Midweek Review

Failed 2015 political project may have triggered Easter Sunday attacks

Published

6 years ago

2020/10/21

Sahan Weerasooriya

A statue of Jesus amidst debris at St Sebastian’s Church, Katuwapitiya, Negombo following the Easter Sunday bombing

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Brigadier Chula Kodituwakku, on April 26, 2019, attributed the Easter Sunday carnage to four specific reasons, namely (1) battlefield setbacks suffered by ISIS (2) ISIS directing Zahran Hashim’s outfit to carry out the high profile attacks (3) massacre of Muslim worshippers in New Zealand, in 2019, and (4) domestic reasons.

Kodituwakku, in his capacity as the Director of Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI), addressed editors of national newspapers, and journalists, as well as representatives of television stations, on the invitation of the then Army Commander Lt. Gen. Mahesh Senanayake.

Seated at the head table, were the then President Maithripala Sirisena, flanked by Lt. Gen. Senanayake, and the then Northern Province Governor Dr. Suren Raghavan, and the venue, the Janadhipathy Mandiraya. (Senanayake retired in the third week of Aug 2019.

The retired Army Chief exploited the crisis caused by the Easter carnage to launch a short-lived political career. His effort ended disastrously. Having failed to obtain at least 50,000 votes at Nov 16, 2019 presidential election, Senanayake left the country, subsequently, for employment overseas. Dr. Raghavan secured a slot on the SLPP National List.

Neither Brig. Koditiwakku, nor any other person, at the head table, responded, though the media sought a clarification as regards what these domestic reasons were. The writer was among those present at the meeting summoned by President Sirisena, his (President) first encounter with the media, following the Easter Sunday attacks. Much to the surprise of those who had been there President Sirisena, who had been in Singapore at the time of the attack, claimed that he got to know about the incident, through social media. Reference was made to a friend who showed the relevant post to him (Politicos’ links to terrorist grouping: Prez promises no holds barred probe with strapline ‘Terror mastermind influenced by India-based ISIS’ April 27, 2019 The Island) (Close on the heels of Shavendra Silva being appointed the Commander of the Army, Kodituwakku was replaced.)

But when Sirisena recently appeared before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (P CoI), in his capacity as the former President and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, he claimed, on the day of the Easter attacks, he was hospitalized and, therefore, didn’t have access even to his Chief Security Officer. Obviously, P CoI hadn’t sought an explanation from the former President as regards the contradictory answers as it was probably not aware of the President’s initial claim of a friend alerting him. Let us also hope that he won’t be given kid-glove treatment, like the way then PM Ranil Wickremesinghe was treated when being questioned before the Treasury Bond Commission, despite him having been in the thick of it.

In addition to the on-going P CoI, there were two other investigations, (1) a three-member committee, headed by Supreme Court Judge, Vijith Kumara Malalagoda, and (2) eight-member Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC), led by the then Deputy Speaker, Ananda Kumarasiri. In addition to them, PSC member, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, submitted a report, of his own, on the Easter attacks. However, concluded inquiries, as well as the ongoing PCoI and CID investigations, hadn’t really probed domestic reasons that may have contributed to the Easter attacks. Although Brig. Kodiruwakku included domestic reasons among four specific causes; there hadn’t been any genuine discussion/attempt to examine what these could be.

‘Deep State’ faulted

Dr. Rajan Hoole’s thought provoking ‘Sri Lanka’s Easter Tragedy: When the Deep State gets out of its Depth,’ discussed the circumstances leading to the Easter carnage – the worst single terror attack carried out, in Sri Lanka, against undefended targets. The author is the more even-handed brother of Prof. Ratnajeevan Hoole, member of the Election Commission who caused quite a number of controversies, in the run up to the Presidential election. Ratnajeevan Hoole had always responded swiftly to whatever issues raised by the media, regardless of the accusation made and the origins of it.

The writer recently had an opportunity to peruse the Sinhala translation of Dr. Rajan Hoole’s ‘Sri Lanka’s Easter Tragedy: When the Deep State gets out of its Depth,’ launched several weeks before the last presidential election, in Nov 2019. Translated by Mahinda Hatthaka (Movement for Defense of Democratic Rights), the Sinhala translation is an immensely readable tome that the writer believes shed light on the complex web of secrets/situations/relationships that led to the Easter carnage. Dr. Hoole, who authored ‘The Arrogance of Power: Myths, decadence and murder,’ in January 2001, quite clearly blamed the State elements for the attack. A founder member of the daring and pioneering University Teachers for Human Rights (UTHR) Jaffna, that stood up to the once mighty LTTE, albeit clandestinely, Dr. Hoole is explicit in his accusation that those who backed SLPP candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa created an environment to deprive the Muslims of an opportunity to vote at the Nov 2019 presidential election. The author asserted that attempt failed while making reference to the plantation Tamils being disenfranchised in 1949, consequent to the 1948 Citizenship Act.

Interestingly, the author conveniently desisted from recalling how the LTTE-TNA combine denied the Northern community the opportunity to vote at the Nov 2005 presidential election. The calculated move definitely cost UNP candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe the election. Wickremesinghe lost by 186,000 votes.

Kumaran Pathmanathan, aka ‘KP,’ in an exclusive interview with the writer, in August 2010, asserted that the LTTE felt comfortable in having Mahinda Rajapaksa as the President as he could be dealt with much more easily than Wickremesinghe. The Rajapaksas proved Velupillai Prabhakaran wrong, four years after that decisive election. At the time of the interview, ‘KP’ was in the custody of the DMI.

