Opinion
Rectifying history or wreaking vengeance?
An exclusive Sinhala language BREAKINGNEWS episode on a suspicious, so-called ‘truth connect tv’ youtube video (uploaded September 22, 2025) announces that “the United Nations Organization recommends the appointment of a Truth Commission to re-establish the Sihela identity”. I remember seeing almost the same video with slightly different lay persons speaking in it, uploaded about a year ago. That’s why it struck me as suspicious. The new uploading has been done to coincide with the current Geneva sessions. The same scene of a long drawn psyop drama aimed at the cultural genocide of the majority community might be re-enacted next year too, as it has been done over the past four or five years. It is obvious that this special piece of news is meant only for Sinhala speakers (the targeted potential dupes). Here, for the benefit of my readers I wish to translate verbatim the newscaster’s introductory sentence or two, including the one given above within quote marks. He continued:
“At the 60th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council held today (September 22), Kleppe Ariyamagga Himi, the founder of the Ariyakammattana organization and the convenor of ‘Sri Lanka’s indigenous Nikaya the Sihela Sri Sambuddha Maha Nikaya’, made a historic speech”. (Actually, it is a statement that he read out in an almost empty chamber in that place. It is accessible at the link provided with the video. But the ‘speech’, the statement really, is only in English, so designedly beyond the reach of monolingual Sinhala listeners/readers (on whose behalf Ariyamagga, widely suspected to be a Sinhala fluent ethnic Tamil, is pretending to be engaged in his historic mission. The so-called ‘Sri Lanka’s indigenous Nikaya’ is a baseless new invention that challenges the authority of the three established monastic chapters {or the Siyam, and the now combined Ramanna and Amarapura Nikayas} created under royal patronage by monks brought from Thailand and Myanmar respectively in the 18th and 19th centuries. More about bhikkhu imposter Ariyamagga’s ‘historic speech’ below.) .
Rough translation
The uploaders or their supporters seem to have blocked a Google translation of the thumbnail description of this video given only in Sinhala, which means that interested Tamil or English speakers, if any, are prevented from understanding what it says. So, I made my own rough translation of that sketch summary for the benefit of my readers here:
“The world’s oldest indigenous nation known as Sihela composed of the three main tribes Yakkha, Deva, and Na (ga) have been robbed of their authentic national identity heritage. This has resulted from an act of deliberate cartographical disinformation about the geographical location of the Buddha’s birthplace by falsely marking on the map of northern India the common holy land named Dambadiva or Jambudipa which, until 1836, remained a part of the island which is known today as Sri Lanka.”
The Sinhala phrase that I have translated verbatim as ‘the world’s oldest indigenous nation known as Sihela,’ with its comically extravagant false claim, makes fun of the Sinhalese people’s sense of ethnic identity. .
The video shows three yellow-robed persons including Ariyamagga and a layman accompanying them entering a building. Ariyamagga’s petition is a four page document, a written statement, submitted by a certain ‘African Green Foundation International’, described as ‘a non-governmental organisation in special consultative status’. It is specifically stated that the statement is issued (by the UNHRC) ‘as received in the language of submission only’, which is English. The title is:
‘Erasure of Ethnic Identity and Sacred Geography: A Call for a Truth Commission led by the United Nations Human Rights Council’
The petitioners call upon the UNHRC to
‘ 1. Establish an independent Truth Commission to investigate the erasure of Sīhela ethnic identity and the falsification of Dambadiva/Jambudīpa.
2. Recognise the inter-religious impact of colonial distortions and promote healing through restorative justice and intercultural dialogue.
3. Urge global solidarity to support a UN resolution rectifying this colonial-era violation.
4. Restore the Sīhela People’s Indigenous title and rights under UNDRIP’.
‘Urgent call’
The statement concludes: “This is more than a historical grievance—it is an urgent call to reclaim the true ethnic identity of the Sīhela Peoples and to restore the spiritual integrity of all communities affected by colonial falsification. It is a demand for the right to practice religion in its authentic, undistorted form. Rectifying these distortions is essential not only for the survival of the Sīhela Peoples but also for millions of Buddhists, Hindus, Jains, and Muslims across South Asia who lost access to their true sacred heritage”.
It looks like nothing more than the following happened at the UN in connection with Ariyamagga’s historic mission, in addition to his reading out the ‘statement’ to a hardly identifiable audience apart from the four individuals of the bogus Sihela delegation, staged on September 22:
“Written statement submitted by African Green Foundation International, a non-governmental organisation in special consultative status* The Secretary-General has received the following written statement which is circulated in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31. * Issued as received, in the language of submission only. [31 July 2025]”
So, the Secretary General has barely acknowledged receipt of the written statement. The UN has made no recommendation in response to the petition as claimed by the newsflash.
