Features

Going under armed escort as Chairman SLBC and Director of Broadcasting

Published

8 months ago

2025/05/4

On being told of my new assignment in the SLBC, I went home and dismissed the Prime Minister’s office car. Although I could have used it to go to the SLBC, technically I was no longer Secretary to the Prime Minister, and therefore, not really entitled to use it. I decided to drive my Morris Minor to go there. News travels very fast in this country. Even before I had got home there had been numerous telephone calls. Now, calls were coming in at the rate of one every three or four minutes.

Most of them were from my friends and colleagues and many of them expressed their sympathies and concerns at my going to the SLBC rather than congratulations. Till then I did not fully realize, the kind of public opinion that prevailed, in regard to the SLBC as a place of work. I made a mental note that this had to change.

One of the callers informed me that the important UNP Trade Union, the Jathika Sevaka Sangamaya (JSS) had gone to see the Prime Minister to protest at the appointment of someone who had closely worked with Mrs. Bandaranaike, to an important state media institution like the SLBC. I was very happy to hear this news and thought deliverance was at hand.

I now telephoned Mr. Menikdiwela, and told him about the information I had, and suggested that if this was true, it would be better for me to do something else. Mr. Menikdiwela laughed and said “Yes, some of them came to see us, but we told them that you were an outstanding public servant and not a politician and directed them to co-operate with you fully.”

There was no further recourse, and I was getting ready to go. But it was difficult to have lunch, because the phone was ringing constantly. In desperation my mother put some food on a plate and began feeding me. To her I was a 40-year-old child who had to be fed, in case he went away without eating.

Among these callers. was Admiral Basil Gunasekera, Commander of the Navy. The Navy was responsible for guarding the SLBC. He inquired whether it was true that I had been appointed to the SLBC. I said, “Yes.” He then inquired “When do you hope to go there?” I said, “Almost immediately.” He asked “Can’t you go there tomorrow?”

I told him, that it was impossible and that the Prime Minister wanted me to go there very early. I asked him what the problem was. He said that there were a large number of people there, some of them drunk. Then he said something very touching. “I can guarantee your safety, don’t worry about that. But I don’t want a single bastard to cast even a remark at you.” I thanked him most sincerely for his kindness and concern, and told him I would go and handle the situation and rang off.

However, Basil had not still finished. Within a few minutes he rang me again. “How are you going to the SLBC?” he asked. I told him that I would drive my private car. “Don’t'”, he said. “I will send you a vehicle.” I thanked him, but informed him that I had to leave almost immediately. “A car will be there in 15 minutes,” he said.

I was almost ready to leave when I heard the sound of a car stopping near our gate. I walked to the verandah and was surprised to see a smart Navy officer seated there, cradling a sub machine gun! On seeing me, he got up, smartly saluted, stated he was one of the ADCs to the Commander, and informed me that the Commander had ordered him to personally accompany me to the SLBC.

I was now getting worried. Sending a car was a kind thought and a convenience. Sending an armed escort was a different matter. In any case, there. was now no time for anything and I kept my thoughts to myself. The officer sat behind with me in the Navy car, and we proceeded to Independence Square and the SLBC.

As we came in sight ofthe building, the first thing I saw was a millingcrowd under the main portico. There groups of people scattered here and there in the driveway. The car turned in at the gate and was about to proceed towards the portico, when I ordered the driver to stop. There was too large a crowd under the portico for a car to get through easily, and I did not want an intrepid Navy driver to enforce a right of passage.

The car halted half way and I opened the door and was about to get down, when I saw, the officer reaching for his machine gun which he had kept on the floor of the car. “Drop it. Don’t take it out,” I said urgently. I said it so vehemently that with the corner of my eye I saw him drop it. I did not want to take up my appointment under armed guard. The next moment, I waded into the crowd.

At the SLBC and discussions with the government trade union

From somewhere, two hands appeared clasping a sheaf of betel. A little later, I saw that they belonged to Thevis Guruge, Deputy Director-General. He muttered some words of welcome. He told me that the Directors of the various divisions wanted to meet me, and also the Jathika Sevaka Sangamaya. He wanted to know whom I wanted to meet first. I said the trade union. It was clear that I had to come to terms with them first, otherwise administration would be impossible.

