Features

Experiences in France as SL Ambassador

Published

4 years ago

2021/10/24

Excerpted from the memoirs of Chandra Wickramasinghe, Retd. Addl. Secy. to the President

I was a member of the Public Service Commission when President Chandirka Kumaratunga appointed me as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to France in 2001. I was fortunate to have had as my predecessor Danesan Casie Chetty, a very senior career diplomat, who had organized the work in the Embassy meticulously, making things so much easier for me to step in and take over. He and his wife Shanti had refurbished and decorated the fine apartment which was in a prime residential area in Paris (which had been purchased by the Govt. of SL), most tastefully and elegantly.

Within months of my appointment, the Govt. entered into a Ceasefire Agreement with the LTTE, brokered by the Norwegians. My major concern while serving as Ambassador was to work towards increasing the volume of our exports which were primarily tea, spices and garments; to promote tourism to SL and to do my utmost to counter the sustained propaganda blitz directed against us by the Tamil Diaspora in France. When I met President Chirac for the presentation of my credentials, I expressly told him of my plans to try and increase the volume of our major export items to France adding I would also endeavor to popularize Sri Lanka as a prime destination for French tourists.

He interjected to say that Sri Lanka being a beautiful country, it should not be difficult to make it an attractive destination for French tourists. Referring to the terrorist problem that was plaguing SL, I told him that the LTTE was actively supported by the Tamil Diaspora in Paris who collected and remitted substantial funding to the terrorists in SL to pursue their destructive activities and that if the French Intelligence Services could curb these illegal activities of LTTE sympathizers in Paris, it would help SL to combat the terrorist scourge .(President Chirac gave some instructions to one of his aides on this issue). He graciously agreed to do whatever possible to assist SL in the matters raised by me.

Arrangements were made thereafter by Nimal Karunatilleke, the Trade Attache of the Embassy, to liaise with the exporters of the major SL export products to France and facilitate their participation in a number of International Exhibitions and Trade Fairs that were held in Paris. On my visits to these Exhibitions and Trade Fairs subsequently, I found a good many SL exporters busily contracting trade deals with the French importers of our export items.

I also attended an International Tea Exhibition in Bordeaux called ‘The Road to Tea’, where I was able to interact closely with French tea importers. I was invited to tea by the Mayor of Bordeaux at his residence where to my surprise, I was served ‘Dimbula’ tea and was pleasantly surprised to learn that the Mayor was himself a lover of ‘Dimbula’ tea. I must record here, the unstinted support I received from Nimal Karunatilleke of our Embassy in all matters pertaining to Trade between France and Sri Lanka and make mention the enthusiastic support I received from Manisha Gunasekera and Saroja Sirisena who were two senior career diplomats at the Embassy during my entire period there. Saroja Sirisena in particular, with her charm and winning ways, proved a veritable asset to me during election time to various international bodies. Come election time, she used to give Ambassadors a dainty peck on their cheek and they would come in droves and vote for SL! When the former Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar asked me how SL managed to win certain crucial elections, I related Saroja’s technique (he knew Saroja well) and he laughed loud and long!

Soon after I assumed office, I discovered that the French Tea importers had formed themselves into a cartel comprising four major tea importers, of whom I was able to cultivate two of the more influential to help me to promote SL tea. This I did by inviting them for meetings and by hosting them to dinner at my residence etc. One of them, a lady told me that although Ceylon tea was by far the best in the world, our marketing was poor. She said we should promote our tea the way the French promoted their vintage wines with attractive labels giving information of the origins on the tea, its vintage, subtleties of it’s bouquet et al. She further said that Ceylon tea deserves to be similarly advertised in attractively designed packs stating that it is grown in the central highlands at an elevation of over 4,000 feet, with plucking done with the onset of the first flush of leaf. Having taken the cue from her, I emailed the Chairman/Tea Board at the time, Ronnie Weerakoon, conveying the information I had gathered from the French lady on how Ceylon tea could be attractively packaged and marketed.

Within days, Ronnie who had latched onto the concept, sent out circular instructions to all the tea exporters advising them on the above lines. I have no doubt that the tea producers who followed his instructions would have received a substantial boost to their tea exports in good time.

