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Midweek Review

City University and utilisation of existing higher education institutions

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President Gotabaya Rajapaksa launching the city university project

By Sunil Dahanayake and Samanthi Senaratne

The launch ceremony of the City University took place at the President’s Office and it was followed by a discussion, on TV Derana, among high-ranking officials of the University Grants Commission (UGC). Thereafter, we googled the words ‘City University of Sri Lanka’ and noted the following utopian phrases provided on the City University website.

“COME. DREAM. DO.

There is a beginning to every story, and it is now more vital than ever, to ensure that you have the right start. City University is your platform to launch your dreams into the world.”

This is a catchy phrase used to lure prospective students to these new City Universities planned by the government. Is this a reality or a fantasy? Are Sri Lankan General Certificate of Education (GCE) Advanced Level (A/L) qualified students deceived by such a university project? In this review, we critically analyse these questions and explain the current situation of university and technical education in Sri Lanka. We also provide an alternative proposal for the City University, on how to utilise the existing higher education institutions to improve university education in Sri Lanka.

The dialogue on school and higher education in Sri Lanka was initiated by the President’s policy statement, ‘Soubagye Dakma’ or ‘Vistas of Prosperity’ in November 2019. The presidential policy statement and his verbal presentations emphasised three major areas in higher education reforms to (a) decrease the time gap between the release of GCE A/L results and the university enrolment date; (b) increase the number of students for university enrolments and (c) produce employable graduates. The President has appointed one Cabinet minister for education with four state ministers and among them; two state ministers are responsible for higher education reforms. They are State Minister of Education Reforms, Open Universities and Distance Learning Promotion, and State Minister of Skills Development, Vocational Education, Research and Innovations. This article focuses on the City University concept initiated by the State Minister for Skills Development, Vocational Education, Research, and Innovation (SMSDVERI). The relevant state ministry plans to operate the City University under the Gazette Extraordinary No.2209/14, dated January 4, 2021, as indicated on its website.

Many students who pass the GCE A/L examination fail to gain admission to state universities in Sri Lanka. As per the statistical handbook published by the UGC, the number of students admitted to state universities in 2019/2020 was 41,641 (23 percent) compared to students qualified for admission, which was 181,206. This means that 77 percent of students could not gain admission to state universities in 2019/2020. These students, who are unable to get university admissions, explore various other avenues such as overseas universities, private non-state higher education institutes, professional examinations, the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL), and technical colleges to continue their education. The President has emphasised the need to fulfil the aspirations of these GCE A/L qualified students by increasing the enrolment numbers of the state university system of Sri Lanka, with degree programmes that produce employable graduates. The City University project was initiated as a solution to address these concerns.

What is this City University? On the website of City University, it is described as “the first and only tertiary education institution in the country, that will establish a highly industry-centric focus on all the programmes offered.” As mentioned on the website, the focus of the degree programmes offered by the City University is the employability of graduates. Also, the students who are enrolled in its degree programmes will be given practical experience in different disciplines. Thus, the objectives of these City University campuses are human resource development, stakeholder collaboration, development of regional areas and facilitating technology transfer. The City University’s website provides the following information.

“The State Ministry of Skills Development, Vocational Education, Research and Innovation has been vested with the task of establishing City Universities. It has been planned to open a City University in every district. After a feasibility study, five locations were selected to start with. The first CU will be opened in Wagolla, Rambukkana, in the Kegalle District.”

The City University campuses plan to offer bachelor’s degree programmes in Applied Information Technology, Sustainable Tourism and Hospitality Management, Post-Harvest Management and Value Addition.

We appreciate the praiseworthy objective of this City University concept. It can increase the student enrolment numbers in the state university system. Since this project is backed by the government, there is also a possibility of securing some funds from the treasury or donor agencies such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. However, there are many weaknesses, which could doom the City University project in the long run, when considering the issues faced by the existing state universities and technical colleges in the country. Hence, we argue that the SMSDVERI ought to evaluate the needs of prospective students and should optimally utilise the available higher education institutions and resources for this purpose.

We are not pessimistic about the intentions of the Ministry of Education and the UGC, but we review this project pragmatically under the concept of ‘Marketing Myopia’ by Theodore Levitt. Levitt (Harvard Business Review, 1960) argues “that most of the dead and dying industries have shown the self-deceiving cycle of bountiful expansion and undetected decay.” Similarly, the designers of the City University concept seem to operate with the perception that thousands of students will enrol in this university without information on academic accreditation, programme details and standard of the academic staff. The City University website does not provide sufficient details on faculty structure, programmes and course descriptions, and the academic staff involved in these programmes. The lack of such information raises the question whether this City University and its degree programmes are properly planned. It seems that the designers of this project have adopted a production-oriented approach rather than a market-oriented approach. Thus, they should not work with the assumption that the GCE A/L qualified students are a vulnerable group who would enrol in any programme offered under a label of a university. They should realise that there are many local and international higher educational institutes operating in Sri Lanka other than state universities. As such, prospective students compare information available on this City University with that of other higher educational institutions in making their enrolment decisions. Further, the best universities in the world are not merely teaching-focused; rather they are vibrant institutions, which focus on all three functions of a university, teaching, research and community service. However, it is questionable whether this proposed City University has been designed to meet all these purposes.

