This is the place to introduce the episode of ex-Chancellor Helmut Kohl of Germany. “This legendary unifier of post war Germany was at a small hotel in Hikkaduwa undergoing Ayurveda treatment when the Tsunami struck. A German Minister who owned a house in Hikkaduwa and visited Lanka regularly had recommended Ayurveda treatment to The Chancellor and head of her party- the Christian Democrats.

The German Embassy was at its wits end because Kohl had disappeared without a trace. They contacted us and we activated our Grama Sevaka network to find that Kohl had been taken to the safety of his home by a hotel employee. When we offered to send a helicopter to bring him to Colombo the Chancellor had replied that it was not necessary as he was well looked after by his host. He came by car the following day in order to thank CBK for her help.

I went to President’s House with Kohl who seemed quite relaxed in his coloured shirt, crumpled pants, a grey seersucker coat and rough boots. He was full of praise for the Sri Lankan people who had helped him and all the tourists in distress due to the Tsunami. Kohl said that he wanted to help in the rehabilitation of the south in his personal capacity. When he got back to Germany he set up a group of rich friends called “Friends of Helmut Kohl” who sent money to build a hospital in Mahamodera, Galle.

The money was lodged in the German Embassy. But the usually lethargic Health department dragged its feet on the construction work on the guise that the money was not sufficient for their grandiose hospital plans ignoring the value of the superb gesture by Kohl. Unfortunately he died before the completion of the project and therefore could not keep his pledge to come to Galle for its opening.

Later in time I was a member of a Parliamentary delegation led by Speaker Karu Jayasuriya which included Sampanthan, Rauf Hakeem, Anura Dissanayake and several others. I suggested to our group that we pay a belated tribute to Helmut Kohl who had died a few months previously. This was immediately welcomed by the parliamentarians and the organizers of the tour and we jointly paid our heartfelt tribute to a great friend of Sri Lanka who was an eye witness to the success of our rehabilitation effort.

Post Tsunami Operational Management Structure (P-TOMS)

The Tsunami was particularly harsh on the eastern and northern coastline because it was directly in the way of the giant waves created in Indonesia and deflected to our shores. It also created a transformation of the political scene and the nature of the war. The LTTE had invested considerable resources in building up its “Sea Tigers”. They wanted control of the northern seas in order to increase their supply of weapons and ammunition. The Sea Tigers established a presence in east Thailand so that arms could be purchased from Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand. The fighting in the Indo-China theatre was over and the cut rate weapons market was flourishing.

Our embassy in Bangkok had an army officer who was monitoring terrorist activities but he was helpless because Thai officials in the lower echelons were in the pay of the LTTE. In addition to that problem, the mediocre officials of our Foreign Ministry were no match for the determined LTTEers one of whom had married an influential Thai lady. With money coming in from expatriates they had even set up a shipping line which was so well run that they could finance weapons buying for the LTTE with its profits.

We had received intelligence that the LTTE was preparing for a major “Sea Tiger” operation from their base in Mullaitivu. This base area concept shows the advanced thinking of the LTTE which was attempting – then unsuccessfully – to even manufacture a low cost submarine. Fortunately for us the Tsunami wiped out the base of the “Sea Tigers” together with many of their assets such as boats, proto-type submarines and diving gear.

True to form they sent signals for talks which they had earlier broken. Their diaspora had mounted a campaign to collect funds for rehabilitation. At this stage the UN got into the act and with the World Bank and IMF persuaded the CBK government to consider a power sharing arrangement principally for the rehabilitation of the North and East. It was to be called P-TOMS. CBK appointed Jayantha Dhanapala as the head of SCOPP – a secretariat to coordinate the relief effort in the North and East. The World Bank appointed Peter Harrold, its representative in Colombo, to coordinate the P-TOMS effort with SCOPP.

Estimates were made by SCOPP regarding the amount necessary for the rehabilitation of the North and East. This budget became the talking point of several successive regimes who promised to allocate such funds in exchange for Tamil votes in the North. Mahinda Rajapaksa’s agents held this figure as a bait to promote a boycott of the Presidential poll in 2005 which threw the election which was in Ranil’s pocket to MR thereby changing the destiny of the LTTE as well of the country. [MR cleared the 50 percent hurdle by only 25,000 votes].

Perhaps to strengthen the push for P-TOMS, Kofi Annan the Secretary General of the UN arrived with a large contingent of staffers and I was asked to meet and greet him in Katunayake. We gave Annan a grand welcome but he seemed distracted and was only interested in getting his Swedish wife who was hanging back, into the spotlight. CBK had several discussions with him but we ran into a snag in that he wanted to visit the North and meet Prabhakaran.

Perhaps some of the big powers had got to him as he was in the midst of a scandal about his son from his first marriage who was facing charges of corruption. The scandal was rocking UN headquarters. Annan who was elevated from his earlier status as a UN functionary to satisfy African members, was according to several biographers, indebted to the west and could not end his tenure to the satisfaction of the majority of the UN membership.