I also found that although the French are inveterate coffee drinkers, the upper classes were, strangely enough, aficionados of high grown good Ceylon tea. I used to occasionally entertain Members of the French Parliament to high tea in a room in the Parliament premises with the permission of the Speaker who I knew. The French MPs, curiously enough, had a partiality for our mutton cutlets , rolls and fish patties and in between sessions used to come in large numbers to partake of these snacks with the high point being fine Ceylon tea – Dimbula tea to be specific, served at the end.

Once I decided to have a little Kandyan dancing session performed by a Sinhalese boy and a girl living in Paris with drum accompaniment thrown in. The little drummer boy got a bit carried away and with the din reaching the Parliament Chamber where there was I think, a debate in progress on Corsica, the Sergeant at Arms sent a message to keep the noise levels low. I remember at one of these informal gatherings I addressed the French Members of Parliament who were present saying that although the French were traditionally coffee drinkers, it should not be forgotten that pristine Ceylon tea is like their wine, red in colour and that they were both healthy drinks. They had a good laugh while sipping our good high grown tea!

The French Perfumery Association

Our spices are much valued in France, with cinnamon occupying pride of place. SL cinnamon and lemon grass oil are in high demand by the French perfumery industry for their unique and distinctive quality and aroma. The French Perfumery Association is a powerful guild in France that is extremely quality conscious laying down and rigidly enforcing the highest quality standards in the manufacture of their world famous brands like Chanel etc. With their long and distinguished tradition of manufacturing quality perfumes, they were wont to pick the best spices, flowers and oils used in the perfume industry from across the globe with scrupulous care.

My relationship with the French Perfumery Association became so close that they made me a Life Member of the Association. I was able to open lines of communication with the Association and some of the leading cinnamon and lemon grass exporters of SL, some of whom even visited Paris and had fruitful discussions. In fact, my association with the FPA became so close, that they even created a special perfume called the ‘Spirit of Lanka’ and presented it to my wife at a formal ceremony arranged by them. This newly created perfume made of spices, oils and the essence of flowers exclusively from SL was a special, limited issue of 100 bottles which were distributed among the Ambassadors and other VIPs present at the ceremony. They even let me into what they said was a closely guarded secret – one of the perfume extracts that went into the manufacture of their world famous ‘Chanel’ brand came from the ‘Araliya’ flower which grew in SL. This SL Araliya flower they said, had a distinct and unique scent , not found in this genre of flower, anywhere else in the world.

I must record here, my appreciation of a friendly couple who were resident in France –Pierre and Ionie Silliere for making arrangements for me to visit cities and townships in Normandy to deliver talks on Sri Lanka with video presentations showing the scenic beauty and historical sights of Sri Lanka. Many people who attended these talks had only heard of Ceylon and it’s tea and were astounded by the breathtaking beauty of the island and the many places of historical and archaeological interest visitors could see. They just could not believe that we had enormous monuments (dagobas), the tallest being just five feet shorter than the tallest Egyptian Pyramid- Cheops. The Silliers told me later that many who had been present at the lecture /slide presentations were planning to visit Sri Lanka with their friends.

Despite the Ceasefire, the LTTE were still active in Paris

Despite the Ceasefire between the SL Govt. and the LTTE bringing about an uneasy calm and a tenuous cessation of hostilities, as the terms and conditions were heavily weighted in favour of the LTTE and decidedly unfavourable to the Govt. of SL , the LTTE in Paris had not let up on their propaganda activities. There was a particular area in Paris called Le Chappel which had virtually been commandeered by the Tamil Diaspora. Once I visited the area incognito on the pretext of purchasing Sri Lanka curry stuffs etc., which were available in the shops there with my driver shadowing me at a discreet distance. But despite all these precautions, one or two of the hard core LTTE sympathizers got suspicious, which I could see from their reactions in reaching for their cell phones and talking animatedly to whoever at the other end. This was enough of a warning for me to beat a hasty retreat.

