News

FSP accuses President of taking country on 1977 path to disaster

Published

4 years ago

2022/11/18

Thilina Walpola

Budget 2023

By Rathindra Kuruwita

President Ranil Wickremesinghe is all ot to reverse people’s hard-won victories, Education Secretary of the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) Pubudu Jayagoda says.

“Wickremesinghe talks about moves to introduce revolutionary changes to the country. His budget is anything but that. He repeats the criticism that progressive forces have been making for decades, but the solutions he has suggested are anti-people,” he said.The President is all out to destroy the welfare state and following in the footsteps of his uncle, JR Jayewardene, Jayagoda said.

“He is trying to usher in the reforms that Margaret Thatcher introduced.”

The 2023 budget proposals would even give the IMF economists a pause, the FSP stalwart said.

“The IMF has similar ideas but at least they pay lip service to the importance of maintaining basic social welfare mechanisms. Wickremesinghe’s proposals will destroy all low- and middle-income families,” Jagoda said.

“Wickremesinghe in his budget says that he wants the majority of Sri Lankans to benefit from economic development. Echoing leftists, he has claimed that there should be income redistribution.

“We must look at what he is doing. He quotes the Buddha and says that loans must be used for investments and not consumption. Leftists have been saying for decades that loans should be used to boost productive capacity. However, what have governments done since 1977? They have borrowed heavily and used them on white elephants. We have also built a lot of infrastructure but unlike in China, the infrastructure we built is not linked with factories. This infrastructure does not promote productive forces. President Wickremesinghe has been in Parliament for decades. He was a minister and prime minister for decades. He is now the President. Has he used loans for proper investments? He doesn’t practice what he preaches,” the FSP Education Secretary said.

When the country has hit rock bottom Wickremesinghe and his lackeys claim that we have taken too much debt and wasted it on consumption, he said. “The same people who borrowed like there is no tomorrow have suddenly discovered that borrowing like gambling addiction is bad. However, Wickremesinghe doesn’t tell us what his plans for developing and expanding the manufacturing capacity is,” he said. Jayagoda said that the budget proposal has nothing to build confidence among investors and producers. The small and medium scale investors are in serious trouble and they have been begging for relief for months, Jayagoda said.

“Wickremesinghe wants to give tax concessions to multinationals, and he wants to undermine local manufacturing. Wickremesinghe talks about building infrastructure and facilitating investors. However, his budget has nothing for SMEs that employ millions,” he said. Jayagoda said that the government also plans to fast-track free trade agreements. This will be done while weakening the local industries, he said.

“The workers of Sri Lanka have won certain rights after making enormous sacrifices. Wickremesinghe wants to destroy all that. Soon all laws that protect workers’ rights will be abolished. Taxpayers will have to pay for workers that are fired by private companies. Even if the government takes away all the laws that protect workers, investors won’t come here. There are no labour laws in the poorest countries in the world, are investors running there? China is increasing wages and rights, but companies still go there, even after America’s ttempts to undermine China,” he said.

Jayagoda said that the government also wants to open agricultural land to the market. Right now, large swaths of farming lands can’t be sold. If farmers are allowed to sell land, at a time like this, a few companies will buy up a lot of land for a song and farming will collapse, he said.

“Wickremesinghe talks about selling state owned enterprises. He talks about selling SriLankan airlines, Insurance Corporation, Sri Lanka Telecom, Hilton and Waters Edge. Apart from SriLankan airlines, all the others make enourmous profits. SriLankan was destroyed by a henchman of Mahinda Rajapaksa. When Ranil was prime minister in the Yahapalana Government, they appointed a commission on SriLankan airlines. Now he can implement the commission recommendations,” he said.

The budget also takes steps to privatise education and health. There is a lot of inequality in Sri Lanka and people still have some upward mobility because of free education and healthcare, Jayagoda said.

“Ranil plans to take the country on the same path it had been travelling since 1977. We have had nothing but disaster since 1977. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing expecting different results,” he said.