CBK, already under pressure for mishandling the P-TOMS campaign, was adamant that Annan should not meet the LTTE which would have given the terrorists parity of status with the SL state. Since such an interpretation was circulated by virtually all political parties in the South she was pushed to a very difficult position. After much discussion Annan settled for a helicopter tour of the North. I found that he was a weak leader who was led by his nose by Mark Mallock Brown – his chief of staff, who had been in charge of UN operations even during its disastrous forays in the Congo.

Mallock Brown was later identified as a camp follower of the West who compromised the credibility of the UN. I have memories of Mallock Brown holding forth on their next step here while Annan and Dhanapala were mere passive listeners. This Western initiative of P-TOMS did not finally see the light of day. But it split the ruling coalition of the PA and JVP irrevocably and Mahinda Rajapaksa burnished his credentials as an opponent of the project. He became popular with the PA and its allied parties over and above CBK.

When the P-TOMS project was to be placed before Parliament Mahinda as Prime Minister refused to present it on the floor of the House. CBK was too weak to dismiss him partly because Lakshman Kadirgamar also was a strong opponent of P-TOMS. Instead she got Maithripala Sirisena to present the proposal. But the Opposition which was joined by the JVP including its functioning Ministers, took to the streets. The JVP members demonstrated and disturbed the proceedings from the well of the House and then resigned “en masse” from the government putting its majority in jeopardy. Mahinda’s anti-P-TOMS stand endeared him to the JVP, which had earlier preferred Kadirgamar to him, and helped him to garner votes which went a long way in ensuring his ultimate victory. He had become so powerful that CBK had no option but to accommodate him.

Assassination of Lakshman Kadirgamar

Another blow was struck at CBK and the government by the I TTE when they assassinated Lakshman Kadirgamar near the swimming pool of his house. He had a successful kidney transplant in India – with a Buddhist monk from Balangoda donating a kidney – and was asked to swim regularly as exercise by his doctors. I knew of this arrangement because when we travelled together he always asked the Foreign Office to put him tip in a hotel with a heated swimming pool.

He was about to enter the water in the swimming pool when a LTTE sniper shot him through a window in a neighbourhood flat. This dastardly crime wits condemned unanimously by the international community. India sent her Foreign Minister to attend the funeral. Ksdirgamar’s death brought CBK’s Government to the brink of collapse. The JVP though leaving the Government respected LK and paid a tribute to him by arranging for their leaders to follow his hearse on foot to Kanatte.

It must be mentioned here that LK nearly pipped Mahinda for the post of PM in 2004. He had the backing of the JVP who wanted CBK to appoint LK and in the alternative appoint Maithripala Sirisena as PM. He was also supported by India but CBK was afraid that Mahinda will break up the party if he was deprived of the Premiership. After LK’s demise she undertook a mini reshuffle and Anura Bandaranaike had his ambition of being Foreign Minister realized.

To succeed him as Minister of Industries and Foreign Investment she appointed me in addition to my portfolio of Minister of Finance. Arjuna Ranatunga was the Deputy Minister of Industries and I left most of the administrative work to him. When we had an investment promotion meeting in Delhi I invited Arjuna and Aravinda de Silva to be our delegates and they stole the show among the cricket mad Indian investors. All the tables at dinners hosted by us were taken and we had many friends appealing to us to get them reservations even at the last minute.

We had such good relations that I was invited to take part in popular TV talk shows. I remember that Shekhar Gupta invited me for a discussion on our health services with Kajol – the top Hindi film actress who was brand ambassador for Narendra Modis “clean Bharat” campaign. She was a charming young lady who recounted her enjoyable stay in Sri Lanka when she accompanied her mother Tanuja who was shooting a film in Colombo with Vijaya Kumaratunga as her co-star.

After LKs murder the fear of the LTTE was so strong that CBK could not even attend the funeral ceremony. PM Mahinda Rajapaksa represented her. This death was a bitter blow to me because as an old Trinitian friend he would always consult me on party matters. I still have a letter he wrote to me about a coffee t able book on the art of Stanley Kirinde which he sponsored in honour of our mutual college friend.

(This book is available at the Vijitha Yapa bookshops)

(Excerpted from vol. 3 of the Sarath Amunugama autobiography)

Nations Trust WNPS Monthly Lecture

An overview of the plants & animals on this magical island

Thursday 19 March 2026, 6.00 pm, Jasmine Hall, BMICH

In the first part of this talk, Author-Photographer Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne points out that Sri Lanka is disproportionately rich in species. He presents possible reasons for this and then makes the case that Sri Lanka is one of the best all-round wildlife destinations in the world. In the second part of the talk, he takes a whirlwind tour of several branches of the tree of life from bacteria to elephants. He uses this tour of life forms as a framework to showcase the richness of biodiversity in Sri Lanka.

He points out that very little has been done on the study of groups such as fungi and mosses and remarks how his proposal for a special visa for exchange programs, internships and volunteering could enable local academics to gain access to expertise and experienced volunteer hours from people overseas who have a passion for these areas of natural history.