Interacting with Ambassadors and important personages

It was also my view that an Ambassador representing a country should interact not only with other Ambassadors, but should also make the acquaintance of prominent personages in the host country while also mixing with the ordinary people to the extent possible. The French, with their long and illustrious tradition of suave and elegant diplomacy, are a people who treat Ambassadors with a lot of deference and respect. This is made abundantly clear when you are introduced to them as an Ambassador. Following tradition, French Ambassadors have remained a cultured and elegant lot. They are knowledgeable and conduct themselves with appropriate diplomatic finesse wherever they go. They would naturally expect the same standards of decorum and conduct from their foreign counterparts.

This does not mean that one should assume an unprepossessing hauteur, which would immediately be taken note of and often find reflection in certain cynical reactions. Being knowledgeable and convivial, at receptions and social gatherings is crucially important and would unfailingly elicit the correct responses from them. These were my perceptions which I am sure will be shared by many senior diplomats who have served particularly in Missions in the West.

I must say that I successfully made the acquaintance of academics, prominent public figures, former Ambassadors, leading businessmen dealing with our principal export products etc. by entertaining them at my residence at the many receptions my wife and I hosted. In my discussions with them, I was able to disabuse them of the misconceptions they may have had about SL, exposed as they were, to the relentless barrage of LTTE propaganda. Of course the former Foreign Minister par excellence, Mr. Lakshman Kadirgamar had already done a lot of damage control by the brilliant speeches made by him at numerous international fora by convincingly assuaging the fears and suspicions of many countries in the West to the point of veering them round and making them go to the extent of banning the LTTE in those countries. He was ably assisted in this stupendous task by Rohan Perera who was the Legal Advisor in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the time.

Among the people with whom I struck up firm friendships, I can name Prof. Meyer of Sorbonne University and Bernard de Gaulle, nephew of the late President and President of the de Gaulle Foundation. They were particularly sympathetic towards SL and the unfortunate predicament the country was in. I was quite touched when Bernard de Gaulle presented me with the ‘de Gaulle Medal’, when I was about to relinquish duties as Ambassador. He said it was in appreciation of my efforts to strengthen Sri Lanka –France cordiality and friendship.

I feel I must further state here, that I was able to interact in this amicable and informal manner with French academics and other Frenchmen of stature, due to the broad education I had received in Sri Lanka in the English medium. English was indeed a pass word to knowledge to all those who were fortunate enough to study in that medium. It opened up to us the best in English literature as well as access to the better known books in Russian, French, Italian, German literature et al, in translation. In fact, other Ambassadors used to often express their surprise when I quoted extensively from

Shakespeare, Satre, Balzac, Goethe, Plato, Aristotle, Omar Kayyaam and the lot. This certainly was not an advantage that was peculiar to me, but was a distinct advantage enjoyed by the great many who had studied in the English medium and who thereby acquired the knowledge and the breadth of vision that came with wide reading.

These are by no means self-congratulatory statements by me, but are hard facts which powers that be, should take cognizance of in making appointments at the level of Heads of Missions to important countries in the larger interests of our country. I must re-iterate that these candid observations are being made having the best interests of Sri Lanka at heart. One cannot, of course, blame the younger generations who followed in our wake, for their lack of proficiency in the English language. They were the unfortunate victims of the woeful chicanery of self-serving politicians who deluded the masses with their hugely populist measures, sacrificing long term national interests for short term political expediency.

I daresay there are still certain areas where persons proficient only in Sinhala and Tamil languages in Sri Lanka, could work admirably in discharging the duties expected of them. But with the rapid advances made in Information and Communication Technology, people are increasingly realizing the value of English as a necessary tool for knowledge enhancement and for gaining access to certain fields of study which would be denied to those possessing proficiency exclusively in Sinhala and Tamil languages.

The four Presidents whom I served, I must say, tried their best to take certain remedial measures in this regard, but the magnitude of the problem was much too overwhelming for such corrective measures attempted by them to register any lasting impact. The present Govt. too is acutely aware of the enervating effects of the problem, reflected in the lowering of knowledge and competence levels across the board, and is doing its utmost to remedy the situation by having a Special English Unit under a competent Advisor in the Presidential Secretariat dedicated to the training of English teachers. But it is proving to be an uphill task even for this Special Unit, due to the paucity of competent teachers of English.