There are 14 state universities, including the OUSL, operating under the UGC, apart from specific purpose universities such as Bhikku Universities and Visual and Performing Arts University. Further, the Sri Lanka Institute of Advanced Technological Education (SLIATE) and its 20 technical colleges also enrol GCE A/L qualified students in their diploma programmes. These existing universities and technical colleges are under-resourced and exhibit many hallmarks of underdevelopment. These include the lack of state-of-the-art lecture halls, the absence of well-developed informational technology (IT) platforms, largely manual administration and finance systems, inadequate funds for research and staff development, and inadequate student accommodation and other facilities. State universities in Sri Lanka except for the two oldest universities, Colombo and Peradeniya, are not among the top universities in the world as per world university rankings due to the above-mentioned limitations in the university system. Most Sri Lankan state universities are mainly teaching-focused instead of both teaching and research-focused, as research funds are inadequate. Under such a resource strained environment, the UGC and SMSDVERI plan to establish 25 City Universities throughout Sri Lanka in addition to the existing 14 main universities making a total of 49 state universities in the country.

We question the rationale behind the government’s plan to spend capital and operational outlay for these City Universities without effectively utilising the resources of existing universities and other higher educational institutions. Therefore, we provide an alternative to utilise the available infrastructure facilities of SLIATE and its technical colleges, OUSL, and Colleges of Education (Teacher Training Colleges) to increase the student enrolment numbers to state universities. We argue that the breeding of new universities does not resolve higher education problems in Sri Lanka unless the existing universities and technical college education system in the country is streamlined.

Missing link between university and technical education

One of the major flaws in our university and technical education system is that these two organisational structures are not connected for the students to enrol in the relevant degree programmes of universities after completing the diploma programmes from technical colleges. Therefore, we suggest combining university and technical college education systems under this City University concept and developing one centralised university with regional university colleges, after absorbing the technical colleges. This combined approach of higher education is similar to the system that exists in developed countries like Australia. For example, Australia has three major levels of education; schools, Technical and Further Education (TAFE) Institutes and Universities. Students who are unable to get direct admission to the universities can enrol in a TAFE College and complete a diploma programme after completing the year 12 examination. Subsequently, these students can enter a university and complete a degree programme. The TAFE Colleges in Australia also provide education options for adult learners and school dropouts to improve their careers. Therefore, the UGC and SMSDVERI can develop a similar scheme to link universities and technical colleges to increase the number of students admitted to state universities.

Technical colleges are administered by SLIATE and come under the purview of SMSDVERI. These technical colleges offer diploma level and certificate level programmes under various subjects such as business studies, accounting and engineering. Diploma qualifications of technical college students are not currently considered sufficiently in enrolling students in undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes in the state universities despite the provisions for such, in the Sri Lanka Qualification Framework (SLQF). Examples are the Higher National Diploma in Accountancy (HNDA) and Higher National Diploma in Commerce (HNDC) conducted by the technical colleges under the SLIATE. These two diplomas are considered inferior to the degrees in Accounting and Commerce conducted by the state universities. Hence, the students of technical colleges are at a disadvantage when finding jobs and pursuing university education in Sri Lanka. This missing link between university and technical college education does not support the young and adult learners, who have missed direct entry to the university system through GCE A/L results. Therefore, we suggest combining and streamlining the higher education programmes of state universities and technical colleges under the concept of City University.

Utilising organisational structure of SLIATE and Technical Colleges

The SMSDVERI can reorganise and streamline the SLIATE and its 20 technical colleges into one centralised university with affiliated university colleges, instead of constructing 25 new universities under the City University Concept. The current 20 technical colleges can operate as affiliated university colleges, under the umbrella of the proposed centralised university. The proposed centralised university can be established in the Maradana or Dehiwala Technical College utilis­ing the available resources and facilities. This proposal may require amendments to the SLIATE and University Acts, evaluation of the diploma programmes conducted by the technical colleges and upgrading some of them as degree programmes under various faculties. Finally, this process of reorganisation should be followed by launching a marketing campaign to attract students, parents, and other stakeholders. We believe that reorganising and streamlining the SLIATE and its technical colleges will result in an increase in university student enrolment, as expected by the City University concept.

