlife Conservation was approved by the Sri Lankan cabinet with the prime objectives of sustaining the ecosystems and ecological processes and the preservation of genetic diversity. The government also introduced a logging ban that was implemented in all natural forests in Sri Lanka under the Forestry Sector Development Programme. In 1993 Amendment Act No. 49 also added Refuge, Marine Reserves and Buffer Zones as additional formal categories to the definition of the national reserve. Any degradation of the forest resource in Sri Lanka is dynamically related to the increasing demand for timber and fuel wood. Central to the sustainability of the forests of Sri Lanka in the future is the rate of population pressure and economic growth Not only will a growing population demand more fuel, they will also place a higher demand for housing construction materials with wood ,
Interference with nature results in disastrous effects. Several forest fires were reported during the past few weeks. The indiscriminate dumping of garbage in cities especially in Colombo has led to the spread of diseases. Colossal waste of public funds to purchase a luxury limousine for the use of the Mayor of Colombo was reported recently. These funds could have been used to purchase machinery for garbage conversion into manure. The Mayor has been reported saying that as Cabinet Ministers are using expensive limousines that he too is entitled to use such a vehicle. What service have these public officials and Ministers rendered to the people of Colombo or Sri Lanka to engage in such wasteful expenditure of public funds? Before demanding comforts these persons must render valuable service to the people.
The colossal waste of funds spent for the Anuradhapura Deyata Kirula Exhibition replete with many performances could have been used to provide a water purification plant for the people of Anuradhapura and suburbs who are dying of kidney ailments due to the intake of heavy metals in the dirty water they are forced to consume. Before beautifying cities and building road networks the basic needs of the people such as food, clean drinking water, adequate supplies of medicines in hospitals and other essentials for the sustenance of life of the citizens must be provided.
The abominable wasteful expenditure of public funds should be terminated forthwith for the welfare of the country. The President who has stated on several occasions that he holds power as a public trustee has advised public officials to make the best use of public funds. Addressing the Matale District Development Committee Meeting last week the President said that, ‘Everyone is duty bound to make the utmost contribution to society and the country. Similarly, public funds should be utilized carefully for the betterment of the country to gain maximum returns and productivity’(Daily News 3rd July 2012 pp.1and 8). Excellent advice indeed but whether the public officers follow such advice in practice appears to be doubtful. While an electrical energy or power crisis is looming in the near future with the water levels decreasing in the catchment areas the public institutions and commercial establishments seem to be switching on all billboards and illuminating their showrooms wasting       valuable electrical energy late into the night in the city of Colombo.
As usual let me conclude with an amusing anecdote. The teacher asked the class to write an essay on what they would do if they had a million dollars. But, little Johnny handed in a blank paper. The teacher asked, ‘Johnny you have done nothing why?’ ‘Because,’ he replied ‘that is exactly what I’d do if I had a Million Dollars’.
We as Sri Lankans may now understand the reason why corrupt politicians and public officials do nothing for the motherland but relax and enjoy their existence wasting public funds.
May all celestial beings protect our motherland.

For, be the constitution of a government what it may, if there be within its jurisdiction a single man who is not subject to the law, all the rest are necessarily at his discretion. -Jean Jacques Rousseau. Discourse: What is the Origin of Inequality among Men, and is it authorized by Natural Law?

Julampitiye Amare being taken to court... The learned ludge questioned the prison officials under whose protection Amare surrendered to Court.