The ‘truth connect tv’ video’s ‘historic newsflash’ about the UN recommending the appointment of a truth commission to ‘re-establish Sihela identity’ is clearly fake news. The newsreader they have employed (for a fee, no doubt) is a professional, whose professional reputation cannot be at stake, since he is catering to a dumb audience. It’s a very familiar voice for me, but I can’t remember the name of the person (a TV news presenter I usually hear from Sri Lanka) that it belongs to.
I remember having viewed a similar video with a different, but related theme, nearly three years ago involving the same fake monk Ariyamagga. This was aYoutube video (uploaded December 27, 2022) with the alarmist caption (in Sinhala), which can be rendered into English as “Let’s learn about the enormity of the injustice perpetrated on (Sri) Lanka the birthplace of the Buddha” that captured my attention four or five days later (to be precise, on January 1, 2023). It was both because of the sensationalism of the title and its connection with a popular youtuber who presented its content as an important newsflash issued from a so-called ‘We Rectify Our History’ organization (presumably based in the UK). Five days after uploading, the video had got about 8,500 views, and only 301 subscribers. Though the veteran youtuber announced it as a newsflash under ‘Breaking News’, the maker of the video was someone else who chose to obscure their identity.
Controversial new hypothesis
While watching the video, though, I felt that the professional newscaster himself made this video in the manner of a strong believer in the controversial new hypothesis that the Buddha was born in Sri Lanka. I thought ‘could a person like the particular YouTuber (I prefer not to reveal his name for the time being) agree to provide his professional expertise for the propagation of an egregious lie that is harmful to the country?’ In terms of my experience, the YouTuber in question was far too rational, educated, cultured and knowledgeable to embrace such a harebrained ideology. I believed that he was too honest to prostitute his journalism for mercenary ends.
Lucidity, idiomaticity, and precision of expression characterise this person’s Sinhala. Such linguistic elegance is not common among ordinary Sinhala language Youtubers. His professionalism and sophistication as a journalist are hard to match. However, the emphatically positive tone of voice that he adopted right through to the end of the presentation could not be due to any real personal commitment to the authenticity of the ‘Buddha was born in Sri Lanka’ concept. Instead, I tried to rationalise to myself, out of my personal regard for that person, that, by lending his voice to this video, he might have been helping out a struggling new YouTuber, through his own established fame. That’s what I thought at the time. Yet, he seemed to be overdoing his generosity because, his apparent espousal of that extremely anti-national heresy, might only have provided some justification for the insidious process of cultural genocide that was being carried out, unknown to most ordinary Sri Lankans of diverse ethnicities, against the country’s innocent Sinhala Buddhist majority, something that had been already going on for decades even by then.
‘Legal action’
According to that ‘Breaking news’ announcement a certain ‘Ariya Kammattahna Sanvidhanaya/Ariya Kammattahna Organization’ led by a so-called Sri Lankan Buddhist monk by the name of Kleppe Ariyamagga (Ariyamagga of the municipality of Klep in Norway) was going to sue the British government. He had taken steps to institute legal action against the government officials who served during British colonial times. He charged that Britain had distorted historical information relating to the subcontinent of India and that his fundamental rights were being violated by officials serving today in their place by intentionally failing to rectify those distortions. ……. “The case names the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the State Secretary for Digital, Culture, Media and Sports, Secretary of State for Tourism Zones and National Heritage, and the Secretary of State for Education as respondents……the court action will go ahead as the violations are continuing …” (This is from the opening of the spoken text of the video as roughly translated by me from Sinhala as other relevant parts of the same spoken script found in the rest of this essay; details such as names of ministries may not exactly tally with the real ones. – RRW)
‘We Rectify Our History’
The ‘We Rectify Our History’ organisation argues that Britain has violated provisions of various legal statutes that it cites such as Britain’s 1998 Human Rights Act, the 1988 Copyrights, Designs, and Patents Act, and the 1907 Hague Convention. It demands that at least certified photocopies of the ancient ola leaf books stashed away in British libraries and museums be made available (to it on behalf of Sri Lankans) free of charge without reserving copyrights and that steps be taken to provide funds for new archaeological excavations needed to correct those (deliberately introduced) errors in our country’s history.
The plaintiff organisation pleaded (on the earlier occasion in 2022) that (the British government) acknowledge that the school education system established under the colonial administration disseminated false information for public consumption without any foundation in Sri Lankans’ (collective) national and religious identity, and also that (the British government) tender an apology to the general public of the world for the crimes committed.