It is therefore necessary that the problem be addressed frontally with due resolve if the situation is to be prevented from deteriorating further. It is suggested that the authorities try selecting newly passed out graduates and putting them through a six months ‘total immersion’ course in the English language. These young graduates are intelligent and already equipped with learning skills which should enable them to acquire the required proficiency in the English language with ease within the stipulated six month intensive training period. This should, whilst providing gainful employment to the increasing numbers of graduates passing out annually from Universities, also enable the authorities to tackle the problem of improving English proficiency island wide in a pragmatic manner.

Accreditation to UNESCO as Ambassador

In addition to my duties as Ambassador to France, I also represented SL at UNESCO in Paris. I had to devote considerable time to UNESCO discussions where I was elected to Chair certain Committees. UNESCO has always been at the forefront of the UN Agencies in SL assisting the country substantially in the areas of Education development and in the cultural field. UNESCO is currently primarily concerned with encouraging developing countries who are its members, in the rather daunting task of meeting the Millennium Development Goals that have been laid down by the United Nations. During this time, Dr. Sarath Amunugama and Prof. Carlo Fonseka visited Paris in a delegation to attend a UNESCO conference on the theme -‘Towards achieving the Millennium Development targets’. I remember Dr. Amunugama, (who was a familiar figure in UNESCO circles) making a stirring speech on the subject which was rapturously received by the representative audience.

On the 50th Anniversary of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth the Second, my wife and I received an invitation from Sir John Holmes, the British Ambassador, to attend the Commemoration Ceremony which was to be held at Notre Dame Cathedral. We were conducted to the seats reserved for Commonwealth Ambassadors in the front row, from where we were able to get an unobstructed view of the entire ceremony. The event was indeed a memorable one as the wondrous ‘ambience’ of Notre Dame Cathedral, lent a special grandeur and solemnity to the occasion.

Addressing the UN General Assembly on the subject of Ageing

I consider it a singular privilege and honour to have addressed the United Nations Second World Assembly on Ageing, held in Madrid Spain in April 2011. My address was on “Perspectives of the Ageing population in Sri Lanka”.

On my return to the island I was appointed Senior Advisor to the President. It was during this period that I worked in collaboration with my colleague SMSB Niyangoda, on nine Presidential Committees to study and make recommendations on numerous problems relating primarily to land matters. These recommendations made by the two of us received the approval of the President as well as the Cabinet of Ministers. I was also a member of the Presidential Commission on ‘Law and Order’,with Nihal Wadugodapitya former Justice of the Supreme Court who was Chairman and Frank de Silva former IGP. The Commission submitted a comprehensive report to the then President recommending sweeping changes to the entire Criminal Justice system which unfortunately did not find favour with the gentlemen occupying the highest echelons of the Judiciary at the time for reasons best known to them.

(Concluded)

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Features

The Venezuela Model:The new ugly and dangerous world order

Published

2 days ago

2026/01/9

Thilina Walpola

The US armed forces invading Venezuela, removing its President Nicolás Maduro from power and abducting him and his wife Cilia Flores on 3 January 2026, flying them to New York and producing Maduro in a New York kangaroo court is now stale news, but a fact. What is a far more potent fact is the pan-global impotent response to this aggression except in Latin America, China, Russia and a few others.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro described the attack as an “assault on the sovereignty” of Latin America, thereby portraying the aggression as an assault on the whole of Latin America. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva referred to the attack as crossing “an unacceptable line” that set an “extremely dangerous precedent.” Again, one can see his concern goes beyond Venezuela. For Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum the attack was in “clear violation” of the UN Charter, which again is a fact. But when it comes to powerful countries, the UN Charter has been increasingly rendered irrelevant over decades, and by extension, the UN itself. For the French Foreign Minister, the operation went against the “principle of non-use of force that underpins international law” and that lasting political solutions cannot be “imposed by the outside.” UN Secretary General António Guterres said he was “deeply alarmed” about the “dangerous precedent” the United States has set where rules of international law were not being respected. Russia, notwithstanding its bloody and costly entanglement in Ukraine, and China have also issued strong statements.