It is also necessary to evaluate skilled occupation areas identified by developed countries during reorganisation of higher education systems. We examined the Australian skilled migration occupation categories as provided in the web link of the Australian Department of Home Affairs. Accordingly, skilled employment areas with the highest demand are Medicine, Engineering, Architecture, Accounting, Auditing and Finance, Information Technology, Allied Health Sciences and Nursing and Hospitality and Tourism Management. The demand is also high for technically proficient personnel such as Motor Mechanics, Bricklayers, Welders and Electricians. Hence, we are of the view that the UGC and higher education authorities should assess the local and global employment needs when developing university education programmes instead of haphazard development of City University campuses in every district.

The proposed centralised university and its affiliated university colleges can establish schools or faculties for the subject streams based on employer demands as highlighted above. Accordingly, Engineering, Accounting and Business Administration, Information Technology, Hospitality and Tourism Management, Allied Health Sciences and Nursing can be considered as priority subject areas. Further, a Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences should be established to cater to students’ languages and social sciences knowledge and skills improvement. Diplomas that are currently offered by SLIATE through its technical colleges should be revised under the above subject categories. The duration of the basic diploma or associate degrees should be limited to a two-year period or four semesters. Diploma holders or associate degree holders, who want to continue their studies, should enroll in university level degree programmes offered by these affiliated university colleges of the centralised university.

In this proposed centralised university and affiliated university college system, students should be allowed to complete double major diploma or degree programmes such as Engineering and Business Administration, Business Administration and English Language and Tourism and Hospitality Management and Accounting. Hence, students who want to launch their own enterprises are facilitated as they are equipped with the necessary subject knowledge and technical skills in entrepreneurship. For example, a student who wants to open a hotel can opt for a joint diploma or degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management, and Business Administration. These proposed diplomas or associate degree programmes should be incorporated with internships, in addition to the theoretical knowledge. Thereby, these students can find local and foreign jobs as soon as they complete the diploma or degree programmes. We noted that the proposed City University has given due consideration to the provision of practical training, which is commendable.

Combining with OUSL and Colleges of Education

The proposed centralised university and affiliated university college system can also be combined with the existing academic programmes of OUSL, and Colleges of Education. The OUSL with its main campus in Nawala, nine regional centres and 19 study centres operate distance mode degree programmes under six academic faculties. Consequently, this City University can introduce inter-university enrolments with OUSL. The OUSL requires classrooms that are compatible with state-of-the-art teaching technologies in the Nawala campus, which can support both in-house and distance mode education programmes to increase student enrolment numbers. The academic coordination for each subject unit can be done by a senior lecturer at the main campus with the support of a few assistant lecturers in regional centres. Therefore, opportunities and resources are available to execute this proposed university system with the support of the OUSL.

There are also several Colleges of Education in Sri Lanka such as Nilwala National College of Education, Ruwanpura National College of Education, and Sri Pada College of Education. A few of these Colleges of Education can be upgraded to universities and combined with this proposed centralised university and its affiliated university colleges. These upgraded Colleges of Education can commence degree programmes in other subject streams in addition to the diploma programmes in education. The diploma in education programmes can be upgraded into a BA degree in education. We also noted a news item in the Daily Mirror, dated September 2, 2021, which reported that Jeevan Thondaman, State Minister for Estate Housing and Community Infrastructure, was in discussion with the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on getting assistance to establish a university for upcountry Tamil students. As such, what we have suggested in this article on upgrading the Colleges of Education meets the demands of the social and political system. Thus, Sri Pada College of Education can be upgraded to a university to offer degree programmes in education and other subject streams. We noted that the ministerial sub-committee appointed to propose solutions for the salary anomalies of school teachers has also proposed the upgrade of these Colleges of Education into universities.

In summary, the proposed city university can be operated using the SLIATE and its technical colleges as a new centralised university with affiliated university colleges. Further, it can be linked with the OUSL and upgraded Colleges of Education as universities. In our opinion, this is a more pragmatic solution than establishing new city universities in every district, which is unrealistic when considering the fragile economic state of the country.

We have discussed the proposed City University concept and alternative solutions for the development of higher education institutions in Sri Lanka. In this analysis, we raise the question why the government is not utilising the available resources of the SLIATE and its technical college campuses, OUSL and Colleges of Education to increase the student enrolment numbers at universities and re-vitalising these organisations. We noted that the Ministry of Education focuses on constructing new universities without considering the effective utilisation of these existing resources. Hence, we argue that the City University concept is a utopian fantasy rather than a pragmatic project when considering the current economic and socio-political environment of Sri Lanka.

Universities and higher education institutions fulfil three main functions; teaching, research, and community services. However, universities and technical colleges in Sri Lanka do not have adequate resources to carry out these tasks effectively. For example, lecture halls and information technology systems are outdated and cannot compete with universities in the developed world. The administration and financial management systems are outdated and are largely manually operated. The academics are not provided with adequate research funds. State universities in Sri Lanka mostly focus on teaching and not on research as reflected in the world university rankings. State universities in Sri Lanka have received poor ratings in the world university ranking indexes such as Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) and Times Higher Education rankings due to the lack of quality research publications. The University of Colombo and the University of Peradeniya have been ranked between 1,000 and 1,200 best universities in the world by QS ranking whereas Times Higher Education ranked University of Peradeniya between 401 nad 500 and University of Colombo between 801 and 1,000. The other 12 state universities have not been included in these rankings. The City University, with the above indicated deficiencies, can lower the bar of accreditation of degrees awarded by state universities in Sri Lanka in the international arena. This would negatively impact skilled employment and higher education opportunities for Sri Lankan university graduates in developed countries.