With plants, he outlines the major groups of plants which are the bryophytes, lycopods, ferns and spermatophytes. The latter also knows as seed plants include the conifers (gymnosperms) and flowering plants (angiosperms). He makes reference to what is found in Sri Lanka to illustrate the importance of certain groups, such as the dipterocarp trees which are the giants of the rainforest. His photographs will illustrate examples such as carnivory, because plants employ a wide range of life strategies.

The talk will provide a very brief outline of the animal kingdom with its vast and sprawling evolutionary tree. Starting with animals that evolved early such as the sponges, he will draw attention to a few of the phyla which holds larger animals. Not surprisingly, more attention will be given to the vertebrates which command most of the popular attention. However, he will also reference invertebrate groups such as the butterflies and dragonflies, the two most popular groups of insects. Although Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne was the first to brand Sri Lanka for big game safaris, in this talk, he will bring in many of the other plant and animal groups which although lacking ‘safari appeal’ are nevertheless important in terms of biodiversity and being the subjects of research.

As Sri Lanka positions itself as a destination for high-value, experience-driven tourism, the conservation of its natural heritage becomes not just an environmental priority but an economic imperative. This lecture will be especially valuable for tourism professionals, hospitality leaders, policymakers, conservationists, students, photographers, and nature enthusiasts seeking to understand the true asset underpinning Sri Lanka’s future.

by Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne

According to Rohan Pethiyagoda, ‘Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne is without question the most celebrated field naturalist the country has produced’. Bill Oddie (British TV Naturalist) has said no single individual has done so much to publicise a country for its wildlife. The speaker has authored and photographed more than 25 books and 400 articles and has played a pivotal role in branding Sri Lanka as a wildlife destination.

The WNPS Monthly Lecture Series, established in 2000, is one of Sri Lanka’s longest-running and most respected conservation knowledge platforms. Featuring leading local and international experts, the series addresses critical environmental issues through science-based insights and open public dialogue. Beyond the lecture hall, these sessions foster collaboration, inspire research, and often seed conservation projects and advocacy initiatives. The series remains a cornerstone of Sri Lanka’s conservation community—connecting knowledge with action

The Lecture is supported by Nations Trust Bank and is open all, entrance free

Late Junius Richard Jayawardene, universally known as “JR”, was a colossal presence on the Sri Lankan political landscape in the second half of the twentieth century. Few leaders shaped the institutional architecture, economic direction, and political culture of post-independence Sri Lanka as decisively as he did. Whether admired or criticised, he cannot be ignored.

In The JR I Disliked, Imthiaz Bakeer Markar offers a deeply personal reflection on the man he once opposed and later came to respect. A key figure in the United National Party from 1970 onward, Imthiaz shared much of JR’s political philosophy in his later years. Yet the relationship was not always one of admiration.

I have known Imthiaz since our schooldays at Ananda College, where his political ambitions were already evident. The well-known rivalry between Dudley Senanayake and JR shaped an entire era within the UNP. When disagreements arose between the two leaders, Imthiaz aligned himself with Dudley. That early positioning gives added resonance to the book’s title.

Politics, however, is rarely static. Over time, he developed an appreciation for JR’s intellect, resolve and strategic clarity – hence The JR I Disliked becomes, in many respects, an account of reassessment and evolution.

This booklet, drawn from a lecture delivered at the J. R. Jayewardene Centre, is largely a favourable portrait.

It highlights JR’s political foresight, his role in ushering in economic liberalisation, and his determination to reposition Sri Lanka within a globalising world. Imthiaz writes with the warmth of one who has reflected long and carefully on a complex figure.

Yet, like every statesman of consequence, JR had shortcomings. These receive only brief mention – notably in a short paragraph under “Economic Progression.” One wishes this aspect had been expanded.

The time has surely come to examine not only the triumphs but also the shadows of his tenure.

Did JR do enough to address the mounting ethnic tensions that would later engulf the country in prolonged conflict? Was the decision to disenfranchise Sirimavo Bandaranaike politically prudent or democratically corrosive? Was he, despite his strategic brilliance, a divisive figure? And has the Executive Presidency – with its concentration of power, introduced under his 1978 Constitution – ultimately served Sri Lanka well?

These are not peripheral questions. They are central to understanding his legacy.

It is, of course, natural that a memoir written by a fellow politician will incline toward generosity rather than forensic critique. Yet Imthiaz is, in my considered view, among the most decent and principled politicians Sri Lanka has produced. That may sound like a sweeping statement, but I do not make it lightly. I have observed his political journey over decades — the uncompromising stands he has taken at difficult moments, his willingness to dissent when conscience required it, and his consistent adherence to principle over expediency.

For that reason, his reflections on JR carry weight. They are not those of a sycophant, but of a man who once disagreed, reconsidered, and ultimately chose respect.

I enjoyed reading The JR I Disliked. It is thoughtful, measured, and sincere. At the same time, it invites a broader conversation – one that Sri Lanka must continue to have – about power, responsibility, and the burdens borne by transformative leaders.

(The writer is Adjunct Professor, School of Law, University of Notre Dame, Sydney, Australia)

A Review by Maithri Panagoda AM