Comparatively however, many other countries, many of whom are long term US allies who have been vocal against the Russian aggression in Ukraine have been far more sedate in their reaction. Compared to his Foreign Minister, French President Emmanuel Macron said the Venezuelan people could “only rejoice” at the ousting of Maduro while the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz believed Maduro had “led his country into ruin” and that the U.S. intervention required “careful consideration.” The British and EU statements have been equally lukewarm. India’s and Sri Lanka’s statements do not even mention the US while Sri Lanka’s main coalition partner the JVP has issued a strongly worded statement.

Taken together, what is lacking in most of these views, barring a negligible few, especially from the so-called powerful countries, is the moral indignation or outrage on a broad scale that used to be the case in similar circumstances earlier. It appears that a new ugly and dangerous world order has finally arrived, footprints of which have been visible for some time.

It is not that the US has not invaded sovereign countries and affected regime change or facilitated such change for political or economic reasons earlier. This has been attempted in Cuba without success since the 1950s but with success in Chile in 1973 under the auspices of Augusto Pinochet that toppled the legitimate government of president Salvador Allende and established a long-lasting dictatorship friendly towards the US; the invasion of Panama and the ouster and capture of President Manuel Noriega in 1989 and the 2003 invasion of Iraq both of which were conducted under the presidency of George Bush.

These are merely a handful of cross border criminal activities against other countries focused on regime change that the US has been involved in since its establishment which also includes the ouster of President of Guyana Cheddi Jagan in 1964, the US invasion of the Dominican Republic in 1965 stop the return of President Juan Bosch to prevent a ‘communist resurgence’; the 1983 US invasion of Grenada after the overthrow and killing of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop purportedly to ensure that the island would not become a ‘Soviet-Cuban’ colony. A more recent adventure was the 2004 removal and kidnapping of the Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, which also had French support.

There is however a difference between all the earlier examples of US aggression and the Venezuelan operation. The earlier operations where the real reasons may have varied from political considerations based on ideological divergence to crude economics, were all couched in the rhetoric of democracy. That is, they were undertaken in the guise of ushering democratic changes in those countries, the region or the world irrespective of the long-term death and destruction which followed in some locations. But in Venezuela under President Donald Trump, it is all about controlling natural resources in that country to satisfy US commercial interests.

The US President is already on record for saying the US will “run” Venezuela until a “safe transition” is concluded and US oil companies will “go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money” – ostensibly for the US and those in Venezuela who will tag the US line. Trump is also on record saying that the main aim of the operation was to regain U.S. oil rights, which according to him were “stolen” when Venezuela nationalized the industry. The nationalization was obviously to ensure that the funds from the industry remained in the country even though in later times this did lead to massive internal corruption.

Let’s be realistic. Whatever the noise of the new rhetoric is, this is not about ‘developing’ Venezuela for the benefit of its people based on some unknown streak of altruism but crudely controlling and exploiting its natural assets as was the case with Iraq. As crude as it is, one must appreciate Trump’s unintelligent honesty stemming from his own unmitigated megalomania. Whatever US government officials may say, the bottom line is the entire operation was planned and carried out purely for commercial and monetary gain while the pretext was Maduro being ‘a narco-terrorist.’ There is no question that Maduro was a dictator who was ruining his own country. But there is also no question that it is not the business of the US or any other country to decide what his or Venezuela’s fate is. That remains with the Venezuelan people.

What is dangerous is, the same ‘narco-terrorist’ rhetoric can also be applied to other Latin American countries such as Columbia, Brazil and Mexico which also produce some of the narcotics that come into the US consumer markets. The response should be not to invade these countries to stem the flow, but to deal with the market itself, which is the US. In real terms what Trump has achieved with his invasion of Venezuela for purely commercial gain and greed, followed by the abject silence or lukewarm reaction from most of the world, is to create a dangerous and ugly new normal for military actions across international borders. The veneer of democracy has also been dispensed with.

The danger lies in the fact that this new doctrine or model Trump has devised can similarly be applied to any country whose resources or land a powerful megalomaniac leader covets as long as he has unlimited access to military assets of his country, backed by the dubius remnants of the political and social safety networks, commonsense and ethics that have been conveniently dismantled. This is a description of the present-day United States too. This danger is boosted when the world remains silent. After the success of the Venezuela operation, Trump has already upended his continuing threats to annex Greenland because “we need Greenland from the standpoint of national security.” Greenland too is not about security, but commerce given its vast natural resources.