This column dedicated to the notion of fulfilling the aspirations of Sri Lankan society turns its spotlight on the existence of political goons as Sri Lankan society would aspire to be rid of such goons in order to lead a peaceful existence in our country.
Last week it was reported in the media that a person named Julampitiye Amare who had 100 warrants issued by the Courts and who is a prime suspect in the murder of a young boy and a woman who attended a JVP pocket meeting, surrendered to Court accompanied by prison officials. With the introduction of the all powerful Executive Presidency a galaxy of such goons (The Oxford Dictionary describes a goon as a criminal who is paid to frighten or injure people) came to be known in Sri Lanka. During the time of President J. R. Jayewardene, Gonawala Sunil held sway while during the time of President R. Premadasa, Sotthi Upali reigned supreme. During President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge’s regime it was Baddegane Sanjeeva who was apparently above the law for some time.
During the present time we hear of the late Vambotta and now Julampitiye Amare. It has been said that some of these goons entered Police stations immune to arrest even when there were warrants issued for their arrest and sat on the chair reserved for the officer-in-charge of the Police station and gave directions to such officers who were standing in their presence addressing these goons as ‘Sir’ out of fear for reprisals such as transfers to difficult stations and/or to curry favour with the goons who were close associates of high powered politicians who were able to procure promotions for such cowardly officers in the police service.
Julampoitiye Amare with all the warrants for his arrest pending had visited a prison inmate without any hindrance. This incident speaks volumes of the pathetic state of the law and order situation presently prevailing in our island paradise. The learned ludge has questioned the prison officers under whose protection Amare surrendered to Court, the manner in which such officers came along with the suspect. Their response was that they were simply following the orders of their superior officer.
In the good old days, during the time Sri Lanka was governed under the Parliamentary System, when Prime Ministers such as Rt. Hon. D. S. Senanayake the Father of the Nation, Dudley Senanayake, Sir John Kotelawala, S. W,R, D. Bandaranayake and Sirimavo Bandaranayake such goons who received political patronage were either unheard of or non-existent. To his credit President D. B. Wijetunge never tolerated such goons.
When we examine the past records of some world leaders who are no more, it is seen that Idi Amin, Muammar Gaddafi, Saddam Hussein and the leaders of many Banana Republics in Africa operated squads of such goons to assassinate political opponents and/or to still dissident voices. Alas, they all met with miserable deaths as if to prove the truthfulness of the saying that those who resort to violence or weapons are destroyed by such violence or weapons.
As Lord Acton said power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. A person intoxicated with power does not realize that such power is not eternal and that the day of reckoning will soon dawn. As Rousseau said in his discourse quoted above such actions are not authorized by Natural Law and leaving all religious beliefs apart the power of the universe will not condone such horrendous acts. As Lord Buddha preached, that the karmic force generated by such sinful acts will follow the perpetrator from birth to birth in his sansaric sojourn as the wheels of the cart are certain to follow the legs of the bull tied to the cart. There is a saying that a politician may speak as a Bodhisatva, or one who aspires for Buddhahood or as a Saint but acts as a Devdatta or a person who was the sworn enemy of the Buddha and prone to criminal acts or as the Devil.
One may ask the pertinent question, ‘Why are such goons necessary for powerful politicians when they are provided with squads of official well trained security men?’The answer may lie in the fact that such official security men cannot be trusted to keep the secrets of the dark deeds of their masters who order them to assassinate unarmed helpless human beings for the simple reason of becoming a threat to their political power. The assassination of Vijaya Kumaratunge, a genuine well loved leader, has been attributed to the said fact. Those who perpetrated that crime paid for it dearly. Natural law delivered the sentence when the law of the land failed due to lack of evidence or extreme political power. What the goons do not seem to realize is that they themselves would face death the moment their dark deeds become public or their usefulness is at an end in order to preserve the secrecy of such deeds.
As President Rajapaksa has often said that power is held by the President as a matter of public trust, the time has now come for our politicians who are prone to such violent acts to put an end to political violence and learn to lead honourable lives gaining the admiration and respect of our people. The abominable gun culture spreading in our island paradise has turned it into a miserable hellhole where people are murdered daily in broad daylight showing scant respect for human life.
Indiscriminate shooting by the Police at protest rallies and persons demonstrating for their rights have to be terminated forthwith. As seen in the recent past many innocent human lives have already been lost in such incidents placing the Government in disrepute. The Inspector General of Police must reorganize the police force so as to train the officers to be law abiding, fearless men and women who would stand up against unlawful acts of corrupt politicians as the Courts and the very great majority of our Judicial Officers would stand by them in the event of any harm faced by them on account of discharging their sacred functions owed to society without fear or favour.
The present officers in the Police must learn to emulate those great gentlemen who were senior police officers of yore who maintained the respect of their service at all times and never bowed down to the will of corrupt politicians. The Sri Lankan people look up to their Police Force for protection and maintenance of law and order and not for their annihilation and destruction. Preservation of the lives of innocent citizens is a prime function of the Police. The Police in Sri Lanka have failed in recent times to arrest the assassins of many media personnel who were critical of the regime, indicating their subservience to political power and not to the preservation of law and order which is their prime function. The Police must realize that their salaries are paid with public funds and not with the personal funds of the political masters.
As usual let me conclude with an amusing anecdote. A lawyer’s closing submissions were dragging on into its second hour when he suddenly stopped and told the judge: “Your Honour, a juror is asleep.” The judge responded: “You put him to sleep, you wake him up.”

With the consensus of all, I expect to present a Constitution that will propose the abolition of the Executive Presidency and to provide solutions to other issues confronting the country.

Mahinda Rajapaksa-Mahinda Chnithana Strengthening the Peoples Will at Page 97(Victory for Sri Lanka-Presidential Election 2005)