Let me get back to Dr. Hoole’s work. In Chapter 4, the academic briefly discussed the possibility of the failure on the part of the now proscribed National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) to secure representation in parliament at the August 2015 general election. Had the NTJ succeeded in securing a foothold in parliament, the Easter Sunday carnage might not have happened, Dr. Hoole speculated, asserting that the NTJ adopted an aggressive strategy, in the wake of the electoral failure. Dr. Hoole based his quite controversial assessment on an electoral agreement, involving the NTJ, M.L.A.M. Hizbullah of the UPFA (United People’s Freedom Alliance) and Abdul Rahuman and Shibly Farook (both members of SLMC-Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, a constituent of the UNP-led coalition).

On similar lines, many have earlier pointed out that if not for old JRJ’s greed and incessant political intrigue to retain absolute power, whether it be through a by-election, or even in the highly rigged referendum to postpone the general election, in the early 80s, and had the UNP instead allowed room for greater pluralism, in parliament, by allowing the likes of the JVP to enter the August assembly, in a more level playing field, there wouldn’t have been a second southern blood bath, in the late 80s.

Dr. Hoole, without hesitation, whatsoever, likened the attempt made by Kattankudy-born Zahran Hashim to have some of his nominees, in parliament, to that of Prabhakaran’s successful arrangement with R. Sampanthan of the TNA. In terms of the agreement, the TNA acknowledged the LTTE as the sole representative of the Tamils, two years after the high-profile assassination of TULF lawmaker, Neelan Thiruchelvam, in 1999.

The UNP secured 106 seats, whereas the UPFA managed 95, at the August 2015 general election. A section of the SLFP-led UPFA backed the UNP to form the government in terms of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution that facilitated the despicable political project.

President Sirisena, who is also the leader of the SLFP, had no qualms in accommodating defeated M.L.A.M. Hizbullah on the UPFA National List. Hizbullah was among over half a dozen defeated UPFA candidates, accommodated on the National List. National List MP Hizbullah functioned as the Batticaloa political lord until he resigned in January 2019 to pave the way for President Sirisena loyalist, Shantha Bandara, to enter parliament. Hizbullah was rewarded with the appointment as the Eastern Province Governor. At the time of the Easter attacks, Hizbullah served as the Eastern Province Governor and Chairman of the Batticaloa Campus (Pvt) Limited. In a report presented to the Parliament Sectoral Sub-Committee on Higher Education and Human Resources, the scandalous politician identified himself as Dr. M.L.A.M. Hizbullah. In spite of failing to get elected, did Hizbullah serve the interests of Zahran Hashim?

Nexus between political parties

and terrorists

Dr. Hoole dealt with complexities experienced by both Tamil and Muslim political parties represented in parliament, due to them having to deal with the LTTE and the NTJ, respectively. The author, in no uncertain terms, censured TNA leader R. Sampanthan for shielding the LTTE, accused of killing civilians trying to flee the area dominated by the group. The author, while acknowledging the inexcusable use of civilians as human shields, lambasted Sampanthan for misleading the media.

The particular media briefing, attended by journalists representing international media organizations, where Sampanthan alleged the government lied regarding the LTTE killing those trying to seek refuge in the government-held area, according to the author, took place on Feb 17, 2009. The military brought the war to a successful conclusion on the morning of May 19, 2009.

Dr. Hoole also referred to an alleged SLFP attempt to exploit the JVP, in the run-up to the Dec 19, 1988 presidential election and the Feb 15, 1989 general election. One cannot dispute Dr. Hoole’s contention that the SLFP remained silent on the JVP killings, while condemning extrajudicial operations carried out by security forces to justify claim the SLFP sought political power with the help of the JVP.

The author examined the gradual rise of the LTTE and the registration of the NTJ, in 2015, as well as basic differences between Tamil terrorism and the operation undertaken by Zahran Hashim, meant to be the Supreme Leader of the Sri Lankan Muslim community. How he expected to achieve such a feat by leading nearly simultaneous coordinated suicide attacks is still a mystery. Perhaps that mystery can be solved if Pulasthini Rajendran, alias Sarah, the wife of Achchi Mohammdu Mohammadu Hasthun, the suicide bomber who blew himself up at St. Sebastian’s Church, at Katuwapitiya, close to Negombo town, could be found. She most likely fled to India, by sea, in September 2019. In spite of claims Sarah is alive, the government is yet to establish the truth. The claim by some that she was the RAW mole in the Zahran’s terror camp might be the reason why she found ready refuge in India after being part of such a vicious carnage here.

Dr. Hoole ascertained that unlike Zahran Hashim, Prabhakaran’s violent career hadn’t been so meticulously planned, but the latter’s project lasted for more than three decades. However, the main thrust of ‘Sri Lanka’s Easter Tragedy: When the Deep State gets out of its Depth’ is to blame the heinous crime on what the author described as ‘Deep State’ comprising influential sections of political parties, civil administration and the military. The readiness of ‘Deep State’ to undertake operations at the expense of the rules of the land, regardless of political consequences, is certainly a frightening prospect. Perhaps, the P CoI should request Dr. Rajan Hoole to help in the examination of the Easter Sunday attacks.