Hours after Venezuela, Trump threatened the Colombian President Gustavo Petro to “watch his ass.” In the present circumstances, Canadians also would not have forgotten Trump’s threat earlier in 2025 to annex Canada. But what the US President and his current bandwagon replete with arrogance and depleted intelligence would not understand is, beyond the short-term success of the Venezuela operation and its euphoria, the dangerous new normal they have ushered in would also create counter threats towards the US, the region and the world in a scale far greater than what exists today. The world will also become a far less safe place for ordinary American citizens.

More crucially, it will also complicate global relations. It would no longer be possible for the mute world leaders to condemn Russian action in Ukraine or if China were to invade Taiwan. The model has been created by Trump, and these leaders have endorsed it. My reading is that their silence is not merely political timidity, but strategic to their own national and self-interest, to see if the Trump model could be adopted in other situations in future if the fallout can be managed.

The model for the ugly new normal has been created and tested by Trump. Its deciding factors are greed and dismantled ethics. It is now up to other adventurers to fine tune it. We would be mere spectators and unwitting casualties.

Features

Beyond the beauty: Hidden risks at waterfalls

Published

2 days ago

2026/01/9

Thilina Walpola

Bambarakanda waterfall. Image courtesy LANKA EXCURSIONS HOLIDAYS

Sri Lanka is blessed with a large number of scenic waterfalls, mainly concentrated in the central highlands. These natural features substantially enhance the country’s attractiveness to tourists. Further, these famous waterfalls equally attract thousands of local visitors throughout the year.

While waterfalls offer aesthetic appeal, a serene environment, and recreational opportunities, they also pose a range of significant hazards. Unfortunately, the visitors are often unable to identify these different types of risks, as site-specific safety information and proper warning signs are largely absent. In most locations, only general warnings are displayed, often limited to the number of past fatalities. This can lead visitors to assume that bathing is the sole hazard, which is not the case. Therefore, understanding the full range of waterfall-related risks and implementing appropriate safety measures is essential for preventing loss of life. This article highlights site-specific hazards to raise public awareness and prevent people from putting their lives at risk due to these hidden dangers.

Flash floods and resultant water surges

Flash floods are a significant hazard in hill-country waterfalls. According to the country’s topography, most of the streams originate from the catchments in the hilly areas upstream of the waterfalls. When these catchments receive intense rainfalls, the subsequent runoff will flow down as flash floods. This will lead to an unexpected rise in the flow of the waterfall, increasing the risk of drowning and even sweeping away people. Therefore, bathing at such locations is extremely dangerous, and those who are even at the river banks have to be vigilant and should stay away from the stream as much as possible. The Bopath Ella, Ravana Ella, and a few waterfalls located in the Belihul Oya area, closer to the A99 road, are classic examples of this scenario.

Water currents

The behaviour of water in the natural pool associated with the waterfall is complex and unpredictable. Although the water surface may appear calm, strong subsurface currents and hydraulic forces exist that even a skilled swimmer cannot overcome. Hence, a person who immerses confidently may get trapped inside and disappear. Water from a high fall accelerates rapidly, forming hydraulic jumps and vortices that can trap swimmers or cause panic. Hence, bathing in these natural pools should be totally avoided unless there is clear evidence that they are safe.

Slipping risks

Slipping is a common hazard around waterfalls. Sudden loss of footing can lead to serious injuries or fatal falls into deep pools or rock surfaces. The area around many waterfalls consists of steep, slippery rocks due to moisture and the growth of algae. Sometimes, people are overconfident and try to climb these rocks for the thrill of it and to get a better view of the area. Further, due to the presence of submerged rocks, water depths vary in the natural pool area, and there is a chance of sliding down along slippery rocks into deep water. Waterfalls such as Diyaluma, Bambarakanda, and Ravana Falls are likely locations for such hazards, and caution around these sites is a must.