This column dedicated to the notion of fulfilling the aspirations of Sri Lankan society turns its spotlight on the need for a new constitution that will fulfill the aspirations of all Sri Lankans thereby ensuring racial and religious harmony among all our people.
The above quotation from Mahinda Chinthana or Mahinda’s Vision stated in 2005 reflects the aspiration of Sri Lankan society to be governed by a Constitution or Supreme Law that will bring happiness to all Sri Lankans and ensure racial and religious harmony among all our people. A period of seven years has elapsed since that statement was made and a period of 24 years has elapsed since the present Constitution of 1978 was enacted. In January 1996, the then Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs issued a publication titled ‘Draft Provisions of the Constitution containing the Proposals of the Government of Sri Lanka relating to Devolution of Power’ which included a commentary on the draft constitutional provisions. Due to vehement protests by the Opposition in Parliament the said proposals were not accepted. It was reported in the media that the then Indian External Affairs Minister, Inder Kumar Gujral, described these January 1996 Draft Provisions of the Constitution containing the Proposals of the Government of Sri Lanka Relating to Devolution of Power as ‘a reasonable basis for negotiations towards a political solution’ for the Ethnic Question in Sri Lanka. It is indeed an impressive endorsement of President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga’s political approach. This statement was made in Colombo in January 1997, almost one year after the Draft Provisions were published by the Government. Dr Sachithanandam Sathananthan, making an analysis of the provisions in the draft proposals stated in February 1997, that the Government of Sri Lanka must repeal Articles 2 and 76 of the 1978 Constitution in order to have a meaningful political devolution of power and on the language question  ‘giving recognition to Sinhala and Tamil as official languages and recognising English as a link language’ contained in the Preamble stated that this draft proposal repeated the provision in Article 18 of the 1978 Constitution as it stated that the official language of Sri Lanka shall be Sinhala, Tamil shall also be an official language and English shall be the link language.’ Article 18 did not state whether Tamil shall be an official language of the whole country or of a region within the country. It again avoided specifying that Tamil, like Sinhala, will be an official language of the whole of Sri Lanka. It reiterated the subordinate status conferred on Tamil in the 1956 Tamil Language (Special Provisions) Act, referred to as the ‘reasonable use’ of Tamil.’
Article 2 of the 1978 Constitution,  provided that ‘the Republic of Sri Lanka is a Unitary State’. If the said Article is not deleted it meant that political devolution is not envisaged as it retained the unitary State structure. The words ‘Democratic’ and ‘Socialist’ in the 1978 Constitution were deleted from the name of the country. In the present context of governance in Sri Lanka whether these terms bear any relevance is questionable. Article 76 of the 1978 Constitution provided that the ‘Parliament shall not abdicate or in any manner alienate its legislative power and shall not set up any authority with legislative power’. Article 76 is the main constitutional obstacle to political decentralization: the delegation of limited and subordinate authority to make laws within the limits of a unitary State. The term ‘Union of Regions’ is an adaptation of the term ‘Union of States’ applied in the 1985 TULF Proposals Presented to Rajiv Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India. The term ‘Region’ was first used 39 years ago, in the 1957 Bandaranaike-Chelvanayagam (BC) Pact. The application of the term ‘Union of Regions’ in Article 2.2(a) of the draft proposals implied that there would be a higher level of autonomy for the Regions than was allowed to the Provincial Councils (PCs) under the 1987 13th Amendment to the Constitution. If the present ‘unitary’ nature of the state is converted into a state which is described as ‘united’ due to it becoming a union of regions, this would need consensus among all communities in Sri Lanka. The  January 1996 Draft Provisions amended the country’s name to read ‘Republic of Sri Lanka’ described the republic as an ‘indissoluble Union of Regions’; proposed a reform of the Executive Presidency (Articles 1 and 3(b)); and explained that the ‘Parliament…will legislate on all matters of national importance’, and the ‘Regional Council…will legislate on socio-cultural matters and development issues at a regional/local level’ According to the proposed Article 3(b) in the 1996 draft proposals: ‘the executive power of the People shall be exercised by the President of the Republic acting on the advice of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet of Ministers and the Governors acting on the advice of the respective Chief Ministers and Regional Boards of Ministers to the extent hereinafter provided/’The Presidency envisaged by this provision is not the Executive Presidency that prevails under the present Constitution but rather a Presidency of a ceremonial or titular nature. The President wields the executive power of the people in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet of Ministers and is thus accountable to Parliament. This will remove the excessive power that is presently concentrated in one person holding the position of Executive President.
The January 1996 Draft Provisions specified that the National Flag of the Republic of Sri Lanka shall be the Lion Flag’ (Art 4); and ‘the national anthem of the Republic of Sri Lanka shall be “Sri Lankan Matha”’ (Art 5). No change was envisaged in the said matters  to satisfy the national aspirations of Tamils and Muslims. Article 4 should be suitably altered so as to ensure that the National Flag…would reflect the multi ethnic character of the Republic’; and Article 5 should be amended to accord the same status to the Tamil version of the National Anthem as its original version. It is advisable that a consensus is reached among all communities in Sri Lanka regarding these matters before a new constitutional provision is drafted. By the January 1996 Draft Provisions the subjects of airports, harbours and ports ‘with international transportation’, inter-regional transport and railways, civil aviation, inter-regional highways, shipping and navigation were allocated to the Centre (Reserved List (22),(23),(24),(25), (26)); and allocated the subjects of transport, minor ports and harbours and roads and waterways for the Region (Regional List (10),(11), (12)). The scope of powers under many subjects was unspecified. The RCs were therefore allocated residual subjects which contributed little to their economic autonomy.
The January 1996 Draft Provisions provided that the Governor shall be appointed by the President on the advice of the Chief Minister of the Region’ (Art 10); ‘the executive power of the Region…shall be vested in the Governor acting on the advice of the Chief Minister and the Board of Ministers and shall be exercised by the Board of Ministers either directly or through the Chief Minister and the Ministers of the Board of Ministers or through subordinate officers’ (Art 11); there shall be a Board of Ministers headed by a CM with ‘not more than six other Ministers’ to ‘aid an advice the Governor’ in each Region and the ‘Governor shall, in the exercise of his functions, act in accordance with such advice’ except where he is required to act ‘in his discretion’ under the Constitution (Art 14(1)); ‘the question whether any and, if so, what advice was tendered by a Minister to the Governor shall not be inquired into in any Court’ (Art 14(2)); the Governor shall appoint as CM a member of the RC who ‘in his own judgement and opinion, is best able to command the support of a majority of the members of the Council’. However the Governor is required to appoint as CM the leader of the political party the members of which constituted ‘more than one half of the members elected to the Regional Council’; the Governor shall appoint the other Ministers on the ‘advice’ of the CM (Art 14(3),(4)); the Constitutional Council (presently Parliamentary Council under the 18th Amendment) shall appoint a Regional Public Service Commission consisting of not less than five members ‘in consultation with the Governor’; ‘the Regional Public Service Commission shall provide for and determine all matters relating to the officers of the Regional Public Service’ (Art 21(1),22); ‘the Governor may dissolve the Regional Council’, and Governor is required to act on the ‘advice’ of the CM ..
Other aspects such as legislative, executive and judicial powers, matters pertaining to law and order, land, finance, employment, culture, preservation of fundamental rights including the right to life have to be considered, which is not possible in a short article of the present nature. A Constitutional Council with representatives who are knowledgeable in constitutional law, political science and social aspirations must be appointed drawn from all communities in Sri Lanka which should include women as well to engage in fruitful consultations with all representative groups including all political parties and citizens’ organizations in order to reach a compromise and consensus to arrive at a final set of proposals on the provisions to be contained in the new constitution of Sri Lanka as envisaged in the Mahinda Chinthana. Although this may be a time consuming exercise scrupulous attention must be paid to every detail in order to prevent further mistakes in proposing the new constitution which would bring peace, happiness, racial and religious harmony to all communities in our land.
As usual let me conclude with an amusing anecdote. Taking his seat in his chambers, the judge faced the two lawyers in a high profile murder trial. ”So,” he said ominously. ”You have both tried to bribe me.” The lawyers squirmed uncomfortably. “You, Harding, sent me fifteen thousand dollars. And you, Fanshawe, sent me ten thousand dollars.” The judge reached into his pocket, pulled out a cheque and handed it to Harding. ”Right, I am returning five thousand dollars and from now on, we are going to decide the case solely on its merits.” (Law & Order-The Giant Book of Jokes Maggie Books, London-Ed. Dave Philips pp.164-165)

Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely – Lord Acton (1834-1902) Letter

This column dedicated to the notion of fulfilling the aspirations of Sri Lankan society turns its spotlight on the aspirations of Sri Lankans to be governed by a constitution that is geared towards ensuring a happy existence in Sri Lanka.