What Sri Lanka needs is the streamlining and reorganising of existing universities, technical colleges, and colleges of education under the UGC for mutual recognition of degree and diploma programmes offered by these institutions. Hence, we have provided an alternative solution to increase the student enrolment of the existing universities, technical colleges, and colleges of education under this City University project using the available resources. The SLIATE maintains about 20 technical college campuses scattered around Sri Lanka and offers 14 diploma programmes. Therefore, it is apparent that the SLIATE and its technical colleges have the required organisational structure, staff, and academic programmes. Hence, what is required is the reorganisation or streamlining of SLIATE and its technical colleges into one centralised university with affiliated university colleges under the concept ‘City University’. A new centralised university campus can be set up either at Maradana or Dehiwala technical college.

The OUSL and its regional centres can also be used to offer degree programmes under the proposed system, which will enable an inter-university enrolment system. The OUSL can offer degree programmes for students of these affiliated university colleges. Further, a few Colleges of Education scattered around Sri Lanka can be upgraded into universities and the current diploma in education programmes can be restructured as a BA degree in Education, under its faculty of education. Further, these Colleges of Education, which are upgraded into universities, can commence degree programmes in other subject streams such as Management, Information Technology, Hospitality and Tourism Management, Engineering and Health Sciences.

We emphasise that the existing capacity of universities should be effectively utilised while focusing on obtaining international accreditation for state universities through expansion of research activities. Further, the Sri Lankan university system should be made flexible by abandoning the archaic systems of student enrolments, embracing inter-university and inter-faculty enrolments, and introducing double major degree programmes. These changes would enhance the quality of university education. We reiterate the fact that the Ministry of Education, two State Ministries for Higher Education, UGC, SLIATE, OUSL, other state universities, National Institute of Education (NIE) and Colleges of Education need to act together to optimally use the existing organisations and their resources to achieve long-term objectives of higher education in Sri Lanka.

Promoters of the City University concept have crafted an image of a utopian university, which reminds us of Thomas More’s concept of ‘utopia’ (1516) , John Henry Newman’s ‘Idea of a University’ (1873) and Robert Maynard Hutchins’ ‘The University of Utopia’ (1953). Hutchins, who served as the President of the University of Chicago, argued that the function of a university is to develop learned responsible citizens, instead of producing mere technicians. Hence, the proposed City University falls short of those philosophical concepts and will add another expenditure line item to the national budget.

Sunil Dahanayake, PhD, FCA is a Chartered Accountant and Samanthi Senaratne, PhD is Senior Professor in Accounting, Department of Accounting, University of Sri Jayewardenepura. She can be reached via email at samanthisenaratne@sjp.ac.lk)



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Midweek Review

Impact of Ukraine war on Sri Lanka and other matters

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Russian Cruiser Varyag entering Colombo port on March 1

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The Russian Pacific Fleet’s missile cruiser Varyag was here recently. The Fleet’s press office reported on March 1: “Today, the Pacific Fleet’s flagship, Guards Order of Nakhimov missile cruiser Varyag has made a business call at Colombo, the largest port of the Republic of Sri Lanka.”

According to the Russian Defence Ministry website one of the four primary tasks of the Pacific Fleet is (verbatim) execution of foreign policy actions of the Government in economically important areas of the oceans (visits, routine entries, joint exercises, activities as a part of peacekeeping forces, etc.).

Cruiser Varyag arrived here from Visakhapatnam, in Andhra Pradesh, where the vessel participated in Milan 2024, Indian biennial multinational naval exercise (Feb 19-27). The 12th edition of the exercise involved INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant. SLNS Sayurala, an Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel (AOPV), represented Sri Lanka.

In spite of the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government’s obvious tilt towards the West against the backdrop of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s ouster in July 2022 by unprecedented violent protests targeting a President elected with a record majority, Russia and Sri Lanka seem to be keen to maintain ties.

Two weeks before Varyag’s arrival, two Iranian Navy vessels IRINS Bushehr and Tonb visited Colombo. Their arrival coincided with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian’s rare, but high profile visit here at a time of grave crisis in the Red Sea region, in particular with Houthi attacks on ships taking supplies to/from Israel to force a halt to Israeli genocide in Palestine.