Although, there hadn’t been a single NTJ-linked incident, following the Easter attacks, it would be of pivotal importance to verify Dr. Rajan Hoole’s assertions. Did Zahran Hashim decide to mark NTJ’s emergence with a suicide bombing campaign, in the wake of his abortive bid to get three parliamentary seats? Perhaps, Dr. Rajan Hoole is wrong. But, can P CoI disregard an opportunity to establish the truth.

There was reference to Pol Pot’s Cambodia in relation to the weakening of the judiciary, communal violence and annihilation of JVP-inspired insurgencies et al.

Did JRJ plan riots before Thinnaveli killings?

Dr. Rajan Hoole, in his latest work, repeated accusation levelled in ‘The Arrogance of Power: Myths, decadence and murder,’ that the July 1983 violence had been pre-planned and was unleashed immediately after the LTTE attack on an army patrol at Thinnaveli, Jaffna, on July 23, 1983. The first executive President had been accused of directing the power of the State and the UNP trade union setup (Jathika Sevaka Sangamaya) against the Tamil community. Reference was made to JRJ seeking US and Israeli assistance to establish a security apparatus.

Amusingly, Dr. Hoole asserted that Indian intervention took place in the wake of JRJ inviting/seeking US and Israeli security cooperation following the anti-Tamil riots, where the President deceitfully blamed the JVP.

Nothing can be further from the truth than the assertion that the Indian intervention took place in 1987. India forced President JRJ to accept deployment of the Indian Army, in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, in July 1987, several years after New Delhi created an environment conducive for military occupation in the guise of restoring peace. In fact, the Thinnaveli ambush couldn’t have taken place, if not for India or some other party providing the expertise and the technology to half a dozen terrorist groups, including the LTTE, over a period of time.

Indian strategists obviously triggered violence by providing the LTTE the required expertise to take it to the next level. The LTTE proved its capacity and capability to exploit Indian training when Prabhakaran took on the Indian Army, in Oct 1987. By the time New Delhi was forced to call off its Sri Lanka mission, at the behest of Premadasa, 1,300 Indian officers, and men, were killed, and over 2,500 wounded. Indian trainers can be really happy about their success in training foreign terrorists. Perhaps, the Indian misadventure can be blamed on ‘Deep State’ in India.

Sri Lanka should be grateful to the late one-time India’s High Commissioner in Colombo, J.N. Dixit, for setting the record straight in his memoirs, ‘Makers of India’s Foreign Policy’, published in 2004.

Dixit asserted that the decision to give active support to Sri Lankan Tamil militants could be considered one of the two major foreign policy blunders made by the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. But he strongly defended the Prime Minister’s action, while asserting Gandhi couldn’t have afforded the emergence of Tamil separatism, in India, by refusing to support the aspirations of Sri Lankan Tamils [Chapter 6:An Indocentric Practitioner of Realpolitik-Makers of India’s Foreign Policy].

However, Dixit failed to explain how the Prime Minister hoped to achieve her twin objectives by recruiting, training, arming and deploying thousands of Sri Lankan Tamil youth against an elected government. India cannot absolve itself of the responsibility for helping Sri Lankan terrorists establish contact with international terrorist groups. The Indian action caused irrevocable damage to Indo-Lanka relations. The Maldives, too, suffered due to Indian intervention in Sri Lanka. Dixit totally ignored the Maldivian factor, though India was responsible for the coup attempt in the Maldives by way of providing training to those who mounted a sea-borne raid, in early Nov 1988. The raiders belonged to Indian-trained PLOTE, now represented in parliament.

Three years later, a Sea borne LTTE team executed a top secret plan that led to the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, who ordered the deployment of the Indian Army in Sri Lanka.

Muslim extremism-military links

Dr. Hoole’s allegations, pertaining to the role played by Muslim youth in Sri Lanka’s war against the LTTE, too, should be examined against the backdrop of allegations that renegade LTTE Commander, Karuna Amman, provided them weapons training. Can claims that Muslim youth, and those ex-LTTE cadres loyal to Karuna, fought in high-risk battles/took part in risky operations, during 2004-2007 period, be substantiated? No less a person than the wartime Army Commander, the then Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka, while acknowledging the support received from the breakaway LTTE faction, however, denied any high-profile role being played by them in crushing the LTTE militarily. In the absence of proper official account of the involvement of Tamil groups, as well as the LTTE breakaway faction, in ‘operations’ against the LTTE, the public can be easily deceived. Ex-members of Tamil groups ‘worked’ for the military in various capacities. That cannot be denied. There is no harm in acknowledging their contribution, though such open admission might not be acceptable to some.

The P CoI can inquire into Dr. Hoole’s findings as part of its overall efforts to unravel the mystery. Can there be any rational explanation for lawmaker M.A. Sumanthiran to publicly justifying the Easter Sunday massacre, in spite of at least 70 of those perished being totally innocent Tamils. So, any price is not too high for political expediency?

Dr. Hoole made no reference to Sumanthiran’s declaration though he commented on various developments and the situation. The author indicated that he didn’t desire to respond to The Island queries as regards Sumanthiran’s shocking statement at an event organized by the Sinhala weekly Annidda to celebrate its first anniversary at the BMICH. The President’s Counsel, and then TNA mouthpiece, alleged that the Easter Sunday carnage was a result of Sri Lanka’s failure to ensure certain basic values. The TNA heavyweight warned of dire consequences, unless Sri Lanka addressed the grievances of the minorities.