The truth is quite contrary to what Ariyamagga is asserting on both occasions. In Sri Lanka’s ancient chronicles, Buddhist literature and even in colloquial parlance in Buddhist religious contexts today the name Jambudipa (Pali) or Dambadiva (Sinhala) refers to the subcontinent of India. But according to the ‘Buddha was born in Sri Lanka’ theorists, Jambudeepa was in the northern part of Sri Lanka, and Lankadipa was in the south-east corner of the island, with the ancient capital Anuradhapura located there! But they keep changing the map to suit their shifting responses to criticisms from time to time.
A central complaint made in the aforementioned (false) pleas for justice is that the true location of the Jambudipa where the founder of Theravada Buddhism, Gotama Samana (as they call him), was born and lived, and the locations of its cities and Buddhist holy sites were conspiratorially concealed from the world and that these venues were substituted by those in India by deliberately altering the maps of Sri Lanka and India. This is alleged to have misled the Theravada Buddhist adherents and deprived them of their right to know the truth about their spiritual master. By ‘Theravada Buddhists’ the petitioner ‘We Rectify Our History’ organisation means Sinhalese Buddhists. What does it aim to achieve for the Sinhalese Buddhists by exiling Buddha Gotama to a remote corner of the small island? The ludicrous complaint of the ‘We Rectify Our History’ organization lets the cat out of the bag.
The ‘Buddha was born in Sri Lanka’ idea is obviously a piece of fiction carefully thought up by some evil minded individual or a group of individuals to confuse the credulous unsophisticated, grievously ill informed (embarrassingly large) section of the Sinhalese Buddhist community about their religion as well as their history. Those who stand to gain by this may be having a field day at present. They must be laughing their heads off in private at the silliness of those Sinhalese Buddhists who have swallowed this and other similar fabrications such as the Ravana myth hook, line, and sinker.
To be continued
Opinion
Is Sri Lanka on the wrong side of history?
To say that the developing new world order is history in the making may not be an exaggeration, because the economic, military and hegemonic landscape of the world may be undergoing radical realignment in these troubled times. Multipolarity and the emergence of the Global South’s economic and political clout may be the defining features of the new world order. There may be several evidential happenings around the world that give credence to the above observation. For instance, at the 61st Munich Security Conference, held in 2025, multipolarity was accepted as a historical inevitability and a reality. The Munich Security Report 2025, themed “Multi-polarization,” explicitly states that the world already lives in a multipolar order. The Munich Security Council, traditionally dominated by Europe and the US, saw 30 percent of its speakers, this time, representing the Global South, a testament to the world’s multipolar trajectory
The Munich Security Report 2025 highlights that BRICS nations contribute to approximately 40 percent of global trade, as well as crude oil production and exports. Further, according to the International Monetary Fund, the GDP of emerging markets and developing economies accounted for 58.9 percent of the global economy in 2023.
Countries in the Global South are asserting greater independence in global affairs. They have actively promoted greater democracy in international relations through platforms such as BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, injecting vital momentum into the world multi polarisation process.
Another clear indicator of this reality is the way the US failed to impose its will in the affairs of the Middle East. Significantly, it could not achieve its objectives in the war against Iran and, furthermore, its European allies refused to join, saying that it was not their war. The fact that the war, which the US and Israel expected to be a quick “strike and take over,” has ended up in a stalemate, with Iran holding all the cards, according to Prof Jeffrey Sachs, points to the changing balance of power in the world. Obviously, Iran was able to enhance its military capability due to the significant development of the multiple military power blocs.
In this regard it is interesting to see that most of the countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, which have suffered due to western hegemony and economic exploitation, tariffs and sanctions and dollar weaponisation, are beginning to make moves towards realigning their relationship with world powers. Several African nations, Egypt, Ethiopia, Algeria, Kenya, Tanzania, are actively realigning toward the Global South, shifting away from Western-aligned partnerships to pursue multipolarity, resource sovereignty, and new economic ties with powers like China, Russia, and India.
In Asia, too, the trend is apparent; Malaysia has adopted an explicit Global South policy, focusing on outreach to the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America, as well as deepening ASEAN institutional ties. Indonesia focuses on inclusive multilateralism and critical balancing in global governance, ensuring the developing world’s economic needs are prioritised. Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates joined BRICS in 2023, reflecting a strategic shift to diversify their diplomatic and economic alliances away from purely Western orbits. There are several other countries that are emerging as economically independent and diplomatically articulative states, like Nigeria, Turkiye, and Mexico.