Russian and Iranian visits should be examined against the backdrop of the costly Ukrainian conflict where Russia is battling the combined West in their proxy war directed at an ultimate regime change in Moscow, and Yemen’s Houthis, widely believed to be backed by Iran, targeted Red Sea shipping demanding an immediate end to Israeli military onslaught on Gaza.

A Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile hit the Belize-flagged Rubymar on Feb 18 in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a waterway linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The vessel carrying fertiliser sank on March 02.

President of the Sri Lanka Business and Professional Forum in Moscow, Jagath Chandrawansa, pointed out that for want of sufficient media coverage of the conflict in Ukraine, in the right context, Sri Lanka is in the dark as to what was going on.

Political parties represented in Parliament, too, seemed to be largely unaware, uninterested or negligent, Chandrawansa said.

In a wide ranging interview with The Island, Moscow-based Chandrawansa discussed the origins of the conflict and the circumstances leading to a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, in late February 2022, though they had been fighting in the Donbas region of Ukraine since 2014, the year the coup staged by the US to topple the duly elected President of Ukraine, though dubbed by the West as the Maidan Revolution.

“Basically, the Russian invasion/current conflict should be examined, taking into consideration repeated US and Western interventions in Ukraine that declared independence in 1991 from the Soviet Union and efforts to integrate Ukraine with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO),” Chandrawansa said.

Chandrawansa compared the Western backed protest campaign (March 31-July 09, 2022) that forced President Gotabaya Rajapaksa out of office with the removal of Ukrainian President Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych in 2014. The conflict in Donbas erupted in the wake of Yanukovych’s removal.

Chandrawansa, who had studied in the then Soviet Georgia before moving into Moscow where he has been working during the past three decades, sought to press home Moscow’s narrative that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was really a defensive action against a proxy war carried out by the West. The recent disclosure of Germany planning to supply long-range Taurus missiles, manufactured jointly by Germany and Sweden, underscored the efforts to further escalate the conflict, Chandrawansa said.

Earlier, the UK declared that it provided ‘Storm Shadow’ cruise missiles to Ukraine. Reference was made to the then British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev in April 2022, less than seven weeks after Russia launched its offensive. Johnson, in his capacity as the former UK Premier, again flew into Ukraine in January 2023 soon after his successor Rishi Sunak visited Kiev to sign an expanded security agreement.

Responding to another query, Chandrawansa asserted that the West was trying to deliver a knock-out blow to Russia in Ukraine. The reportage of massive US funding is evidence of the overall Western strategy, Chandrawansa said, pointing out that in the run-up to the US presidential election, nine months away, the country is divided over its funding of Ukraine as well as the Israeli campaign. “In other words, the West has cleverly transformed Ukraine into a battleground where attempts are being made to weaken Russia. Of course, Ukraine is paying a huge price for the miscalculated Western strategy.”

The Biden administration’s efforts to secure approval for a new military aid package worth billions of USD hadn’t been successful due to strong opposition from the pro-Donald Trump far right Republicans, whereas a new controversy over German missiles for Ukraine dominated the international media as well as the sudden death of key Opposition figure Alexei Navalny, 47.

Russia owed an explanation to the world over the still unexplained death of Navalny at the “Polar Wolf” Arctic penal colony where he was serving a three-decade sentence. It is also true the Western media pays hardly any attention to the plight of Julian Assange a beacon for the worldwide independent media, who is being persecuted by the West for publishing the truth about various excesses and atrocities committed by them around the world, through his WikiLeaks site. Their behaviour is even worse when covering up the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the West Bank as they mostly pretend not to see violence that is ravaging mainly innocent Palestinian civilians, who are also deprived of basic food and medicine.

Navalny’s death dominated international media for several days and still continues to draw attention amidst the war in Ukraine, Gaza and Houthi challenge to Red Sea shipping.

UN vote on Ukraine

Chandrawansa discussed how the West relentlessly put pressure on Sri Lanka over resolutions that were moved against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine.

Having ruthlessly pursued Sri Lanka at the Geneva-based Human Rights Council where the Western group, in agreement with the treacherous Yahapalana administration (2015-2019), passed an accountability resolution in Oct 2015, they demanded Colombo adhered to their dictates.

In Feb 2022 and Feb 2023, Sri Lanka abstained from voting on resolutions against Russia. At the Feb 2023 vote, in addition to Sri Lanka, India, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan Iran and South Africa abstained. The media here reported in February 2023 German MP Dr. Peter Ramsauer requested President Ranil Wickremesinghe to back the UN resolution against Russia. Dr. Ramsauer, the Rapporteur for Sri Lanka and the Maldives in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the German Bundestag (Parliament) said so at the end of his visit here.

Chandrawansa recalled similar heavy pressure exerted on India by the West, particularly the US and Germany, to take a firm stand against Russia, though Quad member India continued to resist such interventions.

Responding to another query, Chandrawansa explained how the West ceaselessly pushed Ukraine to harden its anti-Russia stand over the years, after having forced its duly elected President Yanukovych out of office in 2014.