Sumanthiran said that no conversation took place today without reference to the Easter Sunday attacks. The lawmaker said that the public was asking what was going to happen because the country was stunned by what happened on that day. Sumanthiran said: All of us were so complacent we lived in a fool’s paradise imagining that the country was in peace in the absence of violence. As there had been no fighting for 10 years, people assumed the country had attained peace. “

Such an attack would have happened some day because the country had not laid the foundation for peaceful co-existence in this country, the TNA heavyweight said. “What we saw was a false edifice. And we were quite happy to carry on with that. Three decades of violent conflict that emanated from the North and East kept us on our toes and those days we actually saw the need to address those issues in a very deep and meaningful way”.

Sumanthiran alleged that once the war was brought to a conclusion, in May 2009, those responsible assumed there was no requirement to address those issues. They continued to pay lip service, the lawmaker alleged, adding: “Whenever issues were raised, they say they must resolve those issues. But deep down, they didn’t feel those issues had to be addressed.”

Referring to the Easter Sunday carnage, Sumanthiran said it was most unfortunate that something like that had to happen for the country to reflect and realize that it necessarily had to go back to certain basic values by which all could live together as a country. Sumanthiran warned: “Unless we agree on those basic values we are doomed.”

Declaring that there wouldn’t be any future for the country unless consensus could be reached on what those basic values were, Sumanthiran called equality a key value.

The Easter Sunday carnage remains a mystery, though pathetic failure on the part of law enforcement and military, as well as the political leadership, to thwart the NTJ operation, has been established beyond doubt.

All News Advertisement

Midweek Review

Overall SLPP failures stressed in new Aragalaya narrative

Published

3 days ago

2026/05/20

Sahan Weerasooriya

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa receives a copy of Mohan Samaranayake's ‘Regime Change project 2022’ at its launch held at Sri Lanka Foundation recently.

The US has been complicit in the 9 July 2022 assault on the President’s House. A new book, on the regime change project, by renowned political commentator Mohan Samaranayake, examined the then US Ambassador Julie Chung’s role in the operation. Referring to her twitter messages before the final assault, the author pointed out how she warned the government and the military against the advance on the President’s House while reassuring protection for the attacking party.

Throughout the March 31-July 14, 2022 period, Chung blatantly intervened in the government’s response, thereby preventing tangible action being taken to neutralise the growing threat.

Bringing up claims regarding Chung/ Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay putting pressure on Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena to accept the presidency, Samaranayake declared that only Abeywardena could clear the continuing controversy regarding the intervention made by an envoy. Regardless of who visited the Speaker, at his official residenc, as the JVP-led crowds prepared to bring Parliament under their control on 13 May, 2022, what we should keep in mind is that it was a joint US-Indian project. Who definitely met the then Speaker, followed by a delegation consisting of Buddhist and Catholic clergy and civil society, who, too, echoed the foreign instigated agenda, is irrelevant.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Political and foreign affairs commentator Mohan Samaranayake meticulously deals with the overthrowing of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2022, in a manner that exposed the failure on the part of the then ruling party, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), to recognise the US-Indian plot that was in the making no sooner he assumed office as the President, or even before that. Samaranayake also discusses the pathetic police and armed forces response to the threat (Chapter 7).

Samaranayake dealt with the possibility of at least a section of the Cabinet-of-Ministers, unwittingly contributing to the overall strategy meant to undercut the government and isolate the President.

‘Regime Change project 2022’, authored by one-time UN public communications staffer, at its Colombo office, who also held several government appointments over a period of time, including under Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s tenure, found fault with Ministers Dullas Alahaperuma and Udaya Gammanpila, leader of the SLPP constituent, Pivithuru Hela Urumaya.

Samaranayake shed light on a frightening situation, within the ruling party, that lacked at least a basic plan of action, struggling to cope up with internal strife. He singled out the Basil Rajapaksa-led group as the worst of the offenders. Samaranayake is spot on. The author quite rightly declared that the triumph of the regime change project was nothing but the disintegration of the nationalistic group, within the ruling bloc. Unfortunately, the SLPP seemed to have failed to realise the gravity of that situation.

Pointing out that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa hadn’t been the leader of the ruling party, in one line, the author emphasised how the authoritarian conduct of the Basil Rajapaksa–led section of the parliamentary group caused rapid deterioration. The SLPP secured a near 2/3 majority at the 2020 parliamentary election. Formed in 2016, the SLPP, having won 18 electoral districts, bagged 145 seats. Basil Rajapaksa’s group didn’t tolerate dissent. That group slammed Wimal Weerawansa when he urged the SLFP to create an influential position for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa who ended up sacking Weerawansa and Gammanpila for some other mattter. The author criticised the President’s action.

It would be interesting to ascertain how the conspirators exploited the discord, within the ruling party, as they advanced the anti-Gotabaya strategy. Samaranayake, like others who authored books on overthrowing President Rajapaksa, acknowledged that the economic fallout, caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine, facilitated the operation.

The leader of Jathika Nidahas Peramuna, Wimal Weerawansa, was the first to release a book on the regime change project. “Nine: The Hidden Story,’’ launched in April 2023, caused quite a controversy over claims of direct US intervention. Then US Ambassador Julie Chung denied Weerawansa’s revelation that she asked Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena to take over the presidency, regardless of constitutional impediments. Later the then Speaker’s indirect admission of what transpired proved much of Weerawansa’s assertions, though there is till controversy over the identity of the envoy who visited the Speaker at his official residence on 13 July, 2022. Remember the old adage that ambassadors are there to lie abroad for their country.