Parliament in session… Presidential System has acquired additional powers after the enactment of the Eighteenth Amendment to the 1978 Constitution making the Executive President to gain almost absolute power

A discussion was held on May 31, 2012 at the N. M. Perera Centre in Colombo 8 by the Socialist Study Circle where the political scenario in Sri Lanka after forty years of being a Republic was analysed by Constitutional Expert Dr Jayampathy Wickremaratne PC and V. T. Thamilmaran, Dean of the Faculty of Law of the University of Colombo being the panelists. This article is based on the matters discussed therein incorporating the writer’s views on the subject.
Forty years ago at the auspicious time of 12:34 p.m. at the Navarangahala on May 22, 1972, a new constitution was signed into law, creating the Republic of Sri Lanka. This was the first republican constitution of Sri Lanka and the period 1970-72 during which it was created seems very different from the present considering the vast changes that have taken place in the constitutional history of Sri Lanka since then. It was by this Constitution of 1972 for the first time in the history of the island that the republican form of state was established. Both of Sri Lanka’s two republican constitutions were created in the 1970s as the Second Republican Constitution came into force in 1978 and is the present Constitution of Sri Lanka.
In the Developing World, it was the era of anti-colonialism and nationalism, of non-alignment and nationalisation. Marxism-Leninism was considered at that time seriously as a viable prescription for the political and economic organisation of newly independent states, and revolution as the instrument of social change. In the first forty years the republic faced insurrectionary and secessionist challenges to its mainstream political system.
Since May 18, 2009 the military phase of Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict has been terminated. There has been extensive debate about what is and what ought to be Sri Lanka’s post-war constitutional, political and societal disposition during the past three years. During this period the Executive Presidential System has acquired additional powers after the enactment of the Eighteenth Amendment to the 1978 Constitution making the Executive President to gain almost absolute power, such as which was enjoyed by the monarchs of yore. Lord Acton’s statement given at the outset appears to be true from the experience gained by the Sri Lankans under this system. This absolute power dominates the institutional structure and political culture of the Sri Lankan state. The concepts of sovereignty, democracy, citizenship, pluralism, nationalism, secularism, and the constitutional form that preserves its unity in diversity of the Republic, which gave rise to the need for constitutional change four decades ago, appear to be limited to their names only at the present time.
The idea that Ceylon should become a republic, and sever the constitutional links with the British Crown that had survived the grant of independence as a dominion in 1948, had been gaining ground in Sri Lanka for some time before the 1970 general election. It was a consistent demand of the left wing political parties from 1948, and after the populist-nationalist upheaval of 1956. S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike appointed a Joint Select Committee of Parliament to consider ways of revising the constitution which included the establishment of a republic. The idea of the republic within the Commonwealth established by an elected Constituent Assembly had already been founded by India in 1950. The alliance of the left wing political parties with the SLFP from 1964 onwards, in government (1964-65) and in opposition (1965-70), both emphasized the need for constitutional reform and made the possibility of a democratic mandate for creating a republic a reality.
Due to the analysis of the scope and content of Section 29 of the Soulbury Constitution made by British judges in the Privy Council in several cases of the 1960s, in which it was suggested that the anti-discrimination provision was absolutely un-amendable, even by a two-thirds majority, a legal question arose as to the proper means of constitutional reform.. The Privy Council in London was then the final court of appeal for Ceylon, and as such, the final adjudicator of constitutional questions under the Soulbury constitution.
Section 29 was the main minority protection mechanism of the Soulbury constitution, which constitutionally restricted the Parliament of Ceylon from enacting legislation having the effect of discriminating against any ethnic or religious community. Under section 29, the procedure for constitutional amendment required essentially three components: a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives; a simple majority in the Senate; and a certificate from the Speaker that the requisite two-thirds had been obtained in the passage of the amendment bill.
In the August 1968 House of Representatives debate on the motion to reappoint the Joint Select Committee on the Revision of the Constitution, the two positions on this matter were clearly enunciated by Dr Colvin R. de Silva for the opposition, and by the Minister of State J. R. Jayewardene for the government. Jayewardene’s position was that in spite of the Privy Council’s views, the wording of Section 29 (4) was clear to the effect that any part or all of the constitution was amendable by the Ceylon Parliament, provided the procedural requirement of the two-thirds majority was obtained. Dr de Silva adverted to the same Privy Council cases in making his argument that the Parliament of Ceylon did not have the power to amend certain parts of the constitution, specifically the anti-discrimination provision in Section 29 (2). He stated that while he did not approve of the implications of the Privy Council judgments in terms of Ceylon’s sovereignty and independence, he had no choice but to agree that the Privy Council’s observations to the effect that Section 29 (2) was un-amendable reflected the correct legal position. Therefore it was only through a process that was completely divorced from the fetters of the Soulbury Constitution and of its amendment procedure that the people of Ceylon would be able to exercise their sovereignty in enacting a truly independent republic.
Although the Indian Constituent Assembly served as the inspiration for Ceylonese Constituent Assembly which finally created the 1972 Constitution, the scrupulous attention paid to widest possible representation and rigorously negotiated consensus in India does not appear to have been considered in making the Sri Lankan Constitution.
As Plato said in his celebrated work ‘The Republic’, democracy is the rule of the multitude and does not often result in justice being done as in the execution of his friend and teacher Socrates where it was the majority decision that was taken. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ was the result of the majority demanding the release of a criminal and the execution of a saint. This indicates that the majority decisions may not be right and just.
Speaking of the ruler of a Republic, Plato said that such a ruler must necessarily be a philosopher. A philosopher must combine in his nature good memory, readiness to learn, breadth of vision and grace and be a friend of truth, justice, courage and self control. As such rulers are rare the power given to a ruler should be limited. He further said: ’If you get in public affaires, men whose life is impoverished and destitute of personal satisfaction, but who hope to snatch some compensation for their own inadequacy from a political career, there can never be good government. They start fighting for power, and the consequent internal and domestic conflicts ruin both them and society.’(See Page 264 Plato The Republic Tr. Desmond Lee Penguin Classics1987).
I leave it to the readers to consider the truth of this statement from the present Sri Lankan experience of men in politics. The recent incidents in Kolonnawa, which left one politician dead and the other seriously injured, come to mind. Although the left wing political parties voted for the Eighteenth Amendment which enhanced the powers of the Executive President it was the majority view of the Left that as stated in the Mahinda Chintana the Executive Presidency should be abolished as it concentrates excessive power in one person.
Although the 1972 Constitution prohibited the promulgation of discriminatory legislation it revalidated all existing legislation some of which were discriminatory in nature. The Constitution should have stated that such laws ought to be read subject to the provisions of the Chapter on Fundamental Rights which prohibited such legislation.
Aristotle speaking of the Constitution in his work ’The Politics’ said: ‘We must now discuss the constitution itself and ask ourselves what people, and what kind of people, the state ought to be composed of, if it is going to be blessed and have a well run constitution. The well being of all men depends on two things; one is the right choice of target, of the end to which action should tend, the other lies in finding the actions that lead to that end. These two may just as easily conflict with each other as coincide.’ (Aristotle The Politics Tr. T. A. Sinclair Penguin Classics at page 427).
Aristotle held that the constitution must be geared towards the happiness of the people who are governed by it. Thus the time has now come to either revise the present Constitution or replace it with a new constitution geared towards providing happiness to our people. The excessive power placed in the Executive President has undoubtedly affected the sovereignty of Parliament and has made it a subservient body to the President, which is detrimental to the preservation of good governance and the maintenance of the Rule of Law.
The placement of the Attorney General and the law officers of the State directly under the control of the Executive President was another step in the wrong direction as this affects the independence and the freedom of action of such officers. Let all Sri Lankans hope and pray for the rectification of these errors and that Sri Lanka would soon be blessed with a new constitution acceptable to all races of our land thereby fostering racial harmony and happiness among all the Sri Lankans.
As usual let me conclude with an amusing anecdote. A Sri Lankan politician who had just undergone a very complicated surgery kept complaining that he could feel some sort of bump on his head and that he had a terrible headache. Since the operation had been to his stomach, these were not the type of side effects that the nursing staff had anticipated. Fearing that the politician must be suffering from post operative shock, one of the nurses mentioned the symptoms to the surgeon who had carried out the operation. ”Don’t worry,” said the surgeon, “he really does have a bump on his head as halfway through the operation we ran out of anaesthetic.”