Thevis Guruge then led me to the boardroom. Very soon the room was packed to capacity and not even standing room was available. People were pressing to get in. The place was reeking of alcohol. I sat at the table with Thevis and some of the other directors of divisions, to whom I had been introduced. A spokesman for the trade union began to address me. It was not really an address but a harangue.

He spoke at length on the arbitrary and capricious actions of the previous regime in respect of the Corporation and its employees, particularly those known or suspected to be UNP employees. He went on to relate a long list of specific instances, including the names of those who had been interdicted, dismissed or transferred. He mentioned how the then Minister Mr. R.S. Perera had come in a procession after their election victory and taken numerous arbitrary actions.

When this spokesman ran out of steam, another took over, and then yet another. There was great excitement in the room. People were talking to each other, and interrupting the speakers to signify approval or to remind them of some forgotten point. I did not utter a word. I listened carefully although it was not easy to concentrate amidst the babble.

I realized that there was a great deal of pent up feeling, and that it was a good thing for it to come out. All this went on for over an hour. Then came the demands. They recited a list of persons under interdiction whom they wanted reinstated immediately. They said some of them were present in the room. The same demand extended to some of the dismissed as well as transferred employees, in whose case the demand was that they be put back in their original positions.

Then they became creative and wanted certain people placed in certain positions. All these were to be effected immediately. The room was smelling like a tavern. I continued to remain silent, but a silent fury was growing in me. Then suddenly they realized I had not spoken a word. There descended an awkward silence. I waited awhile. Silence continued to prevail, a silence which illustrated the saying “A loud silence.”

I then asked, “Have you finished? They said, “Yes”. I said, “I have listened to you patiently all this time without interruption and now, I do not wish to be interrupted until I have finished.” They nodded. I then said, “Over the last more than an hour, you had related to me, who you were, your experiences and finally your demands. Now, permit me to say something about who I am and how I function.

“I have entered the public service not through political patronage or any assistance from anybody. I entered the service through passing, what was commonly accepted as the most difficult competitive examination of the time, namely the open competitive examination for appointment to the Ceylon Civil Service. At this examination, in the. year I sat, only five were selected for appointment and I came second in order of merit. Over 300 sat this examination. Therefore, I am beholden to nobody either for my entry or my continuance in the public service.

“I am also not interested in any particular post, or where I serve. I go where the government of the day wants me to go. That is how I have come here. If I had a choice, I wouldn’t have come here. You will appreciate therefore, that I am not a politician. I am an administrator. The essence of administration is equity, fairness, openness, proper investigation and analysis before decisions, and decisions based on balanced judgment.

“Therefore, the demands you have made of me, no administrator can agree to. I am, however, prepared to go into each and every case, and if any injustice is revealed, correct it. But I am not prepared to work to any imposed deadline. There will not be undue delay either. Therefore, there is nothing I can do today. I need today to have discussions with the heads of divisions and others and get a grasp of things and ensure that there is no breakdown in services.

“But I see from your faces that you are unhappy with my reply. Therefore, I would now like to suggest a remedy. Go now in procession to the Prime Minister’s residence in Ward Place, and tell him that you cannot work with this devil.” The conversations being in Sinhala, this sounded much pithier in that language. This stunned them. They did not expect this kind of reply. They were struggling to cope.

Then they became more accommodating. They apologized and said that they didn’t mean to challenge my authority or hurt my feelings. Their vehemence, they said was a result of the injustices they had suffered. I reiterated that I would correct any injustice that had occurred. But to do all this I needed to get to work. I therefore told the Union members “remember you are members of a Union of a party which has over a five sixth majority in Parliament.

“As a result, you have an enormous responsibility to see that the power you have is used in such a manner as to enhance, and not to destroy the image of your party. I am therefore, now entrusting you with the responsibility of maintaining peace and good order here, as well as in all sub-stations and other facilities. I want you to show an example in how to treat your political opponents. I am entrusting you with the task of their protection.