Weerawansa was followed by the much-respected writer, Sena Thoradeniya (Galle Face Protest: Systems Change or Anarchy), ousted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa (The Conspiracy to Oust Me from the Presidency), Maj. Gen. K. B. Egodawela who served on President Rajapaksa’s staff (Aragalaya: From Love to Violence), President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s media chief Prof. Sunanada Madduma Bandara (Aragalaye Balaya), Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana (Sri Lanka’s Economic Revival – Reflection on the Journey from Crisis to Recovery), and expert current affairs commentator Asanga Abeygunasekera (Winds of Change).

However, Samaranayake obviously has paid extra attention to the SLPP’s inner shortcomings that contributed to the overall success of the regime change operation. At the tail end of the first chapter, Samaranayake raised a spate of questions regarding the terrifying possibility of inside help that enabled the conspirators to carry out the regime change operation. Samaranayake asked whether those within the government caused economic deterioration deliberately, in support of the move against the President.

Referring to economic indicators and comparing the official figures, the author stressed the deterioration of the national economy during the Yahapalana administration (2015 to 2019) contributed to the economic collapse, like borrowing as much as USD12 billion by Wickremesinghe’s regime at high interests, however all that was conveniently put on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa by convenient critics leaving out elements of truth disadvantageous to their agenda. Propagation of false and politically motivated narratives, according to Samaranayake, seemed to have overwhelmed the President and his sharply divided parliamentary group.

On the basis of a disclosure made by the ex-President, Samaranayake highlighted how a far reaching decision to unilaterally suspend debt repayment was taken even without consulting the President.

Swiss Embassy affair

Samaranayake, who served as the Director General of President Gotabaya Rajapaksas’s Media Division, examined the regime change operation, taking into consideration what was dubbed as the Swiss Embassy affair, at the onset of his administration. Having acknowledged President Rajapaksa thwarted a diabolical Swiss plot to tarnish his government, using local Embassy employee Ganiya Bannister Francis (Siriyalatha Perera is her original name/She now lives abroad) from discrediting Sri Lanka, the author asserted that the SLPP’s failure to take the then Swiss Ambassador Hanspeter Mock to task for false flag operation influenced those who planned the regime change to go ahead.

The SLPP should reexamine its response to the Swiss Embassy affair. Perhaps, Sri Lanka should revisit the incident, particularly against the backdrop of accusations that Hanspeter Mock pursued an utterly contemptible agenda targeting Sri Lanka. Among the incidents cited was the Ambassador facilitating Chief Inspector Nishantha de Silva of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) leaving the country without government authorisation.

Samaranayake’s assertion that the 2022 colour revolution was an extension of the 2015 regime change operation seems controversial to some people, though the writer believes the first such project was mounted in the aftermath of Sri Lanka’s triumph over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The US backed UNP-JVP-TNA project to field war-winning Army Commander Sarath Fonseka as the common presidential candidate against incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa that exposed the US hand. There cannot be any dispute over that.

The seriousness of Samaranayake’s allegation that ex-parliamentarian Hirunika Premachandra (SJB), on behalf of the regime change operation, tested President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s defences during protest conducted outside the President’s private residence at Pangiriwatta, Mirihana, on 5 March, 2022. The issue at hand is whether the SJB authorised Hirunika’s actions at Pangiriwatta. But, Samaranayake’s criticism of the President and the armed forces, as well as the intelligence services, for failing to take tangible measures against the growing and deepening regime change threat. The author went to the extent of describing them as ,silent onlookers. The accusation that the President refused to believe that he was the target of the regime change operation underscored the SLPP’s pathetic response to the threat.

Samaranayake painted a bleak picture of the situation by quoting Egodawela, who served the Army, like Gotabaya, as having asserted that the March 31, 2022 violent protest was meant to assassinate President Rajapaksa. In post-Aragalaya examination of events/developments, Samaranayake blamed the police and armed forces for not neutralising gangs that unleashed violence in the aftermath of the attack on the Galle Face protesters, on 9 May, 2022. But, unfortunately, Samaranayake failed to pay sufficient attention to the failure on the part of the police and the armed forces to prevent Temple Trees mounting the first attack. There is no doubt that Temple Trees ordered the attack in a desperate bid to break the siege on the Presidential Secretariat, contrary to the instructions issued by President Gotabaya.

Samaranayake, who studied the situation, leading to the overthrowing of President Gotabaya, March 31 to July 14, 2022, period, and subsequent developments for nearly two years, emphasised the alleged bid to kill the President, and several others, and display their bodies on 9 July, 2022, following the storming of the President’s House. Based on social media posts, the author made the shocking claim that a private local and a foreign television channel had been there to telecast the displaying of bodies.

Perhaps, the plot could have succeeded if not for the timely intervention made by the then Navy Commander, Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugettenne, who deployed SLNS Gajabahu to move the President and First Lady Anoma, who received the appreciation of all for being humble.