All News Advertisement

Latest News

ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi’ departs Colombo

Published

3 hours ago

2026/09/12

Priyan

The Italian Naval Vessel ‘ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi’ departed the Port of Colombo today, 12 September 2026, after completing a replenishment stop for logistics and services.

During the ship’s stay, the Commanding Officer of ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi, Captain Marco GUERRIERO, called on the Commander Western Naval Area, Rear Admiral Harsha De Silva, at the Western Naval Command Headquarters.

Members of the visiting crew also toured several tourist attractions across the Colombo area during their port call.

News

Green Climate Fund (GCF) Regional Dialogue for East and South Asia will be held from 14 to 17 September 2026 at Cinnamon Life at City of Dreams Hotel, Colombo

Published

7 hours ago

2026/09/12

Priyan

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) Regional Dialogue for Eastern and Southern Asia is scheduled to be held from September 14 to 17, 2026, at Cinnamon Life at City of Dreams, Colombo.

The Dialogue is hosted by the Government of Sri Lanka. The Green Climate Fund is the world’s largest dedicated climate fund established under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to assist developing countries in responding to the challenges of climate change.

The Green Climate Fund aims to promote a paradigm shift towards low-emission and climate-resilient development
pathways by supporting developing countries in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the impacts of climate change.

The Ministry of Environment of Sri Lanka serves as the country’s National Designated Authority for the Green Climate Fund, playing a critical role in coordinating access to climate finance, nominating institutions for accreditation to the Green Climate Fund and approving funding proposals, and ensuring that activities supported by the Green Climate Fund are aligned with national development objectives.

More than 120 delegates from 10 countries are expected to participate. The participating countries are Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, the Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Republic of Korea, and Sri Lanka.

Participants will include representatives of National Designated Authorities of the above countries, Direct Access Entities, Accredited Entities, civil society organizations, the private sector, development partners, and technical institutions across the region.

Sri Lanka’s delegation comprises Dr. Dammika Patabendi, Minister of Environment, Anton Jayakody, Deputy Minister of Environment, K.R. Uduwawala, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, and high-level government officials.

The Dialogue will provide a platform to:

Share challenges, experiences, and lessons learned from the implementation of climate change projects and programmes.

Strengthen regional cooperation and partnerships on climate finance.

Discuss the Green Climate Fund’s evolving strategies, policies, and approaches.

Identify opportunities to accelerate climate investments across East and South Asia.

Hosting the Regional Dialogue in Colombo will provide Sri Lanka with an important opportunity to engage with senior government officials, private-sector representatives, development partners, technical experts, and international climate finance institutions.

The event is expected to support Sri Lanka’s efforts to improve access to climate finance and international grants, showcase national climate action initiatives and achievements, and strengthen the country’s engagement with the global climate community.

The Dialogue will also offer a strategic platform for Sri Lankan institutions that have applied for direct accreditation to present their project concepts and engage directly with representatives of the Green Climate Fund. These engagements are expected to support the accreditation process and contribute to the expansion of Sri Lanka’s network of Direct Access Entities through stronger regional partnerships and increased cooperation on climate finance, the Regional Dialogue will
contribute to positioning Sri Lanka as a credible and reliable partner for climate investment.

Projects that Sri Lanka has received funding from this fund are:
• The main projects that Sri Lanka has received support from the Green Climate Fund at present include the Wevu Gam Pubuduwa Project (52.1 USD Million) and the GCF Knuckles Project (49 USD Million).

7.5 USD Million has been allocated from GCF for 5 National Designated Authority Readiness Projects (NDA Readiness Projects) and for the National Adaptation Plan Readiness Project (NAP Readiness Project).

Approval has also been obtained for 3 regional projects. (Cooling Facility Programme, Global Fund for Coral Reef Investment Window, PEEB COOL Programme)

Sri Lanka has also identified 5 project concepts as priority projects for the Green Climate Fund period 2024-2027 and has taken steps to submit those project concepts (Concept Notes) for
approval by the Green Climate Fund.

The “Climate-resilient Fisheries in Sri Lanka” project concept (USD 107.5 million) submitted by DFCC Bank has already received approval.