What is the position of Sri Lanka in this rapidly changing world order? Are we going to be left behind? Why aren’t there any signs that Sri Lanka is projecting itself as a willing partner of this journey in the South? Why isn’t it attempting to break away from the neo-liberal grip that keeps it in poverty and turn to the South? Are there any tangible economic, political or geopolitically strategic projections, reaching out to the Global South, that Sri Lanka has launched, at present, like so many other countries are doing? Even when opportunities knock on its door, Sri Lanka doesn’t seem to be interested. A case in point is the BRICS meeting in 2024, held in Russia. Though Sri Lanka was invited, none of its state leaders attended the meeting, resulting in the loss of an opportunity to establish vital economic, political and cultural links and bonds with Global South countries.
What is restraining Sri Lanka? Is it its present economic vulnerabilities and dependence on the West? It is the Global North that controls the Sri Lankan economy at present. We are tied to the IMF and controlled by their conditions and the IMF is under the thumb of the West. Further 60 percent of our exports go to the Global North. It seems likely that our export oriented, debt-burdened economy cannot afford to turn towards the Global South because of our utter dependence on the West. We saw that there was no hesitation to slap tariffs on us though we show the least tendency to disobey. One could imagine what could happen if we turn southwards, even a little bit. This is the reason why Sri Lanka would dare not change direction the slightest.
Countries that turn southwards do so to escape from the hegemony, exploitation and coercive power of the West. Isn’t there a way out for Sri Lanka to get out of this vicious global economic system and become economically independent? We were bankrupt in 2022 and people rose up against the system and wanted a change. The present government rode that tide and came to power promising a change. But there was no change and not even an attempt to change. What needed a change was the economy in the main, which would be meaningless unless a break from the fetters of neo-liberalism was the aim. What did not change was exactly that, though there were attempts to change other less vital areas, such as going after the corrupt in the Opposition.
It must be said that the government had an excellent opportunity to correct decades long mistakes. The people were asking for a change which means they were prepared to participate and support the government if it wanted to go for that change. An attempt should have been made to gradually change the export-import-debt based economy and lessen the dependence on the Global North and its economic system. A turn towards the Global South would have facilitated the desired change. The government was left-oriented, or so they said. But it appeared to be helpless to break away from the neo-liberal shackles, leave alone negotiating a better deal with the IMF.
True, we are not strong enough to go for such radical change but we could have made ourselves strong by achieving self-sufficiency, the only way to become economically independent. Such a move, no doubt, would initially result in hardship for the people, but eventually the country would come out of its poverty. Now they are condemned to eternal privation.
The government’s plan, if it wanted to go for the change, they promised, should have been to first launch a comprehensive programme to achieve self-sufficiency in our essential needs like food, cloth, medicine and green energy. The other critical move that Sri Lanka should have made was to join the Global South in its march towards a new world order. Such a strategy would have helped us to achieve a stronger and independent economy.
An important outcome of adopting such a policy would be that our economy would not be vulnerable to external shocks such as tariffs, drop in tourism, turmoil in the Middle East that disrupts fuel supply and migrant-remittances, and external trade vagaries. Further, when we are not dependent on our essentials, nobody would be able to dictate to us or interfere in our internal affairs.
Another important factor in Sri Lanka’s favour is its strategic position in the Indian Ocean and the fact that due to this everybody needs it. India would like to have a firm grip on it, so does the US. China has invested heavily in it due to this reason. However, Sri Lanka, at present, is not strong enough to leverage this geographical strategic situation to its advantage because of its highly dependent and vulnerable status. As a consequence of this strategic situation could be exploited by powerful countries as is now happening.
What Sri Lanka could do in this regard is to develop its airports and harbours as a transit trade hub by leveraging its strategic geographical position in the Indian Ocean to serve as a central stopping point where cargo, vehicles, and raw materials are consolidated, temporarily stored, or re-exported, primarily connecting East Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Indian subcontinent. This would facilitate trade among the Global South countries and enhance Sri Lanka’s role and image in the new world order. At present Sri Lanka’s true potential in this business has not been realised due to its vulnerabilities, but if it chooses to take the path outlined above it could succeed. For this to happen Global South assistance is vital. There is no choice for Sri Lanka but to grab this moment of history and join the journey towards the new world order before we are left behind.
by N. A. de S. Amaratunga
Opinion
Why SL must embrace EVIL DONE Framework for 21st Century terrorism Prevention
Adapting Opportunity-Reduction Strategies:
In the annals of Sri Lanka’s turbulent security history, from the brutal LTTE insurgency that claimed tens of thousands of lives to the devastating 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, one pattern persists with frustrating regularity: successive governments wield draconian tools like the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), ICCPR provisions, and Emergency Regulations with zeal while in power, only to decry them as authoritarian when in opposition. This selective amnesia reflects not strategic depth but political expediency. Amid evolving hybrid threats from lingering Tamil diaspora networks and ethnic hate speech to drug trafficking and cyber vulnerabilities, Sri Lanka urgently needs principled, proactive tools that transcend partisan cycles.