Ranil’s role and Yahapalana fault

Wickremesinghe played a crucial role in the project to oust President Rajapaksa. That is the undeniable truth. Beleaguered Gotabaya’s decision to accommodate Wickremesinghe as the Prime Minister, in April 2022, and then elevate him as the President, wouldn’t change the ugly truth. The author didn’t mince his words when he explained the swift collapse of the externally backed operation, soon after Gotabaya’s ouster. Those who funded the regime change project, lawyers/BASL involved in it and men and women who pursued political and religious agendas, according to the author, felt satisfied when Gotabaya stepped down. “They knew when to halt the campaign,” declared Samaranayake whose criticism of the President and the SLPP should attract their attention.

Samaranayake asserted that Wickremesinghe’s readiness to swiftly deploy the military and police to chase away those who remained outside the Presidential Secretariat, and other places, too, after Gotabaya’s ouster, contributed to the normalisation of the situation.

Having provided muscle to the protest campaign at the beginning, the UNP and the SJB cannot, under any circumstances, absolve themselves of the responsibility for the violence unleashed by organised gangs. Samaranayake’s clear stand that such violence cannot be justified, on the basis of Temple Trees allowing some staunch supporters to attack the Galle Face protesters out of sheer desperation, should be commended. SJB leader Sajith Premadasa, who sought political mileage out of the rapidly developing situation on 9 May, 2022, following the attack on the Galle Face protesters, was nearly killed when he visited the protest site. If not for the quick response of his bodyguards, Aragalaya activists could have captured him and other SJB lawmakers. Had that happened, the result could have been catastrophic.

One of the most controversial claims made by the author was the Chinese involvement in the regime change project. Although allegations and claims pertaining to the US, European and Indian interventions are in the public domain, the alleged direct Chinese involvement is a matter of grave concern. The author, without hesitation, named China and Russia in a group that included the US, the UK, EU, Japan and India hell-bent on achieving their political, economic and military objectives at the expense of other countries. Citing Sri Lanka as a case in point, the author methodically discussed post-Second WW regime change operations elsewhere while paying attention to the US-China conflict that undermined Sri Lanka’s sovereignty.

Samaranayake mentioned the US backing for retired General Sarath Fonseka at the 2010 presidential election, less than a year after the eradication of the LTTE as an instance that proved the US determination to achieve its objectives at any cost. Had the author been aware Fonseka was categorised alongside the Rajapaksa brothers as war criminals. It is like the way US treats ISIS as good terrorists and bad terrorist depending on whom they back. WikiLeaks released the then US Ambassador Patricia Butenis’s classified missive to Washington in addition to a spate of other documents which revealed directed US involvement in selecting Fonseka as the common candidate.

Samaranayake squarely differed with those who build their narratives on the basis of the actions of the then US Ambassador Julie Chung (2022 to January 2026) and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland (2021 to 2024). Samaranayake is quite right in his assessment that, like many other US officials, the likes of Chung and Nuland were only tools to achieve overall US objectives. In the case of hapless Sri Lanka, the US strategy was/ is meant to ensure that Colombo remained aligned with the Indo-Pacific doctrine regardless of political changes. The way the US and its partner in crime India embraced and propped up JVP/NPP and again reiterated their approach.

An Act like no other

Samaranayake didn’t even bother to mention Siriwardena’s book that dealt with the developments, essentially with focus on economics leading to President Gotabaya’s ouster. Similarly, there hadn’t been a reference to ‘Winds of Change.’ (https://island.lk/aragalaya-gr-blames-cia-in-asanga-abeyagoonasekeras-explosive-narrative/)

Let me briefly discuss a major difference between Samaranayake’s take on economic crisis and that of Siriwardena who confidently asserted that Gotabaya’s presidency could have been saved if the government secured IMF loan facility. ( https://island.lk/aragalaya-could-have-been-thwarted-and-grs-presidency-saved-mahinda-siriwardana/)

According to Samaranayake’s narrative, the sudden suspension of debt repayment scheme even without consulting President Gotabaya had been a calculated move to entrap Sri Lanka in IMF strategy.

It would be pertinent to mention that President Wickremesinghe, in July, 2024, managed to adopt the Economic Transformation Act without a vote, in line with the overall IMF/other lending agencies’ strategy to ensure Sri Lanka remained aligned with the IMF, regardless of political changes. Having opposed the IMF outwardly over the years, the JVP/NPP pledged its allegiance to the IMF, without any hesitation, once installed in power at the expense of its purported original principles. There had never been such an Act that forbade political parties of pursuing policies contrary to specific IMF dictates.

Samaranayake explained how the JVP/NPP completely changed its approach in the wake of the 2024 national elections. Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who, in his capacity as the leader of the JVP, as well as its parliamentary group, in 2015 October, lashed out in Parliament against unbridled activities of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in Jaffna. In April 2025 President Dissanayake entered into seven vital MoUs with Premier Modi. One dealt with defence, and a few months later Sri Lanka allowed Japan to sell controlling interests in the strategic ship builder Colombo Dockyard Limited (CDL), once carefully nursed by late National Security Minister Lalith Athulathmudali who was assassinated by the LTTE, to Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) affiliated with the Indian Ministry of Defence.

The way Sri Lanka succumbed to Western powers and India and ended up in their domain, therefore, as Samaranayake predicted, there may never be a comprehensive investigation into the despicable regime change operation. Alleging that Wickremesinghe conveniently allowed those responsible at all levels, including the military and police to go scot-free, the author asserted that Dissanayake, a key beneficiary of that operation, too, may never intervene.

