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MONLAR sees ulterior motive in government’s organic policy

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5 years ago

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By Rathindra Kuruwita

It was now clear that the government banned agrochemicals to break the existing cartel that controlled fertiliser imports and help its business associates, Sajeewa Chamikara of the Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform (MONLAR) claimed yesterday.

Chamikara said that since banning the import of agrochemicals, the government had not held any discussions with stakeholders involved in organic agriculture in the country.

“It is now obvious that the government has no intention of going green. All it wants is to ensure that its associates will control the agrochemical market in the future. However, the government is bungling that up too.

Chamikara said that a country had to be extremely careful when bringing in organic material from other countries. Even air passengers are questioned whether they are bringing in seeds or plants from other countries.

“A lot of invasive plants have found their way into Sri Lanka. These invasive species can’t be controlled easily and one of the reasons our farmers use a lot of agrochemicals is to get rid of such plants. Imagine bringing in container loads of organic material. Imagine what can come in those? This is why most countries do not import compost and when they do, they are very careful,” Chamikara said.

Chamikara said that given that microorganisms in most agricultural lands had died due to the overuse of agrochemicals, it would take some time for the soil to recover. Until then a mixture of compost and agrochemicals need to be used in some lands for a year or two, he said. For that purpose, the stock of agrochemicals in the country was adequate, Chamikara said.

“Once this is done, we can move to more advanced stages of sustainable agriculture like ecological farming, agroforestry and analog forestry, that require little external inputs,” he said.

Due to various factors, Sri Lanka cannot have analog forests, an approach to ecological restoration which uses natural forests as guides to create ecologically stable and socio-economically productive landscapes, Chamikara said. Thus, the government needed to study what areas could be converted into ecological farming, agroforestry and analog forestry, he said.

“In some areas, due to slopes that lead to soil erosion, we will have to continuously use compost, especially in hill country vegetable farms. It is a decade long process to transition from organic farming to analog forests. The government must be practical and transparent, or the entire concept loses credibility,” he said. Chamikara said the government had done nothing to educate the farmers on how to engage in organic farming. For example those who planted tea used compost the way they used agrochemicals, which is not an effective way of using compost, he said.

“Farmers have not been told of the most basic things. Moreover, compost is only one component of organic agriculture. There are a number of specialised equipment and machinery needed to successfully engage in organic agriculture. We also need things like cutters and crushers to make compost on a large scale. There are a number of Sri Lankan companies that produce these machines, but they have not been given the necessary support to expand production,” he said.

Chamikara said that Sri Lanka also needed to gear its waste management system into making compost. Although, a large quantity of biodegradable waste was collected daily, most of it was thrown into dump sites. Compost could be created with the biodegradable waste and systems should be introduced to prevent heavy metal contamination.

“Heavy metals can come from things like batteries, bulbs and e-waste. We need to establish protocols to prevent such items from mixing with biodegradable waste,” he said.

Chamikara also said that dried leaves are not optimal for producing compost. A constant supply of fresh organic matter is needed for compost production. The government needs to put in a system where trees and grass removed from roadsides are collected and processed. Moreover, trees such as Gliricidia must be planted. “This is an exhaustive process,” he said.

Another factor that was vital for the success of organic agriculture was a healthy water table, Chamikara said. If the water table was not high, it was difficult to make organic agriculture work, he said. For this the irrigation tank network in the dry zone needed to be maintained and the continuous destruction of the forests needed to be stopped, he said.

“On the other hand, we keep on transferring land owned by small farmers to large companies. These companies are export oriented. In the first phase of shifting to organic agriculture, there is a drop in the harvest. We must take that into account and increase the area of farmlands but we are doing the opposite. In a way, the land use policy too has a role in organic agriculture. Has the government done anything that we have spoken about?” Chamikara asked.


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Easter Sunday carnage: WR asks AG to question Dappula on ‘grand conspiracy’ claim

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7 hours ago

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2026/06/16

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Former Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, PC, yesterday urged the Department (CID) to question former Attorney General Dappula de Livera, PC, regarding his claim that the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage was a grand conspiracy.

Dr. Rajapakshe, a former President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, pointed out that the former Director of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) and the ex-head of State Intelligence Service (SIS) had been arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations levelled by a fugitive from the Sri Lankan law that Gen. Sallay masterminded the Easter Sunday carnage.

The CID arrested Sallay on February 25, 2026, at Peliyagoda.

Attorney General Parinda Ranasinghe, (Jnr), PC, could not under any circumstances further delay seeking an opportunity for the CID to question de Livera. The ex-Minister said so yesterday (15) when The Island sought his explanation regarding the claim he made in Kandy on Sunday that de Livera alleged a grand conspiracy after the then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declined to grant him a one-year extension.

Ex-parliamentarian Rajapakshe quoted President Rajapaksa as having told him that de Livera was told of his inability to grant the outgoing AG’s request. However, the then government offered him the opportunity to serve as Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in Canada. He declined that offer.

Responding to The Island queries, Rajapakshe said that though de Livera succeeded in thwarting the Terrorist Investigation Department (TID) from questioning him over his claim made on the eve of his retirement, in May, 2021. According to him, when a major controversy erupted over De Livera’s claim, the TID had been sent to record his statement.

Having evaded the police and successfully moved the Court of Appeal against the TID, the former AG sent a lawyer to the TID on his behalf. That lawyer declared that a seven-paged legal objection to the matter in question has been submitted to the TID.

“Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith and all those who had been demanding justice for Easter Sunday victims should urge AG Parinda Ranasinghe (Junior), PC to record de Livera’s statement. The ex-Minister said that the Leader of the House, Minister Bimal Ratnayake, disclosed that SSP Shanie Abeysekera and Senior DIG Ravi Seneviratne had been appointed Director, CID and Secretary to the Public Security Ministry, respectively, on the Cardinal’s advice. Therefore, the Cardinal should stress the urgent need to record the former AG’s statement.

Dappula de Livera received his appointment on 10 May, 2019, just weeks after the Easter Sunday carnage, and retired on 25 May, 2025.

On the eve of his retirement, alleging that there had been a grand conspiracy, de Livera said that the information by the SIS with times, targets, places, method of attacks and other information proved the conspiracy. He said that the identities of those involved in the grand conspiracy must come by the way of evidence.

Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said that investigations into the Easter Sunday carnage couldn’t be brought to a successful conclusion until de Livera revealed what he knew about the grand conspiracy, mastermind or whatever various interested parties chose to call the attacks.

The government sent a CID team to Paris to record a statement of Azad Moulana, a fugitive seeking asylum in Switzerland and who implicated Sallay in the Easter Sunday attacks. “This matter is so serious de Livera must consider volunteering to assist the investigation,” ex-lawmaker Rajapakshe said, challenging all those genuinely concerned about the inordinate delay in bringing the high profile investigation into a conclusion to push for immediate questioning of de Livera.

Having spearheaded the Easter Sunday investigation at the onset of the probe, de Livera could shed light on the alleged conspiracy if he really meant his declaration on the eve of his retirement, Dr. Rajapakshe said.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

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Beijing Capital Airlines to resume flights to Colombo signalling boost to tourism

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7 hours ago

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2026/06/16

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Beijing Capital Airlines to resume direct flights between Beijing and Colombo in September this year, restoring an important air link and strengthening tourism, business, and people-to-people connectivity. This service will complement the existing 23 weekly flights between Mainland China and Colombo.

This was announced at Sri Lanka tourism briefing and networking reception held recently in Beijing. Sri Lanka embassy in Beijing with the support of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) held the event that brought together over 120 representatives from China’s travel trade, media organizations, tourism-related investment sector, airlines, content creation industry, and Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) sector.

Among the participants were representatives of leading Chinese travel companies and media organisations, including China Tourism Group Travel Services Corporation Limited, China International Travel Service (CITS), China Youth Travel Service (CYTS), Spring Tour, Mafengwo, Xinhua News Agency, People’s Daily, Global Times, Guangming Online, and China Times, together with representatives of SriLankan Airlines and Beijing Capital Airlines.

The event, led by Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM), Poornima Gunasekera marked the resumption of the Embassy’s direct engagement with China’s travel trade and media community after a considerable period and provided a platform to outline new initiatives aimed at strengthening tourism cooperation between Sri Lanka and China ahead of the 70th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2027.

In her keynote address, the DCM highlighted the longstanding historical ties between Sri Lanka and China, dating back more than 2,000 years through the ancient Maritime Silk Route, and stressed tourism as a key channel for deepening people-to-people exchanges. She noted Sri Lanka’s strong tourism recovery, with over two million international arrivals in 2025, and reaffirmed the country’s image as a safe, peaceful, and welcoming destination. She also highlighted the Government’s expanded visa-free entry programme covering 40 countries, including China, designed to make travel easier and more convenient.

She emphasised Sri Lanka’s unique tourism offering, which combines exceptional diversity within a compact geographical area. Within just 65,610 square kilometres—about four times the size of Beijing—visitors can experience beaches, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, wildlife safaris, tea country, wellness tourism, adventure activities, cultural heritage, gemstones, and authentic Sri Lankan hospitality. She also underlined improved connectivity, noting that a direct flight from Beijing to Colombo takes around seven hours, making Sri Lanka a convenient option for Chinese travellers within broader Asian travel itineraries.

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Delegation of UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture here amidst protests against new anti-terrorism law

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7 hours ago

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2026/06/16

By

Aisha Shujune

A delegation of the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) is in Colombo. The SPT’s second visit, from 15 to 24 June 2026, takes place amidst the ongoing debate over the NPP government’s decision to bring in a new anti-terrorism law in place of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) enacted in 1979.

Some political parties, and civil society groups, have criticised the NPP move as the ruling party, during the presidential and parliamentary polls campaigns, promised to abolish the PTA.

The SPT conducted its first visit to Sri Lanka in April 2019, following Sri Lanka’s accession to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT) in December 2017. Upon accession, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) was designated as the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), under OPCAT, by the Government of Sri Lanka.

The Foreign Ministry said that the four-member SPT delegation was scheduled to hold meetings at ministerial level, and engage with senior officials of relevant ministries, departments and institutions. The delegation would also meet representatives of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka and members of civil society, the ministry said.

“The Government of Sri Lanka will engage with the Subcommittee in an open, constructive, and transparent manner, consistent with its policy of continued engagement with the United Nations, and in fulfilment of its Treaty Body obligations undertaken voluntarily and enshrined in relevant international instruments, in accordance with the Constitution.

The delegation will comprise Ms. Aisha Shujune Muhammad (Maldives) (Head of delegation); Jakub Julian Czepek (Poland); Ms. Anica Tomsic (Croatia); and Nika Kvaratskhelia (Georgia). They will be accompanied by officials of the SPT Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland.”

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