News

Prof. Pieris says Buddha Dhamma recognised as source of law under Constitution

Published

9 hours ago

2026/09/12

Thilina Walpola

G.L. Peiris

Former Minister and People’s Joint Opposition Convener Prof. G.L. Peiris has challenged the assertion that the Supreme Court’s determination on the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution would be based solely on law and not Buddhist teachings, arguing that such a position is inconsistent with Article 9 of the Constitution and established judicial precedent.

In a special statement, titled “Buddhist Doctrine as a Source of Law in Sri Lanka”, Prof. Peiris has said the issue had arisen during the 22nd Amendment determination proceedings when Ven. Balangoda Kassapa referred to the Buddha Dhamma in his submissions.

According to Prof. Peiris, the Chief Justice responded that the determination would be made on the basis of the law and not Buddhist teachings.

Describing this as a “cavalier dismissal” of the Buddha Dhamma. Prof. Peiris has said it is contrary to Article 9, which gives Buddhism the foremost place and requires the State to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana.

Full text of the statement: In the 22nd Amendment determination proceedings, Venerable Balangoda Kassapa, in his submissions, made reference to the Buddha Dhamma. His Lordship the Chief Justice, in reply, made the strong assertion that the determination would be made on the basis of the law and not Buddhist teachings. This cavalier dismissal of the Buddha Dhamma is totally inconsistent with Article 9 of the Constitution and its authoritative interpretation in judicial decisions.

I. Authoritative Sri Lankan Judicial Authority A few examples may be cited.

In the Antiquities Amendment Bill, the Supreme Court, in its determination, observed: “The expression Buddha Sasana is wider than Buddhism and includes the entire establishment, together with objects and places of religious practices and worship of Buddhists”.

In Re the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution and the Provincial Councils Bill, 1987 2 Sri Lanka LR 312, Wanasundera J, referring to the term Buddha Sasana, said that it was “a compendious term encompassing all ancient, historic and sacred objects and places which have from ancient times been associated with the religious practices and worship of Sinhala Buddhists”.

It is clear that the Buddha Sasana is not confined to matters of ritual or practice, but includes the substance of Buddhist teachings. This is borne out clearly in other judgments of the Supreme Court.

An explicit example is the determination of the Supreme Court in the Ayurveda Amendment Bill, SCSD, numbers 22-35/2023, where the Court declared: “We hold that Buddha Sasana in Article 9 of the Constitution includes the dhamma, principles and teachings of Buddhism, including in particular recognized and undisputed codifications of the teachings of Lord Buddha”.

There are several other passages in the judgment which offer strong authority on the point.

The Court declared: “We determine that the word Buddha Sasana in Article 9 is a compendious term and includes the entire establishment of Buddhism as defined above. We conclude that the Tripitaka, consisting of the Vinaya Pitaka, the Sutta Pitaka and the Abhidhamma Pitaka, falls within the word Buddha Sasana. Hence the State has a duty inter alia to protect and foster the Tripitaka”.

The Court was uncompromising in its declaration that “While retaining the word Buddhism to denote the religion to which foremost place has been accorded in the Republic, the word Buddha Sasana was used to impose a duty on the State to protect and foster the entire establishment of Buddhism”.

The Court’s approach is very clear from the following passage: “We must proceed to interpret Article 9 of the Constitution on the basis that this change was intentional on the part of the legislature. It was meant to cover an area wider than Buddhism”.

II. International Judicial Authority

There is valuable material in the jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice at The Hague.

Judge C. G. Weeramantry, in his dissenting opinion in the ICJ’s 1996 advisory opinion on the legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons, said that Buddhism could provide an important humanitarian perspective when considering the legality of nuclear weapons. The judge cited as his source the work by Walpola Rahula, entitled What the Buddha Taught, 1959.

Similarly, Judge Weeramantry, in his separate opinion in the maritime delimitation in the area between Greenland and Jan Mayen case, 1993, commented on the international legal concept of equity. In this connection, he referred to “the elaborately researched concept of fairness and justice in Buddhism”.