The EVIL DONE framework, developed by criminologists Ronald V. Clarke and Graeme R. Newman in their seminal 2006 work Outsmarting the Terrorists, offers precisely such an instrument. Rooted in Situational Crime Prevention (SCP) and Rational Choice Theory (RCT), it shifts the focus from reactive force to intelligent opportunity reduction. Adapting it could fortify our national resilience while upholding human rights and interfaith harmony.
At its core, EVIL DONE is a pragmatic diagnostic tool for assessing why terrorists select specific targets. It posits that attackers, like other rational actors, weigh costs, benefits, risks, and rewards. The acronym evaluates target attractiveness across eight criteria, typically scored from 0 to 5 (higher scores signalling greater vulnerability): Exposed (highly visible or accessible sites), Vital (critical infrastructure like power plants or ports), Iconic (symbolically potent locations such as religious shrines or monuments), Legitimate (targets framed as ideologically justified), Destructible (easily damaged with available means), Occupied (crowded venues maximising casualties and media impact), Near (proximate to attacker networks), and Easy (lacking robust guardianship or surveillance).
This framework draws directly from the broader principles of Situational Crime Prevention (SCP), pioneered by Ronald V. Clarke, which manipulates immediate environmental factors to make crimes harder to commit, riskier, less rewarding, less provocative, or less excusable. SCP organises 25 practical techniques into five categories: increasing effort (e.g., target hardening and access controls), increasing risks (e.g., enhanced surveillance and guardianship), reducing rewards (e.g., concealing targets and denying benefits), reducing provocations (e.g., managing frustrations and neutralising peer pressure), and removing excuses (e.g., setting clear rules and alerting conscience). In the context of terrorism prevention, these techniques operationalise EVIL DONE by informing risk registers, layered defences, and multi-agency strategies. As featured in programmes like the Institute of Strategic Risk Management’s (ISRM) Level 5 Award in Terrorism Prevention and Management, SCP fosters integrated, whole-of-society approaches that complement Sri Lanka’s intelligence-led policing and major event security expertise proving far more sustainable than episodic reliance on emergency powers.
Sri Lanka’s past provides compelling case studies. During the LTTE era, attackers masterfully exploited Iconic, Legitimate, and Vital targets, the Dalada Maligawa bombing, political assassinations, and economic infrastructure strikes. The group’s calculated campaigns demonstrated bounded rationality: timing assaults for maximum propaganda value while minimising immediate risks. Post-2009, the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage starkly illustrated Easy + Occupied + Iconic vulnerabilities. Coordinated suicide bombings on churches and luxury hotels during peak hours exploited soft targets, intelligence gaps, and communal tensions, resulting in over 270 deaths. Major international events, such as CHOGM 2013 and cricket World Cups, where robust coordination proved effective, further underscore the value of layered defences informed by opportunity reduction.
Yet today’s threats extend far beyond conventional terrorism, demanding an expanded application of EVIL DONE. The Tamil diaspora, particularly segments in Canada, the UK, Europe, and Australia, presents a complex transnational dimension. While much diaspora activity centres on legitimate advocacy for accountability and reconciliation, residual networks have historically facilitated financing, propaganda, and logistics.
In EVIL DONE terms, these amplify Near, Easy, and Iconic risks through digital coordination and grievance narratives. Proactive strategies balanced intelligence sharing, diaspora outreach, and counter-narratives could reduce opportunities without alienating communities. Models from the Sri Lanka Wakfs Board’s interfaith initiatives offer a blueprint for inclusive engagement.
Ethnic and racial tensions, exacerbated by hate speech, further elevate vulnerabilities. In our multi-ethnic society, online and offline incitement targeting Tamils, Muslims, or other groups turns religious sites and cultural events into high-scoring Iconic + Legitimate + Occupied targets. Sri Lanka’s ICCPR Act No. 56 of 2007, incorporating Article 20(2) prohibitions on incitement to hatred, provides a legal foundation, yet selective enforcement erodes credibility and fuels cycles of distrust.
Applying EVIL DONE here means integrating hate speech monitoring into risk registers, bolstering digital guardianship, and promoting community policing to deny attackers the social fissures they exploit. Consistent application across governments is essential, not the “crying foul” hypocrisy that characterises much of our politics.