Education makes a people easy to lead, but difficult to drive, easy to govern, but difficult to enslave  -Henry, Basron Brougham1778-1868

This column dedicated to the fulfillment of the aspirations of Sri Lankan society, turns its spotlight on some inadequacies in the Sri Lankan education system as Sri Lankan society would aspire for an efficient education system in Sri Lanka.

Z scores have made life a veritable hell for our children.

The media reported last week that The Supreme Court refused a motion filed by the Higher Education Ministry seeking the appointment of a commission to formulate a new Z score system in respect of selecting students to universities based on the GCE (A- L) examination results.
The Bench comprised Chief Justice Dr Shirani A. Bandaranayake and Justices K. Sri Pavan and Nimal Gamini Ameratunge.
The petition filed by 17 petitioners including the Ceylon Teachers’ Union said the common formula applied to calculate the Z score is irrational, unjustifiable, arbitrary and discriminatory as two entirely different classes of candidates have been treated equally.
Furthermore the first, second and third respondents have failed to apply the statistical method of Z score in a scientifically and mathematically acceptable manner to select students to universities.
The petition will be called again on June 30. Due to this action the students who were to commence their leadership training program had to face a further delay before they could be admitted to the Universities.
It was Crestoper William Wijeyekoon Kannangara or C. W. W. Kananagara, as he was popularly known, a lawyer, politician and the first Minister of Education in the State Council of Ceylon who was instrumental in introducing extensive reforms to the country’s education system that opened up education to children from all levels of society.
As Minister of Education in the State Council, Kannangara introduced extensive reforms to the education system of Sri Lanka throughout the 1940s.
Those reforms benefitted thousands of underprivileged students in rural parts of the country by making education free for all students. He also began a central schools scheme, which established high quality secondary schools in rural areas of the country.
Kannangara’s significant achievements in areas of education have led him to being commonly referred to as the Father of Free Education in Sri Lanka.
In the 1960s the then Senior School Certificate (SSC) Examination was renamed the Ceylon General Certificate of  Education Ordinary Level (Cey. GCE O/L)and the Higher School Certificate (HSC)Examination was renamed the Ceylon General Certificate of  Education Advanced Level (Cey. GCE A/L) and the contents of the syllabuses were revised.
In those days there was no necessity for students sitting for these examinations to seek the help of tutors as the teachers managed to complete the syllabuses assigned to the subjects during normal school hours in their class rooms.
As time passed with the advancement of knowledge especially in the science stream in subjects like Physics, Chemistry, Botany and Zoology the areas usually covered in the Universities were gradually pushed down into the syllabuses at the Advanced Level and the areas formerly covered at the Advanced Level were pushed back in to the Ordinary Level syllabus thereby making the content unwieldy and the class teachers were unable to cover the entire syllabus satisfactorily during normal school hours. As the Examinations became extremely competitive with increasing numbers sitting for these examinations large numbers of tutors were able to find lucrative avenues of income by conducting tuition classes.
The rates were anything from Rs.1,500 to Rs. 500 per hour for home visits. One of the Cabinet Ministers and the Member of Parliament supervising the Ministry of Education are persons who have amassed immense wealth from this practice. They may not wish to change the system that has served them handsomely. The students have no time for recreational activities with the load of material they are required to retain in their memories and these examinations have become a terrible burden on these youngsters. In addition the incompetence and/or negligence of duty by the Ministers in charge and the high officials of the Ministry of Education as evidenced by the recent blunder on the Z scores have made life a veritable hell for our children.
While concentrating on introducing private universities and making profits the Government disregards the urgent need to re-formulate the syllabuses particularly in the science stream making it manageable for the suffering student population of Sri Lanka .
The education system must introduce subject content more oriented towards producing graduates who are employable in various fields such as information technology, computer science and other areas where there is a need for qualified persons rather than producing hordes of graduates who have no demand in the job market.
These frustrated disgruntled unemployed graduates are easily used by the disruptive elements who wish to destabilize the state. The leadership programme further helps such elements as such graduates who pass out of universities have obtained a preliminary military training as well.
It is time that honurable respectable efficient statesmen of the calibre of that great selfless gentleman C. W. W. Kananagara are appointed as Cabinet Ministers in charge of education who are not interested in making profits for themselves to serve the student population of our land. But alas do such gentlemen exist today? It is to be noted that our universities such as the University of Colombo are maintaining high standards of education as it has been ranked the 8th best among the Universities in the World.
There was an article on peer group based self learning concept published in the Daily News of 29th May 2012 written by the Additional Director of the Technical College, Galle which introduced a new concept in self learning techniques which appear to be very useful to the student population of our land which if properly practiced would give rise to the reduction of the necessity to obtain tuition which has become a burden on the purses of the wage earning parents. As usual let me conclude with an amusing anecdote. Two young men who had just graduated from a university climbed into a taxi wearing their graduation gowns. “Are you graduates from the city university?” asked the driver.
”Yes,” they announced proudly ”Class of 2012”. The taxi driver extended his hand “Class of ’69.”