Premier Modi, who sort of gave his blessings to the despicable decapitating operation against Iran, by visiting Tel Aviv, should realise that he is no darling of the West and he, too, will be stabbed in the back as these evil pale faces have done to others if they suspect that his country might be a future threat, both militarily and economically, to them. The US denied visa to Modi in March 2005. The State Department acted in terms of the Immigration and Nationality Act, citing Modi’s alleged responsibility for “particularly severe violations of religious freedom” related to the 2002 Gujarat violence.

Referring to various uprisings and revolutions that shaped the world over the past several centuries and those who propagated lies as they advanced frightening strategy here, the author confidently asserted that the vast majority didn’t realise that they were being used in a high profile regime change project.

Samaranayake’s narrative is a must read, as it is a no holds barred examination of available facts, sometimes ignored by political parties, the judiciary and the media. Having read all books that dealt with regime change projects, except the one by Maj. Gen. Egodawella, the writer is of the view that Samaranayake went to extraordinary lengths to educate the people of the challenges faced by post-war Sri Lanka.

The challenge to the country’s unitary status seems to be growing in the absence of a cohesive strategy regardless of political interests to safeguard national interests. The situation seems so bad and further deteriorating rapidly, the 17tth anniversary of armed forces triumph over separatist Tamil terrorism appears to be irrelevant. Let us hope Samaranayake’s thought-provoking narrative receives public attention and influences the decision-makers to change their direction.

In fact, there had never been such a comprehensive examination of regime change operation, taking into consideration a wide-range of facts/issues to prove the US dominance here, though China still runs many critically important projects. Unassuming Samaranayake, like Thoradeniya, remain among a small group of people who had the strength and courage to tell the truth.

Midweek Review

Palm leaf manuscripts of Sri Lanka – part iii

Published

3 days ago

2026/05/20

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sirancee Gunawardena, the author of ‘Palm leaf manuscripts of Sri Lanka ‘(1977) met J. Pannila of Artigala south, Hanwella when she was researching palm leaf manuscripts. He was then a village elder and was the descendant of a long line of palm leaf manuscript writers.

Pannila had told Sirancee how the palm leaf is prepared as writing material and she has reproduced the information in her book. It is possible to infer from the knowledge shown by Pannila that palm leaf manuscripts writers were also trained in preparing the palm leaf, and in preserving the manuscript as well as writing on it. I think there may have been others who lacked the skill of writing, but who knew to prepare the item and to preserve it.

In Sri Lanka palm leaf manuscripts were made out of the young fronds of the Talipot palm. Talipot was able to resist the tropical climate of Sri Lanka. Pannila said, before the leaf bud opens, rings of bamboo are put 18 inches apart round the main leaf (sic). After 21 days, the branch is cut and brought down carefully, from the crown of the tree which is usually about 60 feet above ground. The mid rib of each leaf is cut off and the leaves become flexible strips.

The leaves are wound up into rolls. These are put into a large clay pot, with layers of pineapple leaves in between. Pot is filled with water and Kappetiya branches are placed on top, the vessels is sealed with a cloth and heated over a fire. The palm leaves were considered sufficiently boiled when the leaves of the Kappetiya fell off. The rolls were then taken out and washed.

The leaves were polished by rubbing them against a rounded pole of Walla wood, till the strips became flat. They were hung on a coir rope, like a clothes line, and kept outdoors for a week or so, get a fine polished texture. They were now ready for writing. The leaf strip was placed on a piece of soft wood and held in the left hand for writing with the right hand.

Writing was done with the Panhinda. This stylus had a steel tipped quill. The end of the quill was like that of an arrow, both sides were sharp and the edge was pointed to obtain sharp outlines. There were different sized quills. Some broader than others. Sharp, small size stylus was used for drawings. Sirancee owned two stylus, one long stylus with an ornate fan shaped top and another with two decorative metal globules.

The ordinary stylus was traditionally hand made by the village blacksmith. But there were elaborate ones with ornate gold, metal, ivory or carved wooden handles. The gold stylus was made of pure gold except for the stylus which was of steel. The gold stylus was a symbol of prestige. The Ananda Coomaraswamy collection has a golden stylus with royal ensign ‘SrI’. It is said to have been originally given by King Narendrasinha to Alagaboda Nilame.

The stylus was treated with respect. Sirancee pointed out that the Maha Lekammitiya and stylus were carried in the Dalada temple procession in the Esala perahera. The Matale Mahadivase Kadainmpota said “Niharepola Alahakoon Mohottala was appointed lekam of Tunkorale and received the ran Panhinda and flag”.

Inscribing a palm leaf was a skilled task. A scribe had to go through a long period of training before he was allowed to write on ola. Only very experienced writers were allowed to inscribe a major work. The handwriting in a manuscript therefore was very beautiful and were works of art, said Sirancee. Letters were uniform and evenly spaced. Palm leaf drawings were fine line drawings, which required great skill. Circles and shapes were drawn free hand.

The manuscript usually starts with the auspicious word ‘Svasti’, with the latter ‘ka’ below it. The text commenced with traditional salute to the Buddha and ended with a colophon which gave the name of the author and promoter and some times the scribe and the date. But most authors were anonymous.

Palm leaf manuscripts were numbered starting from the Sinhala letter Ka according to the Sinhala alphabet. words were written from left to right. There are no punctuation marks and no spaces between words. There were margins and a symbol to demarcate paragraphs. Most manuscripts only had text, but there were many with illustrations.