Rockfalls

Rockfalls are a significant hazard around waterfalls in steep terrains. Falling rocks can cause serious injuries or fatalities, and smaller stones may also be carried by fast-flowing water. People bathing directly beneath waterfalls, especially smaller ones, are therefore exposed to a high risk of injury. Accordingly, regardless of the height of the waterfall, bathing under the falling water should be avoided.

Hypothermia and cold shock

Hypothermia is a drop in body temperature below 35°C due to cold exposure. This leads to mental confusion, slowed heartbeat, muscle stiffening, and even cardiac arrest may follow. Waterfalls in Nuwara Eliya district often have very low water temperatures. Hence, immersing oneself in these waters is dangerous, particularly for an extended period.

Human negligence

Additional hazards also arise from visitors’ own negligence. Overcrowding at popular waterfalls significantly increases the risk of accidents, including slips and falls from cliffs. Sometimes, visitors like to take adventurous photographs in dangerous positions. Reckless behavior, such as climbing over barriers, ignoring warning signs, or swimming in prohibited zones, amplifies the risk.

Mitigation and safety

measures

Mitigation of waterfall-related hazards requires a combination of public awareness, engineering solutions, and policy enforcement. Clear warning signs that indicate the specific hazards associated with the water fall, rather than general hazard warnings, must be fixed. Educating visitors verbally and distributing bills that include necessary guidelines at ticket counters, where applicable, will be worth considering. Furthermore, certain restrictions should vary depending on the circumstances, especially seasonal variation of water flow, existing weather, etc.

Physical barriers should be installed to prevent access to dangerous areas by fencing. A viewing platform can protect people from many hazards discussed above. For bathing purposes, safer zones can be demarcated with access facilities.

Installing an early warning system for heavily crowded waterfalls like Bopath Ella, which is prone to flash floods, is worth implementing. Through a proper mechanism, a warning system can alert visitors when the upstream area receives rainfall that may lead to flash floods in the stream.

At present, there are hardly any officials to monitor activities around waterfalls. The local authorities that issue tickets and collect revenue have to deploy field officers to these waterfalls sites for monitoring the activities of visitors. This will help reduce not only accidents but also activities that cause environmental pollution and damage. We must ensure that these natural treasures remain a source of wonder rather than danger.

(The writer is a chartered Civil Engineer specialising in water resources engineering)

By Eng. Thushara Dissanayake ✍️

Features

From sacred symbol to silent victim: Sri Lanka’s elephants in crisis

Published

2 days ago

2026/01/9

Thilina Walpola

The year 2025 began with grim news. On 1st January, a baby elephant was struck and killed by a train in Habarana, marking the start of a tragic series of elephant–train collisions that continued throughout the year. In addition to these incidents, the nation mourned the deaths of well-known elephants such as Bathiya and Kandalame Hedakaraya, among many others. As the year drew on, further distressing reports emerged, including the case of an injured elephant that was burnt with fire, an act of extreme cruelty that ultimately led to its death. By the end of the year, Sri Lanka recorded the highest number of elephant deaths in Asia.

This sorrowful reality stands in stark contrast to Sri Lanka’s ancient spiritual heritage. Around 250 BCE, at Mihintale, Arahant Mahinda delivered the Cūḷahatthipadopama Sutta (The Shorter Discourse on the Simile of the Elephant’s Footprint) to King Devanampiyatissa, marking the official introduction of Buddhism to the island. The elephant, a symbol deeply woven into this historic moment, was once associated with wisdom, restraint, and reverence.

Yet the recent association between Mihintale and elephants has been anything but noble. At Mihintale an elephant known as Ambabo, already suffering from a serious injury to his front limb due to human–elephant conflict (HEC), endured further cruelty when certain local individuals attempted to chase him away using flaming torches, burning him with fire. Despite the efforts of wildlife veterinary surgeons, Ambabo eventually succumbed to his injuries. The post-mortem report confirmed severe liver and kidney impairment, along with extensive trauma caused by the burns.

Was prevention possible?

The question that now arises is whether this tragedy could have been prevented.

To answer this, we must examine what went wrong.