If the Doctor cures, the sun sees it, but if he kills the earth hides it.

This column, dedicated to the notion of fulfilling the aspirations of Sri Lankan society, turns its spotlight on the deteriorating health services in Sri Lanka as Sri Lankan society would aspire for an efficient health service in Sri Lanka.

Local governments and municipal councils are directly responsible for many of the largest mosquito breeding areas.

The media reported last week that the Colombo District Court issued an enjoining order preventing the Government Medical Officers’ Association from launching a strike action, over transport allowances.
The enjoining order was issued by Honourable Dammika Ganepala, District Judge of Colombo after considering a petition filed by a patient admitted at the Colombo National Hospital, naming the GMOA as respondents. The petitioner had requested that the enjoining order be issued, citing that the lives of patients were in danger due to not receiving proper treatment as a result of the strike action launched by doctors. The people look up to the medical profession as a noble profession which safeguards the health of the Nation.
Those who choose to serve in the medical profession must place the interests of the patients before their personal interests as they are dealing with invaluable human lives.
This does not mean that the government can ignore the legitimate payments due to the medical practitioners. If the government neglects its duties, the doctors can resort to legal action to redress their grievances without holding the helpless patients to ransom.
In Sri Lanka free education is available for a person to qualify as a medical practitioner or to engage in other professions.
Media reported that an island-wide outbreak of dengue fever in Sri Lanka in recent months has underlined the steady deterioration of public health care and preventative measures to contain the disease.
Across the island, public hospitals are overcrowded with patients suffering from dengue and other viral fevers.
Dengue fever is a debilitating mosquito-borne disease that is potentially fatal, particularly to young children and the elderly. It was first reported in Sri Lanka in 1965 but has become a regular epidemic since 1989.
The peak incidence of the disease generally comes after the monsoon season, when the density of the two mosquito carrier species – Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus – is especially high.
Government and health ministry officials try to paint a picture of the dengue epidemics as an unpreventable natural disaster. But the real reasons for the spread of the disease lie in poor sanitation, ineffective government preventative measures and financial cutbacks to public health services.
‘Dengue control’ has become an annual piece of theatre aimed more at appeasing widespread concern about the disease than dealing with the underlying causes.  Special task forces and committees are set up to ‘curb’ the outbreak but each year since 1989 the number of dengue cases has risen.
Like previous governments, the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) tries to blame ordinary people for not eradicating mosquito breeding sites.
The Colombo municipal council has already filed legal action against nearly 200 housing units and institutions after issuing some 1,800 warning letters.
But local governments and municipal councils are directly responsible for many of the largest mosquito breeding areas.
There have been frequent protests against the creation of large uncovered garbage dumps near residential areas and the failure to clean stagnant canals, sewerage sites and other pits and potholes filled with polluted water.
Environment Minister A. H. M. Fouzie was recently forced to visit a garbage dump in the Colombo suburb Dehiwala after protests by local residents.
Unplanned urban development has created a large number of mosquito breeding sites. The high mosquito population is responsible for spreading not only dengue but other diseases like malaria, filaria and Japanese encephalitis.
According to Dr Amal Harsha De Silva, Sri Lankans burn on average three large containers of mosquito coils a month to try to ward off mosquito bites.
Health care has also been subject to cutbacks and privatisation. As private health operators have no interest in preventing diseases, the budget for such activities has declined sharply.
Government expenditure on health services has fallen from 2.3 percent of the gross national product in 1989 to 1.4 percent in 2003. Of that only 15.3 percent is allocated to community health services, including disease prevention.
The resultant dengue outbreaks place severe strains on public hospitals, with wards filled to overflowing with patients. Patients have to share beds with one or two others while scores of patients lie on the floor.
Even relatively simple things, such as providing a mosquito net for patients and staff at government hospitals, are not done.
In addition, government hospitals lack sufficient blood testing facilities to determine whether patients have dengue fever.
As a result, patients are forced to turn to private laboratories.
The country’s leading private laboratory service, Asiri, does more than 1,000 Full Blood Count (FBC) tests and at least 100 dengue serology tests a day.
None of the government hospitals have the facilities to carry out dengue serology tests – the only means of definitely confirming the disease. Many patients simply cannot afford the cost.
For dengue patients in a critical condition, matters are even worse.  They should be treated in Intensive Care Units but such facilities are in limited supply.
Only a few government hospitals have such units and, even where they exist, spare beds are rare. Moreover, the blood transfusion and platelet transfusion services sometimes needed for critically-ill dengue patients are not available in most of hospitals.
Despite the deterioration of public health services and preventative programs, it appears that the government has no intention of making any improvements.
As usual let me conclude with an amusing anecdote.
Two old ladies met in the street. After inquiring about each others health, the topic of conversation turned to their respective husbands.
“Oh” said one; ”Nimal died last week. He went out to the garden to dig up a manioc for dinner, but had a heart attack and dropped dead in the middle of the vegetable patch.
“Oh my” said the other, ”What did you do?”  “I opened a can of salmon instead”.