The narcotics-terror nexus demands unrelenting vigilance. Sri Lanka’s strategic position as an Indian Ocean transit hub has long exposed us to heroin, synthetic drugs, and organised crime networks. Battling the drug mafia is not a peripheral law enforcement issue but a core national security imperative. These syndicates corrupt institutions, erode community cohesion through widespread addiction, generate illicit funds that potentially finance extremism, and create vulnerable recruitment pools for radical ideologies. In EVIL DONE analysis, trafficking operations exploit Vital + Destructible + Easy nodes, ports, border controls, financial systems, and urban distribution networks, while turning addiction-plagued neighbourhoods into Occupied soft targets ripe for exploitation.
Continuing this battle requires sustained intelligence-led operations, inter-agency coordination, maritime domain awareness, and community rehabilitation programmes. Only by dismantling these mafia networks can we sever symbiotic links between drug profits and terrorism, preventing the social decay that undermines hard-won peace.
Cyber threats compound these risks in our digital age. Ransomware attacks, phishing campaigns, and data breaches on government and private systems expose Exposed + Vital + Easy infrastructure. Breaches not only erode public trust but enable disinformation that inflames ethnic divisions or facilitates hybrid operations. Adapting EVIL DONE to the cyber domain, scoring digital assets for visibility, criticality, and guardianship, alongside enhancements to Sri Lanka CERT and public-private partnerships, is imperative. The emphasis on capability development through training and exercises provides a ready pathway.
Globally, the framework’s strengths lie in its actionability and flexibility. It enables cost-effective prioritisation, adapts to static and dynamic targets (including major events and urban resilience), and integrates seamlessly with intelligence-led policing. Empirical applications in the UK, Istanbul, and beyond demonstrate its predictive value, particularly the “DONE” elements for modern lone-actor and low-tech threats. Supplements like the TRACK (The TRACK – Tolerant- Relevant- Accessible-Known – framework is a contemporary extension of the EVIL DONE model, developed by researchers Zoe Marchment and Paul Gill (around 2020). It focuses specifically on the spatial and operational dynamics of how terrorists choose targets in modern contexts) framework can address spatial dynamics. Limitations must be acknowledged honestly.
EVIL DONE assumes bounded rationality, potentially undervaluing deeply ideological or suicidal actors. Over-reliance risks creating a “fortress society” or unintended threat displacement without tackling grievances. In Sri Lanka, empirical validation through local case studies is needed, alongside safeguards to ensure ICCPR compliance and avoid over-hardening that stifles freedoms.
The path forward is clear.
First , pilot EVIL DONE scoring in national risk registers, incorporating hybrid scenarios involving diaspora links, hate speech, drugs, and cyber vectors.
Second , embed it in professional development at the Police Academy, military institutions, and other stakeholders such as the immigration and emigration, customs, drug control board and coast guards etc.
Third , develop Sri Lanka-specific analyses for training, policy, and publications, including contributions to the national security discourse. Fourth, institutionalise consistent, oversight-driven application to transcend political cycles.
Finally , foster regional SAARC collaboration and leverage interfaith platforms for community resilience.
Sri Lanka’s hard-won peace after defeating LTTE terrorism and navigating post-Easter reforms positions us as a global thought leader in counter-terrorism. Embracing tools like EVIL DONE honours the sacrifices of the past while securing the future. It demands statesmanship over short-termism, principled consistency in law application, intelligence-driven prevention, and whole-of-society unity. As we confront hybrid threats in an interconnected world, opportunity reduction offers not just defence, but a pathway to enduring harmony and resilience. Our policymakers must choose brains over power, strategy over expediency. The alternative is perpetual vulnerability.
Mahil Dole, SSP (Retired), is the former Head of the Counter-Terrorism Division of the State Intelligence Service of Sri Lanka, and has served as Head of the Sri Lankan Delegation at three BIMSTEC Security Conferences. With over 40 years of experience in policing and intelligence, he writes on regional security, interfaith relations, and geopolitical strategy.
By Mahil Dole ssp rtd.
Opinion
Corruption: A concept to be understood properly
Many of us know that post-independence Sri Lanka is nearly eight decades old, yet the country has not achieved the level of growth and development necessary to ensure a high quality of life for its citizens. Most people point fingers at the politicians who governed the country and criticize their economic policies. One of the most recent accusations against political leaders is corruption. This concern becomes evident when analysing measures such as the Corruption Perceptions Index and examining recent incidents such as the Central Bank bond scam. Ultimately, the country had to face severe economic downturns and a declining standard of living. Consequently, Sri Lanka was compelled to reform its legal framework by introducing new laws for the implementation of monetary policy and the control of corruption, while also seeking assistance from international organisations. It is true that the effective enforcement of the law can reduce corruption. However, achieving meaningful results requires a broader understanding of corruption, along with improvements in legal mechanisms and more effective methods of enforcement. This short write-up aims to familiarise citizens with a broader definition of corruption, its various forms, and several measures that can be adopted to combat corruption effectively and efficiently.