The words scratched on the ola had to be made visible. Inking was a special art. The process was called Kalumadima. The palm leaf was rubbed with a soft cloth dipped in Dummala oil and powdered charcoal obtained from the Godama tree. The surface of the leaf was then cleaned with rice bran (Dahaiyya).

The dummala used was a resin derived from a fossilised root of a plant called Hal ((vateria acuminata). It was dug out from paddy fields and river beds, on the two auspicious days, Wednesdays and Saturday. The dummala was distilled in an earthen pot with the outside coated in cow dung and clay. The distilling was done between 6 pm and 2 am in the garden. Ten pounds of Dummala produced about 2 bottles of oil.

When palm leaves were gathered together to form a single text, they resembled books. The manuscripts seen by Sirancee averaged 60-65 folios, but there were many which were larger. One manuscript had 311 folios.

Creating this ‘book’ was also a special process. The leaves were cut into the required size, usually two inches wide and between 8 and 18 inches in length. The inscribed leaves were placed one under the other. Holes were punched with a hot rod, and a cord passed through. The punching of holes was done according to rules given as verse. Fold the leaf into three then into four and make the holes in between the creases at the two ends. One manuscript seen by Sirancee was stitched together and opened like an accordion.

Folios were placed between two covers known as Kamba. Most manuscripts had wooden covers, of ebony, jak, milla, calamander and other hard woods. The covers were decorated in lac with flower designs, such as Jasmin, kadupul, lotus, liya wela,creepers,. Some were decorated with geometric designs, or rope design. Some had ivory inlay, others had contrasting wood in marquetry, tortoise shell was also used. One manuscript had ebony cover inlaid with ivory. the button was of tortoise shell. At Katarangala in Halloluwa they found a pirit pota with covers in dainty design.

Highly venerated manuscripts such as those on Buddhism had covers of ivory or silver, and were decorated with gem stones. These are kept safely. Malwatte temple had a palm leaf manuscript on Abhidamma written in Sinhala, with ivory covers, a border of rubies and blue sapphires and a design of flowers set in gold. Malwatte had another manuscript, with cover in silver and gold and a floral design richly encrusted with white sapphires and zircons. Hanguranketa temple had a manuscript with gem studded covers. Pelmadulla Raja maha vihara also had a manuscript with carved ivory cover. Several other manuscripts had gem studded covers. National Museum library had a manuscript on Abhidamma with an ornamented cover in brass. SWRD Bandaranaike collection had a manuscript with silver cover and gems.

The formula for making oil for preserving manuscripts is a heavily guarded secret, said Sirancee. Pannila had a secret formula which was handed down generation to generation and was known only to a few families. Pannila gave Sirancee the formula in appreciation of her interest in the subject. Sirancee has gven the formula and method, with photographs, in her book on pages 38-40.

Pannila had been commissioned by the National Museum library to apply his secret oil to the palm leaf manuscripts which needed preserving. He was also invited to temple libraries and to the Institute of Indigenous medicine at Rajagiriya to clean and restore their manuscripts.

Sirancee stated that palm leaf manuscripts stored on wooden shelves did not deteriorate despite the humid climate. Manuscripts kept in pettagama tended to disintegrate, she said. But Nagolle Raja Maha vihara was a well-known exception. The olas stored in its pettagama remain well preserved.

The National Library of Sri Lanka has a Preservation and Conservation Centre (PAC) which pays special attention to palm leaf manuscripts. The IFLA PAC Centre was inaugurated on 5^th August 2015. The Centre produces “Panhida Herbal Oil”for the conservation of palm leaf manuscripts.

Udaya Cabral, who heads the PAC, with M Ravikumar, and T Ramanan presented a paper titled Developing a strategic program for safeguarding palm-leaf manuscripts in Sri Lanka at IFLA Conference, 2018.In 2021 the National Library issued a report on best practices for the conservation of Palm-Leaf Manuscripts, prepared by Udaya Cabral and R.M Nadeeka Rathnabahu.

Cabraal and Ratnabahu said that a palm leaf manuscript around 200 years old located in National Library of Sri Lanka, regularly treated by Dummala herbal oil was examined under microscope. They found that the traditional oil was not completely effective, some fungus still remained. PAC recommended that after treatment with Dummala oil, the manuscripts be kept in a specially designed ‘fume cupboard ‘made out of neem wood, with a cube of Thymol placed at the bottom.

In my view, it is only in recent times, that ola manuscripts are treated as archival material, to be preserved somehow. My guess is that in ancient times, the original manuscript was kept as long as possible but a copy was made when it was clear that the original was going to perish. This was repeated over and over again. That is how the Mahavamsa came to us. ( continued)

REFERENCES

Sirancee Gunawardana Palm leaf manuscripts of Sri Lanka. 1977 p 14–, 33-. 132, 134, 248-251, 254, 25

https://www.ifla.org/news/pac-sri-lanka-publishes-a-new-report-on-best-practices-for-the-conservation-of-palm-leaf-manuscripts/

http://library.ifla.org/2266/1/124-cabral-en.pdf

https://www.ifla.org/wp-content/uploads/files/assets/pac/Documents/pac_sri_lanka_report_best_practices_for_conservation_of_palm-leaf_manuscripts_.pdf

BY KAMALIKA PIERIS