Referring to the recent announcement made in Washington that Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland would retire this month, Chandrawansa said that her role in the regime change project in Ukraine, as well as President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s ouster, had been well documented. “What we must realize is regardless of Nuland’s retirement, the US would pursue her hardline neo-conservative policies in Eastern Europe. Unfortunately, our leaders embroiled in local politics and developing economic uncertainties haven’t been much interested in learning what is happening in the region or outside.”

Commenting on the threat posed by Houthis to Red Sea commercial shipping, Chandrawansa said that the Yemen-based group’s actions were being exploited by the US to expand its sphere of influence in the region. Interested parties have conveniently forgotten that Houthis launched Rea Sea operations demanding that Israel halt the war on Gaza, Chandrawansa said, adding that the much touted US led operation ‘Prosperity Guardian’ seemed to have failed to thwart the launch of missiles and drones from Yemen.

Sri Lanka should be wary of getting involved in US projects though the government seemed to be under heavy US prodding, Chandrawansa said.

There were a spate of conflicting reports of Sri Lanka deploying a vessel (formerly of the US Coast Guard) in support of ‘Prosperity Guardian,’ and plans to send a second ship. It would be pertinent to ask whether any of the AOPVs or OPVs in case they are deployed in the Red Sea, were equipped to counter cruise missile or drone strikes directed from Yemen or whether the bankrupt country could sustain such a long term operational deployment and for what purpose?

President Wickremesinghe’s late wily uncle JRJ, widely dubbed the 20th Century Fox and Yankee Dicky because of his overt pro-US stand, which even led to him offering the strategic Trincomalee Harbour to base the US Sixth Fleet and ended up antagonising the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and exacerbating our ethnic conflict when New Delhi retaliated by giving succor to separatist groups here. And unlike JRJ, President Ranil Wickremesinghe does not even have a people’s mandate, being only a caretaker President appointed by Parliament to complete the balance term of ousted President Gotabaya Rajapkasa. Therefore Wickremesinghe has no business to drag us into a conflict which we can ill afford just to please his masters in Washington as we already have enough problems.

Referring to the Houthi ballistic missile attack on Liberian-owned, Barbados-flagged ship ‘True Confidence’ south west of Yemen’s port of Aden on March 06, Chandrawansa asserted that the Red Sea crisis has taken a turn for the worse. The attack claimed the lives of three seafarers, first fatalities since Houthis began targeting ships last October in one of the world’s busiest sea lanes to pressure the US to rein in Israel.

Swift intervention by the Indian Navy saved the lives of 21 members of the stricken ship’s crew. Those who had been saved included two Sri Lankans. Indian Navy released the video footage of Destroyer INS Kolkata deployed in the Gulf of Aden deploying its helicopter and small boats to carry out the rescue operation.

Aeroflot incident at BIA

Recalling the circumstances Sri Lanka detained an Aeroflot flight at the Bandaranaike International Airport in early June 2022, at the height of economic, political and social turmoil, Chandrawansa asked whether President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government at least bothered to conduct a proper inquiry into the incident.

Chandrawansa, in his capacity as the President of Sri Lanka Business and Professional Forum in Moscow, in a letter dated June 05, 2022, requested the then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to probe attempts to jeopardise Sri Lanka’s relations with Russia at a time the country was in unprecedented turmoil. The letter was copied to Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry, PC and the then Russian Ambassador in Colombo.

The whole thing could have been orchestrated by those hell-bent on destabilizing Sri Lanka’s relations with countries considered a challenge to the West, Chandrawansa said, pointing out that it could have had a catastrophic impact on Sri Lanka-Russia relations.

Aeroflot flight SU 289 was preparing to take off from the BIA, on June 02, 2022, when a fiscal officer, from the Commercial High Court of the Western Province, walked in around 12.15 pm to the airport. He was there soon after the end of day’s proceedings of the Commercial HC of the Western Province. The official was accompanied by Attorney-at-Law Aruna de Silva, who appeared for the plaintiff, along with Avindra Rodrigo, PC. They were instructed by F.J. & G. de Saram, the leading law firm from the colonial times.

The fiscal officer delivered a copy of the order issued by High Court judge S.M.H.S.P. Sethunge. The recipient of the court order was Acting Head of Air Navigational Services N.C. Abeywardena. The BIA was ordered to detain the aircraft, pending a case filed by Ireland-based Celestial Aviation Trading 10 Ltd., against the Russian State-owned Public Joint Stock Company Aeroflot.

At the time the court officer delivered the warning, 191 passengers and 13 crew of the Airbus A 330-300 were on board. They were asked to get off the plane. The Aeroflot drama transpired in the Commercial High Court of the Western Province on June 03. The airline’s regional manager, for India and Sri Lanka, Sergey Evgenievich, was present in court.

Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera is one of the few lawmakers to publicly challenge the detention of the Aeroflot flight in spite of Sri Lanka’s written assurance to Russia that Aeroflot was free to operate to and from the BIA without hindrance. The retired Navy Chief of Staff warned that Sri Lanka shouldn’t be surprised if Russia felt that the government guaranteed Aeroflot freedom to operate to and from the BIA just to lure them.

Lawmaker Weerasekera strongly disputed Premier Wickremsinghe’s assertion that the issue was a matter between two private parties. How could that be when all know Aeroflot operated flights to the BIA on written assurance given by the government? MP Weerasekera told the writer when his opinion was sought on this issue.

The Federation of National Organisation, comprising the Patriotic National Movement (Dr. Wasantha Bandara), Patriotic National Front (Attorney-at-Law Nuwan Bellanthudawa), People’s Responsibility Centre (Wasantha Alwis) and People’s Voice for Justice and Sovereignty (Attorney-at-Law Madhaumali Alwis), in a joint letter, dated June 04, sought President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s intervention in this regard.

Lawmaker Vasudeva Nanayakkara speculated about the possibility of the US being behind the Aeroflot affair while Wimal Weerawansa alleged that the government was busy jeopardizing the country’s relations with India, having antagonized China.

Former General Secretary of the Communist Party Dew Gunasekera demanded an explanation from Premier Wickremesinghe over his alleged bid to downplay the incident. Gunasekera asserted that Sri Lanka was experiencing an extraordinary threat. The incident involving the Aeroflot flight underscored our vulnerability, Gunasekera declared.

Chandrawansa said that the release of the Aeroflot flight a few days later following a court ruling settled the matter though the government should be ashamed of itself over its failure to conduct a no holds barred investigation. If such an incident happened in any other country, it would have been scrutinized at the highest level with the participation of intelligence services, Chandrawansa said, finding fault with what he called a pathetic political party system that habitually failed to address vital issues.

Chandrawansa compared the BIA incident that dealt a deadly blow to Sri Lanka-Russia relations and the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government’s equally damaging declaration that foreign research vessels wouldn’t be allowed into Sri Lankan ports during 2024, a decision particularly meant to bar Chinese vessels.

Foreign relations at a critical juncture

Responding to questions regarding foreign relations in the wake of Sri Lanka’s post-bankruptcy status, Chandrawansa emphasized the daunting challenge in navigating choppy waters.

“We are in an extremely complex and uncomfortable situation, politically, economically and socially,” Chandrawansa said, warning of dire consequences unless the government sensibly balanced the relations.

“Of course, we have to acknowledge our dependence on exports to the West, GSP plus concessions and other opportunities. But, we have to be equally responsive to other friendly powers and countries who stood by Sri Lanka during the war against separatist Tamil terrorism (1983-2009) and after,” Chandrawansa said, recalling the Russian, Chinese, Pakistan and Cuban interventions at the Geneva-based UNHRC, out to get us at the behest of the West.

Chandrawansa explained the challenge bankrupt Sri Lanka faced due to US led ‘Quad’ arranged against China, Western efforts to force countries to take sides in the Ukraine conflict and how proposed BRICS currency could undermine the US once mighty dollar hegemony and the possible weakening of US sanctions imposed on Russia and China.

Although the launch of BRICS currency seems unlikely in the near future, Sri Lanka should be mindful of the developments as it would be a grave mistake on our part to put all eggs in one basket.

The continuing corrupt political party system has allowed all powers to exploit the country. The 99-year leasing of the strategically located Hambantota port for USD 1.1 billion to China in 2017 by the Yahapalana government under controversial circumstances can be cited as a case in point. As to what happened to that money and billions of dollars borrowed at high interest rates without that government undertaking any massive development works remains a mystery. It certainly had a big hand in the creation of the unprecedented debt crisis, from which we are still trying to extricate ourselves. The dispute during President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s presidency over a ship load of toxic Chinese fertiliser underscored how a single incident, if not properly handled could jeopardize relations with a particular country. An angry Chinese reaction that led to the blacklisting of a State Bank here emphasized our vulnerability. That is the undeniable truth.

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Midweek Review

Where social media and mainstream media can be complementary

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Image courtesy Columbia Journalism Review https://www.cjr.org/special_ report/what-is-mainstream-media.php

“If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind.”

–– John Stuart Mill

by Susantha Hewa

Politicians in power often tend to suppress people’s freedoms when they feel that they can no longer use rhetoric to persuade the disillusioned masses to trust them. And, throughout our history, they have used mass media, specially, TV after its advent in Sri Lanka in 1979, to manipulate people effectively. It’s not surprising that many people, who have been feeling frustrated being destined to be passive television audiences to politicians who have enjoyed the privilege of talking on TV to the citizens through who cannot fittingly respond to them in real time, avidly embraced social media to share their bottled-up views, feelings, praises or criticisms with their fellow citizens. If politicians and elites can use electronic media to reach vast swaths of society and engage in manipulative talk with no inhibitions or fear of punishment, it is natural that the citizens who have been reduced to be unwilling takers of all the rhetoric of the former for decades, treat social media as their best means of communicating with large numbers of fellow citizens and end their imposed muteness to some extent. We have little evidence to show that our strongmen have used TV all these years in all honesty to inform, elucidate or educate. One need not go far to find how politicians have spoken arrogantly, flippantly and dishonestly to people, which is a gross abuse of mass media.