Corruption undermines democracy
As stated by the United Nations, corruption undermines democracy and the rule of law, leads to violations of human rights, distorts markets, erodes the quality of life, and allows organised crime, terrorism, and other threats to human security to flourish. It is also a key factor contributing to economic underperformance and a major obstacle to poverty alleviation and sustainable development. Furthermore, corruption represents a failure of governance, as it distorts the allocation of resources and weakens government performance. The World Bank defines corruption as “the misuse of public office for private gain.” In this context, public power is abused by elected politicians or appointed public officials for personal benefit. In the modern global economy, no country can be considered completely free from corruption; therefore, corruption remains a global issue.
Academic literature provides numerous definitions of corruption, and many researchers have proposed various theories to explain it. The relationships between corruption and other socio-economic variables have been widely analysed, while both its causes and effects have been extensively discussed. The United Nations Convention Against Corruption, introduced in 2004, proposed several measures to combat corruption. Nevertheless, corruption continues to remain high in many developing countries and is also evident, to some extent, in developed economies. Sri Lanka is no exception. Authorities responsible for controlling corruption in Sri Lanka have acknowledged that investigations and prosecutions alone are insufficient to effectively combat corruption. Therefore, expanding the frontiers of knowledge on corruption, particularly in the Sri Lankan context, is of timely and national importance.
Although the literature provides and explains many definitions of corruption, there is no single universally accepted definition. In efforts to combat corruption effectively, definitions must encompass a broader range of ideas, and people should properly understand the various forms and dimensions of corruption.
Certain improper activities carried out by public sector officials are difficult to categorise strictly as the “abuse of public property for private gain.” For example, in the public sector, failure to properly perform assigned duties, leaving official work unfinished despite being entrusted with responsibilities, taking unnecessarily long periods to complete official tasks, using excessive public resources, and deliberately delaying public services can all be considered forms of corruption or administrative misconduct. Furthermore, in some instances, officials and institutional heads intentionally remain silent about the corrupt activities of others, assist corrupt individuals in concealing evidence, or show reluctance, lethargy, or unwillingness to take legal action against corrupt public officers. Although Sri Lanka’s Anti-Corruption Act No. 9 of 2023 defines corruption, it does not explicitly incorporate all of these dimensions.
Moreover, legalised corruption is another issue that deserves attention. This relates to weaknesses or manipulations in the process of framing laws and regulations. Certain actions may not directly fall under the definition of the “use of public property for private gain,” yet they may still represent indirect or extended forms of corruption. Therefore, for the successful control and prevention of corruption, broader and more comprehensive definitions are required.
Forms of Corruption
Corruption may appear in various forms. If the economy is broadly divided into the public and private sectors, corruption can be analysed under two major categories: public sector–specific corruption and public–private sector corruption. The first category refers to corruption that occurs solely within the public sector, while the second involves the abuse of public resources in transactions or interactions between the public and private sectors.
Within the first category, corruption may occur not only at the individual level but also collectively. Individual corruption takes place when a single public officer abuses public resources or authority for personal gain. However, collective corruption involves coordinated behavior among groups of public officials. This collective behavior may occur within a particular institutional hierarchy or among several related institutions and hierarchies. For example, within a single hierarchy, when a citizen visits a public office to obtain a service, a particular officer may be responsible for handling the relevant task. If the officer is corrupt, he or she may deliberately avoid performing the required duty by raising irrelevant objections or refusing to provide the service efficiently. In some cases, the officer may intentionally insert doubtful or questionable remarks into official documents and forward them to a superior officer in order to obstruct the successful completion of the request.
At times, superior officers themselves may instruct subordinate officers on the type of comments or procedural objections that can be used to justify rejecting a request when no personal benefit or reward is received. Conversely, when a material reward or bribe is offered, all officials involved may cooperate and share the benefit among themselves. This represents a collective form of corruption confined within a particular hierarchy in the public sector, without any direct involvement from the private sector.
Collective corruption may also occur across two or more institutions or hierarchies that are required to work together. Such situations are often observed in the process of taking legal action against criminal offences. If the relevant institutions fail to perform their duties honestly and effectively, the legal process may collapse. Where officials within these institutions act corruptly or engage in favoritism, they may collectively benefit from rewards or unlawful advantages received in exchange for their cooperation or inaction. This is another form of collective corruption that exists entirely within the public sector.