When Ambabo first sustained an injury to his forelimb, he did receive veterinary treatment. However, after this initial care, no close or continuous monitoring was carried out. This lack of follow-up is extremely dangerous, especially when an injured elephant remains near human settlements. In such situations, some individuals may attempt to chase, harass, or further harm the animal, without regard for its condition.

A similar sequence of events occurred in the case of Bathiya. He was initially wounded by a trap gun—devices generally intended for poaching bush meat rather than targeting elephants. Following veterinary treatment, his condition showed signs of improvement. Tragically, while he was still recovering, he was shot a second time behind the ear. This second wound likely damaged vital nerves, including the vestibular nerve, which plays a critical role in balance, coordination of movement, gaze stabilisation, spatial orientation, navigation, and trunk control. In effect, the second shooting proved far more devastating than the first.

After Bathiya received his initial treatment, he was left without proper protection due to the absence of assigned wildlife rangers. This critical gap in supervision created the opportunity for the second attack. Only during the final stages of his suffering were the 15th Sri Lanka Artillery Regiment, the 9th Battalion of the Sri Lanka National Guard, and the local police deployed—an intervention that should have taken place much earlier.

Likewise, had Ambabo been properly monitored and protected after his injury, it is highly likely that his condition would not have deteriorated to such a tragic extent.

It should also be mentioned that when an injured animal like an elephant is injured, the animal will undergo a condition that is known as ‘capture myopathy’. It is a severe and often fatal condition that affects wild animals, particularly large mammals such as elephants, deer, antelope, and other ungulates. It is a stress-induced disease that occurs when an animal experiences extreme physical exertion, fear, or prolonged struggle during capture, restraint, transport, or pursuit by humans. The condition develops when intense stress causes a surge of stress hormones, leading to rapid muscle breakdown. This process releases large amounts of muscle proteins and toxins into the bloodstream, overwhelming vital organs such as the kidneys, heart, and liver. As a result, the animal may suffer from muscle degeneration, dehydration, metabolic acidosis, and organ failure. Clinical signs of capture myopathy include muscle stiffness, weakness, trembling, incoordination, abnormal posture, collapse, difficulty breathing, dark-coloured urine, and, in severe cases, sudden death. In elephants, the condition can also cause impaired trunk control, loss of balance, and an inability to stand for prolonged periods. Capture myopathy can appear within hours of a stressful event or may develop gradually over several days. So, if the sick animal is harassed like it happened to Ambabo, it does only make things worse. Unfortunately, once advanced symptoms appear, treatment is extremely difficult and survival rates are low, making prevention the most effective strategy.

What needs to be done?

Ambabo’s harassment was not an isolated incident; at times injured elephants have been subjected to similar treatment by local communities. When an injured elephant remains close to human settlements, it is essential that wildlife officers conduct regular and continuous monitoring. In fact, it should be made mandatory to closely observe elephants in critical condition for a period even after treatment has been administered—particularly when they remain in proximity to villages. This approach is comparable to admitting a critically ill patient to a hospital until recovery is assured.

At present, such sustained monitoring is difficult due to the severe shortage of staff in the Department of Wildlife Conservation. Addressing this requires urgent recruitment and capacity-building initiatives, although these solutions cannot be realised overnight. In the interim, it is vital to enlist the support of the country’s security forces. Their involvement is not merely supportive—it is essential for protecting both wildlife and people.

To mitigate HEC, a Presidential Committee comprising wildlife specialists developed a National Action Plan in 2020. The strategies outlined in this plan were selected for their proven effectiveness, adaptability across different regions and timeframes, and cost-efficiency. The process was inclusive, incorporating extensive consultations with the public and relevant authorities. If this Action Plan is fully implemented, it holds strong potential to significantly reduce HEC and prevent tragedies like the suffering endured by Ambabo. In return it will also benefit villagers living in those areas.

In conclusion, I would like to share the wise words of Arahant Mahinda to the king, which, by the way, apply to every human being:

O’ great king, the beasts that roam the forest and birds that fly the skies have the same right to this land as you. The land belongs to the people and to all other living things, and you are not its owner but only its guardian.

by Tharindu Muthukumarana ✍️
tharinduele@gmail.com
(Author of the award-winning book “The Life of Last Proboscideans: Elephants”)