Admittedly, the abuse of social media should be punished, and there doesn’t seem to be any reason why the same abuses in any other media including electronic media should go unheeded. Paradoxically, in mass media, it is the politicians who become actors and doers, the “masses” being largely passive. It is in social media that masses break their long silence and become active and interactive, which is more contributory to democracy; of course, with due checks and balances. One-way communication made possible by standard media, i.e. TV, can hardly satisfy the human urge for two-way natural communication, which is constructive and egalitarian. Thus, electronic media would hardly avoid the never-ending frustration of the subdued masses until there is another platform for them, which is social media.

Manipulation has been defined as “behaviour that controls or influences somebody/something, often in a dishonest way so that they do not realise it”. Although, this definition does not specify the nature of the manipulator and the manipulated, almost all the words, specially, “behaviour”, “controls”, “influences” and the last few words “often in a dishonest way so that they do not realise it” leave no room for any doubt about the relative positions of the influencer and the influenced. If the vast majority were the decision-makers of any system, such a system would be akin to what is universally known as direct democracy, where the people collectively decide how they should be ruled. Of course, such a system would need a lot of innovative thinking and sweeping changes. However, what is important is, such a system would depend much more on communication, education, discussion, debate and consensus than on propaganda. Therefore, it is clear that manipulation would fit more naturally in a system where the power is concentrated in the hands of a few powerful, who constantly feel the need to protect their power and privileges by any means, correctly or mistakenly accepted as democratic. Technically, a system of governance “of the people, by the people, for the people”, has the underlying feeling of a common bond, which implies that the individual destiny is the collective destiny and vice versa. In such a setting, manipulation, in its widely perceived derogatory sense emphasized in the above definition in the phrase, “often in a dishonest way so that they do not realize it” – would only amount to a sort of collective self-deceit.

Of course, the average person at times gets an opportunity to appear on TV screen at the discretion of the TV channel, not from a position of strength, but almost always as victim, to air his grievances or vent their anger at inept and insensitive rulers who can just ignore them or mock them with no fear of being opposed or retorted at. TV is, so to speak, more the official voice and the face of the ruler rather than the voice and the face of the ruled. Of course, the common people can show their faces on TV but not from the comfort of their home or office; electronic media don’t work that way. They have to come to the streets to earn their visibility on TV and ‘pay’ dearly for it. Paradoxically, mass media is at the service of the privileged few, not at the service of the unprivileged masses. If you like, it’s a speaker; not a telephone. If you want any brand of media to work both ways, it’s social media.

However, the whole world saw one striking example of “manipulation” for the good of the “one and all” during those dark days of the Covid pandemic. The persistent appeal for the people to wear a mask and keep a distance of one metre with others was a classic example of using propaganda for the safety of all. It was an instance where people were made to realise that nobody is safe until everybody else in society is safe. And, everybody in her desire to protect herself, inevitably ensured the safety of all. Thus, where propaganda is used for the good of all, rather than for the advantage of a few, propaganda will lose its derogatory sense and be aligned with positive acts such as education, discussion, clarification, communication, and enhancing of awareness and understanding.

In such a system of social organisation, it would hardly be necessary to bring in suppressive laws to curb social media. In the collective awareness that it is only by ensuring the wellbeing of all that each one of us can ensure our individual wellbeing, mass media – which is now patently used for safeguarding the power and the privileges of those who stand above the masses – that we would be able to look at social media without undue suspicion. In a truly democratic society where mass media is used to educate people instead of keeping them in the dark, there will be no need for anyone to look at social media with any more suspicion than they view electronic media. If our politicians had used mass media to inform and educate the masses rather than to manipulate them, there wouldn’t have been any need to look askance at social media. In a society which is constantly trying to learn from mistakes and promote the collective good, mass media and social media will only complement each other.

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Midweek Review

By the Sweat of Her Brow

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By Lynn Ockersz

From the seed bed of Her womb,

Did He join the human family,

And by the love in Her heart,

Was He selflessly nourished,

And shaped into manhood,

But in an act of gross treachery,

He turned His back on Her,

And made Her His bonded slave,

So much so, all these millennia,

It’s His Story that’s at centre,

But if the truth be told,

It’s the Sweat of Her Brow,

Mingling with Her hot tears,

That’s kept hearths blazing,

Placed some food on tables,

And kept at bay universal wailing,

Making Her ordeal of living,

The greatest story never narrated.

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