All effort and exertion put forth by man from the fullness of his heart is worship, if it is prompted by the highest motives and the will to do service to humanity. This is worship to serve mankind and to minister to the needs of the people. Service is prayer. – -Abdu’l –Baha 1844-1921-Service

This column dedicated to the notion of fulfilling the aspirations of Sri Lankan society turns its spotlight today on the differently able segment of our society and the social responsibility on the need to provide accessibility to public places for such persons, who are our brothers and sisters..
Dr. Ajith C. S. Perera in an article published on page 9 of the Daily News of 8th May 2012 stresses the need to implement the Supreme Court order issued on 27th April 2011 on accessibility to the differently able persons in Sri Lanka. More than 25% of our people i.e around five million Sri Lankans have had their abilities restricted due to a multitude of reasons. Among them are persons born with disabilities, soldiers who have lost their limbs or suffered other disabilities during the ethnic conflict, persons who have disabilities caused by accidents either by motoring mishaps or other forms of domestic accidents, or due to collapse of buildings, natural disaster such as tsunami or earth-slips or lightning. Recently a female medical student who underwent an accident due to a tent pole falling on her impairing her ability to walk passed out as a doctor. She received the kindness of the people of our land.
Dr. Perea himself suffered disability due to a motor car accident and had to be confined to a wheel chair since that fateful day. He has been a crusader for the right to accessibility for the differently able and due to his unstinted efforts supported by many well wishers the Supreme Court order above referred to has been obtained. The Order SCFR 221/2009 sets out several measures to be adopted in the design and construction of all parts of new public buildings and facilities so as to establish a society that values difference and respects the equality of all human beings thereby enabling everyone.
Failure to provide such access to buildings and facilities is a violation of the said Supreme Court order as such failure disregards the established national standards in building construction (SLS/ISO/TR/9527/2006) and legislation foe designing parts of buildings as provided in Accessibility Regulation gazetted on October 2006 with unanimous parliamentary approval on 20th March 2007.
The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka has invited all persons to notify the Commission of any violations of the Supreme Court order referred to above with regard to public buildings designed and constructed after 27th April 2011.in order to take necessary action for violation of the human rights of differently able people. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities states: “To enable persons with disabilities to live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life, States Parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure to persons with disabilities access, on an equal basis with others, to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communications…” Section 2(b) of Article 9 of the Convention says, “To ensure that private entities that offer facilities and services which are open or provided to the public take into account all aspects of accessibility for persons with disabilities.”.
The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 of India in Section 46 states: “The appropriate Governments and the local authorities shall, within the limits of their economic capacity and development, provide for – (a) ramps in public buildings; (b) Braille symbols and auditory signals in elevators or lifts; (c) ramps in hospitals, primary health centres and other medical care and rehabilitation institutions.” It is time that similar legislation is enacted in Sri Lanka.
Safe access to ATM machines, lifts, Supermarket Buildings, toilet facilities in buildings both public and private, in order that a wheel chair may be taken in by the rider himself without assistance are some areas that need attention. In toilets the entry is so narrow that a wheelchair cannot be taken in and if at all a person can take the wheelchair inside, there is hardly any space to manoeuvre as the doors come in the way. Ramps wide enough to take in a wheel chair need to be constructed at the entrances to hospitals, hotels, supermarkets, restaurants, Post Offices  and other public or private buildings. The cost of providing such facilities is not excessive and their provision would improve the income of the private enterprises and the services of the public institutions. Sri Lankan society bears an unquestioned responsibility to provide such access not only to Sri Lankans but to all differently able people.
Sri Lankans are renowned for their hospitality and it should be borne in mind that disability is only a few seconds away for anyone traveling in a motor vehicle or attending to their daily chores even at home.
As quoted at the outset of this piece as that great spiritual teacher Abdu’l Baha stated ‘This is worship to serve mankind and to minister to the needs of the people: ‘Let all Sri Lankans engaged in public service or controlling private enterprises note these words and strive to provide accessibility to our differently able brothers and sisters.
As usual let me conclude with an amusing anecdote. An old man boasted about his fitness to a group of youngsters. ”Every morning” he said “I do fifty push ups, fifty sit ups and walk two miles. I’m as fit as a fiddle! And you want to know why? I don’t smoke, I don’t drink and I don’t chase after women. And tomorrow I’m going to celebrate my ninety seventh birthday.””Oh really” said one of the youngsters, “How?”