In such circumstances, the rule of law becomes ineffective. Therefore, there is a strong need to recognise and incorporate these collective patterns of corrupt behavior into broader definitions and theories of corruption. This may also provide a foundation for the development of new theoretical approaches to understanding corruption in the public sector.
For the second category, namely public–private sector corruption, many examples can be identified. Tender procedures and procurement activities conducted by state institutions are common practices in every country. When private sector actors attempt to influence public officials through rewards, bribes, or other benefits in order to secure favorable decisions, such actions fall within this category of corruption.
In some instances, private individuals who work in association with public institutions may collaborate to generate undue benefits for themselves. For example, within the court system, lawyers are paid by plaintiffs and defendants for legal representation. Certain lawyers may intentionally delay court proceedings for personal financial gain. In some cases, lawyers representing opposing parties — such as plaintiffs and defendants or co-owners in partition cases — may unofficially cooperate to prolong legal procedures, including the delayed submission of documents or repeated postponements of hearings. By extending the duration of cases, they may maximize the payments received for their court appearances and related services. Such practices can also be regarded as a form of corruption linked to the interaction between public institutions and private actors.
Moreover, within public institutions, when one official engages in corrupt activities, superior officers or fellow officials may intentionally remain silent without reporting the misconduct or taking disciplinary action against the corrupt individual. In Sri Lanka, different political parties have governed the country from time to time; however, corruption has remained widespread under many administrations. Prior to elections, political leaders frequently promise to eliminate corruption and publicly declare that legal action will be taken against corrupt individuals once they are elected. Nevertheless, after assuming power, many fail to fulfill these promises and often avoid taking legal action against corrupt individuals connected either to previous governments or to their own administrations.
Even when certain public officials initiate legal action against corrupt individuals, procedural loopholes or omissions may intentionally be allowed to weaken the effectiveness of such actions. If a superior officer or relevant authority deliberately ignores corruption or fails to take proper legal measures, such behavior may itself be regarded as a secondary form of corruption, which can be described as “corruption on corruption.” Therefore, officials who knowingly tolerate, conceal, or fail to act against corruption should also be considered corrupt.
Preventive Measures
Law serves as the strongest safeguard and a key preventive measure against corruption. However, when the legal framework governing corruption is expanded, the size of government may also increase, and as a result, tax burdens may rise. On the other hand, an excessively enlarged government may itself create additional opportunities for corruption. Therefore, policymakers must exercise caution when designing preventive measures.
It is true that law enforcement institutions take action and punish corrupt individuals with the aim of combating corruption. However, even when legal provisions are adequately established, enforcement is often weak or inconsistent in some countries. In certain cases, legal actions are not taken at all, or they are not implemented effectively against corrupt individuals. At times, officials may deliberately allow omissions or procedural weaknesses within legal processes. In other situations, the legal framework itself may be inadequate, containing loopholes that hinder effective enforcement. In such circumstances, the law must be reformed and made more efficient. Policymakers therefore need to explore new approaches to strengthening anti-corruption legislation. For instance, if legislation clearly states that every employee within a public institution is accountable for corrupt activities occurring within that institution, it may enhance collective responsibility and help prevent collective forms of corruption. Furthermore, when corruption occurs within an institution, heads of institutions or relevant legal authorities may sometimes remain silent. Such silence can enable the continuation and spread of corruption, a situation that may be described as “corruption on corruption.” To address this, legal provisions could be extended to define the deliberate silence or inaction of institutional leaders in the face of known corruption as a punishable offence. Thus, continuous efforts are needed to explore and strengthen legal mechanisms in order to make anti-corruption laws more effective and comprehensive.
Conclusion
Corruption may appear in various forms, and everyone needs to remain vigilant about it. Those who engage in corruption, as well as those who remain silent and fail to take adequate measures to control it, are equally responsible for the persistence of corruption. If the law can be effectively enforced without unnecessarily expanding the size of government, it would be more beneficial for social welfare. Therefore, a broader and more inclusive definition of corruption is required for its successful control. Certain activities may not strictly fall within the internationally recognized definition of corruption as the “use of public property for private gain.” Although Sri Lanka’s Anti-Corruption Act No. 9 of 2023 provides a relatively broader definition, it still does not fully capture all such practices. Moreover, legalised corruption is another important issue that requires further discussion, particularly in relation to the processes of law-making and law enforcement. This includes situations where legal frameworks themselves may be designed or applied in ways that indirectly enable corrupt practices.
by Dr. Tikiri Nimal Herath
Emeritus Professor
tikiriherath@gmail.com
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