“I want you to demonstrate that your membership consist of gentlemen and people of calibre, who would not even cast a remark at a political opponent. If you allege that the previous regime behaved badly, you now set the standard of behaviour. I will watch carefully to see what your standard is.” It was my judgment that the Union needed to be given a role and responsibility immediately. Their feelings of both elation and bitterness had to be channeled in a positive direction and their energies put to productive use.

I then asked all, other than the employees of the Corporation to go home. I told the union to ensure that any employee who was drunk or after liquor was sent home, and asked to report next day when he was sober. Things were now settling down, and the Union began to comply.

A matter of a personal secretary

I then began the meeting with the directors of the divisions. There was first a matter of my personal secretary to be settled. When the Deputy Director-General Thevis Guruge raised this issue, I said, “Any competent male would be fine.” He said that was not possible. All the personal secretaries were female. I then inquired, “How old is the oldest of them?” All began to laugh. Mr. Guruge informed me that the oldest was 54 years of age and very competent. I agreed at once. I said that since there was no one older, 54 years would be fine. There was more laughter.

The reason for this precaution was that the SLBC had a reputation fora number of romantic liaisons with secretaries, which had extended in the past to certain Chairmen and Directors-General. The organization also had the reputation outside, of some of its employees specializing in ringing up the homes of various officers and telling the wives that their husbands were carrying on with some attractive secretary. In some instances, this may have been true. But the talk outside was that this had reached pathological proportions.

In fact, my wife too was aware of this, so that in due course when she received a telephone call or two, she told the callers, that she had given me complete freedom to do as I please, and that anything I do, would not bother her in the least. Meeting this blank wall, the callers did not persist.

The organization also was talked of outside as a place where tale carrying was common. So I told the directors and the union representatives, that my door would always be open for anybody to come and tell me anything, but if anyone were to make a complaint against anyone else, or make an adverse comment about anyone, such a person would have to wait in my room until I summon the other party, and go into the matter in the presence of both.

I said that the only exception to this rule would be a security-related matter, which would be handled differently. I said finally, that I valued credibility very much and that it would be in everyone’s interest that they did not lose their credibility with me. Whilst this part of the discussion was going on, the Prime Minister, Mr. Jayewardene rang me. He inquired whether everything was all right. I said “Yes”. He then asked whether I had any problems. I said “None”.

He seemed to be somewhat surprised, and next asked, “How are the unions?” I said that they were very cooperative. I think, he hung up with a slight degree of bafflement. This call was followed almost 15 minutes later by a call from Mr. R. Premadasa, the No. 2 in the Cabinet. He asked me virtually the same questions, and received the same answers. He too seemed somewhat baffled, and wanted to know whether I required any assistance.

I replied that I needed no assistance whatsoever. He hung up and again called me about an hour later, to inquire how things were going. I replied “Smoothly,” and that was the end of any further calls from the high levels of government. When I reached home it was past midnight. By that time, peace and order had been restored, the premises cleared of excited and drunken people, the main program slots determined and early dates and times fixed for me to meet, the other trade unions in the Corporation such as the SLFP union and the Ceylon Mercantile Union (CMU).

Mr. D.B. Wijetunge was appointed Minister, and Sarath Amunugama Secretary. Mr. Wijetunge was an understanding and an affable personality, and it was easy to work with him. Mr. Amunugama, was a colleague of mine in the former Civil Service and was a member of the last batch of that service before it was wound up. He was a little over a year junior to me in the service, and I was a member of the previous batch. In fact, some of my friends asked me how I was going to work with a Secretary, who was junior to me.

I told them that this was no. problem. I never thought of my public service career in terms of hierarchies, posts or seniorities. I believed that I had entered the public service of my country and that as long as I remained in service, I had decided never to actively seek or canvass for any post. I had also made up my mind that I would serve in any post a government wanted me to serve in.

I departed from these principles only once in my near 37 years of unbroken service. That was much later, when I was offered the post of Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, on which I would comence at the appropriate place. In any case, Sarath and I had known each other both at the University and in the Service, and there were no serious problems in our working relationship.

(Excerpted from In the Pursuit of Governance, the autobiography of MDD Pieris)

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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”)