This column no more dedicated to the notion of making Sri Lanka the Wonder of Asia as it appears to be a mere slogan propounded by an indifferent regime to the suffering of the masses turns its spotlight on the ever escalating cost of living while the politicians appear to be wallowing in luxury as Sri Lankan society would aspire to be free from abject poverty.

It has come to a point where one must “Cry Over Spilt Milk!”

The media reported last week that price of bread had risen by Rs. 3 a loaf but some bakers were selling bread at a even high increase in price of Rs. 5 per loaf, a bag of cement went up by Rs. 70, a cylinder of LP Gas went up by Rs. 350, 1kg pack of imported milk powder by Rs. 163 to sell at Rs.810 and a 400g pack by Rs. 61 to sell at Rs. 325. The electricity rates went up by 20%. Price of petrol and diesel were increased earlier. All these increase will have to be borne by the impoverished consumers in Sri Lanka. At the inception of the French Revolution, the French people marched to the Royal Palace and demanded bread as the prices had been increased by the Regime. The Queen Marie Antoinette was astonished at the people demanding bread and she asked the people why they demand bread when there are plenty of cakes available in the market. The Queen living in the Palace where everything was plentiful like some of our Cabinet Ministers who profess to be expert economists did not realize that cakes are even more expensive than bread and the impoverished people were even unable to afford the price of a loaf of bread. For this ignorance she paid the price on the guillotine during the French Revolution. As stated at the outset of this piece nothing is stronger than dire necessity.
When people observe the wasteful expenditure of the regime and the colossal sums spent on dinners, banquets and opening ceremonies of various projects undertaken by the regime and the people are required to switch off their lights to save electricity when street lamps are burning during daytime unnoticed by the relevant authorities and the people are asked to bear an addition 20% on their electricity bills hatred towards the regime would undoubtedly build up. On top of all this the Banks have jacked up the interest rates on credit card payments from 24% to 28% while the Banks only pay 11-12% on fixed deposits, which is more than double what the Banks pay. The Governor of the Central Bank; while flying around the Globe with public funds, turns a blind eye to the suffering of the masses. Monthly wage earners depend heavily on credit cards for their daily purchases.
Using the draconian law Recovery of Loans by Banks(Special Provisions)Act the Banks go on increasing interest rates at will and use the provision on parate execution by passing resolutions to auction properties which are scantly advertised and then grab private  properties at their whim and fancy. Sri Lanka has arrived at a very pathetic state to say the least. Although the Government has undertaken many projects to improve the economy one wonders whether such projects have been carefully planned. For instance although the Government gives the farmer manure at a subsidised rate has the Government provided adequate storage facilities to store the increased harvest and to export the surplus before the paddy  becomes unsuitable for consumption? It was reported that large stocks of paddy were rotting in the stores due to lack of proper storage facilities. It is the function of the Government to properly plan for the anticipated increase in production. The Government introduced the crate system for storage of vegetable but have they ensured a proper distribution system to distribute the vegetable to the entire island. Recently it was reported in the media that tons and tons of vegetables were spoilt and had to be buried as they had become unsuitable for consumption. What a colossal waste of money and human effort?
Then it was reported last week that in Hatton thousands of litres of milk were poured on the highway as the Government had not taken adequate measures to purchase this milk and preserve it in cold storage. These mishaps indicate the incompetence and inadequacy of the Cabinet Ministers and the Authorities functioning under them who are directly responsible for these tasks. If the Regime fails to correct these errors and lets these politicians off the hook without being called upon to answer for this colossal waste the Government will soon fall into utter disrepute with the people of this land. Some of these politicians appear on television and propound economic theories that a person in Sri Lanka can live on Rs. 2,500 a month. If this were correct, the Government should reduce the Cabinet Minister’s salary accordingly in the public interest and pass on the benefits to the people. Paying lip service and trying to misguide and fool the people of this country will not hold water for a long period of time. There is a saying that one can fool some people for some time but not all the people for all time. The day of reckoning is drawing near as people would undoubtedly loose their patience with the regime if this pattern continues to prevail unabated. The few politicians who love this country more than themselves should take immediate action to avert the present downward trend. As Sir Ivor Jenning said ‘A politician is a selfish person who is only interested in devising ways and means to remain in power whereas a Statesman is a selfless person who places the interests of his country before his own personal interests’. I ask my fellow Sri Lankans whether they see a statesman in Sri Lanka today. Alas what is happening to our beloved motherland where the rule of law lies buried and the economy is going asunder with the escalating cost of living  making Sri Lanka a beleaguered Nation.
Let me conclude as usual with an amusing anecdote to turn away my dear readers from the bleak picture I have painted above.
A wealthy local politician was throwing a lavish garden party attended by the cream of local society. While dignitaries and minor celebrities like provincial councilors enjoyed themselves, two gardeners were busy weeding a flower bed behind a low hedge. As the guests watched, one gardener suddenly leaped high and did the splits in mid air. Impressed by the spring in his heels and his obvious athleticism, the guest remarked to the host: That man is such a talented dancer. I will pay him Thousand Rupees to dance at my next party. When the host mentioned the offer to the other gardener he called over to his colleague: ’Oy Bandula do you think for Thousand Rupees you could step on that rake again?”