Features

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t

Published

3 years ago

2023/04/23

Readers may find the title of this article a bit intriguing so let me explain at the outset that it refers to the President’s dilemma. He has had crucial decisions to make after taking over the presidency. Most of the decisions he has taken thus far have been resounding successes. It is abundantly clear that had he not made such tough calls the country would have been damned and as a consequence, so too, the president himself.

Now, having made all the tough calls which have enabled us to see at least a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel, he is still being bashed by those who are thirsting for power and some others who also appear to have personal agendas. In other words he’s damned for getting us out of this disastrous situation or let’s say, putting us on the path to recovery.

It is sad to see some parliamentarians who were hitherto held in high esteem shouting themselves hoarse in their endeavours to throw Ranil Wickremesinghe out of the presidency on the grounds that he wasn’t elected. Don’t they realize that he didn’t get there through a military coup, or even through a constitutional coup. He was legitimately appointed/elected president in accordance with the constitution. Haven’t they heard of Gerald Ford? He too was appointed president in accordance with the US Constitution. For the record, Ford wasn’t even Nixon’s running mate at the US presidential election. He was only appointed Vice President when Spiro Agnew resigned.

When he did contest the presidency he was defeated by Jimmy Carter. Some others, too, keep clamouring for elections. Granted, elections are the right of the people but shouldn’t we look a bit further than that?! The popular belief is that those who represent the present Government will be badly defeated if an election is to be held immediately. The local government elections need to be held first but if as expected the ruling party is soundly beaten there will be additional pressure on the president to dissolve parliament and have a general election. There will even be agitation for the president himself to resign but is that what the country needs at this point of time?! There is the possibility of the Government being brought down but shouldn’t we envisage the consequences if that were to happen?!

Has the Leader of the Opposition even considered such a scenario?! Everything we have achieved thus far in the management of our debt burden will be negated. The cynic may ask “what have we achieved?” Well, those who behave like the ostrich will never understand. Those screaming themselves hoarse calling for elections, making every effort to topple the government will never understand. So let’s place on record the achievements of this government towards this end.

In May 2022, Sri Lanka defaulted on its debt for the first time in her history and faced a doomsday scenario. We were a bankrupt nation, no two words about that. Let us envision what would have followed. We don’t need to be reminded of the parlous state of the economy when Ranil took over as prime minister first and subsequently as president. There were long queues for fuel for days on end, often weeks. It was not uncommon to hear of people dying in fuel queues. LPG for cooking was in short supply. Foreign exchange was not available for our imports. We faced the possibility of extended power cuts. The farmers were one unhappy lot. Cross border transactions by banks would have come to a standstill. The list goes on …… The country was bankrupt.

We depended on the charity of friendly nations merely for survival. While China played hardball, we cannot forget the magnanimous gestures of countries like Japan and India in particular. The president with the support of two stalwart officials, the Governor of the Central Bank and Secretary, Treasury, managed to steer the economy towards a semblance of normalcy.

We should now ask ourselves who are the main protagonists, agitating for the removal of this government. Is it the man on the street? I don’t think so. People who openly blasted the Rajapaksas for bringing the country to its knees are no longer wanting Ranil out. On the contrary they now openly say that he has worked wonders to stabilize the country; a feat no other would have achieved. Personally, my garage mechanic has told me so as has another daily paid worker. My friends who travel by three-wheeler too say that the general opinion of their drivers is that life is not easy but it is far better than what it was eight to 12 months ago. I agree that this feedback may not reflect a statistically representative sample but the general feeling is that the country is now on a more stable footing.

People are not agitating for the president to be sent home. They are not cursing the regime as they did not very long ago. Then who are those who are agitating for immediate change? The main agitators are the opposition MPs who see this as a golden opportunity to gain power and enjoy the plums of office. They are not alone though in their attempts to undermine the Government. There are sections of the media too that appear to be bent on dragging Ranil down, perhaps in accordance with their own personal agendas.

By now his adversaries should have realized that Ranil is his own man. He will not be badgered by anyone into doing what he believes is not in the interests of the country. If he could have taken on the locally based diplomatic community at a time when his position was precarious, and come out on top, handling sections of the media agitating against him will be child’s play. The accusation is often made against him that he is arrogant and harsh in his interaction with people but having observed him closely, I’m convinced that it is simply that he doesn’t suffer fools gladly though that may not be a politically savvy attitude.

Getting back to the sections of the media I was referring to, it has been often reported that a certain media organization turned against him because he refused to give his party’s nominations en bloc to a slate of candidates provided by the head of that organization. He was only prepared to give nominations on merit and thus only a few on the list were successful. Another columnist taking digs at the president sits on an “Independent Commission.” If she thinks he’s doing right, shouldn’t she resign?

It is now common knowledge that others who were being considered for the post of prime minister at the time declined the offer. Not so, Ranil Wickremesinghe. He grabbed the opportunity that came his way, confident that he had the ability to save the country from economic disaster. We can only speculate as to whether it was a lack of confidence in their ability or fear of alienating the voter that made other leaders decline the offer of being appointed prime minister. It is at a time like this, that, in the interests of the country, all are expected to put party politics on the back burner, pull their weight and help put the economy of the country back on track. Have a sort of war time cabinet. Unfortunately that doesn’t happen in Sri Lanka.

Most of the opposition members look at it as an opportune time to bring down the government. Their servile followers too echo the same sentiments, baying for Ranil’s blood. They have not thought beyond that. If you tell them “OK, throw Ranil out. After that, what?” They will sheepishly scratch their heads and say “let me think about that”. It isn’t rocket science to understand that if the government collapses, the IMF will rightly say that there is no stable government in place and pull out. When the IMF does that, so will all the bilateral and multilateral creditors. All the confidence and support of the international community, earned by Ranil, not so easily, I should add, will be completely eroded and we will be back to square one with recovery a near impossibility.

While in the opposition it is easy to oppose every measure taken by the Government but once it is the turn of the opposition to govern, have they the stomach to make difficult decisions? It is laughable how they say they will negotiate terms with the IMF. We are a bankrupt nation and not in a position to dictate to the IMF what we will do and what we will not do. The IMF will not allow the tail to wag the dog.

Recently former President Kumaratunga called Sri Lanka “a failed state” 75 years after independence. Of course “failed state” is subjective in nature and the good ex-president is entitled to her opinion. It may be pertinent to remind her though, that there were times when the economy of the country was not doing too badly. The tenures of Presidents J.R. Jayewardene and R. Premadasa need to be mentioned in this context. In fact during her presidency, too, the economy of country was turning around, no thanks to her but entirely due to the government of the time under the leadership of none other than the present president who was the then prime minister.

Then what happened, the bane of petty politics once again took its toll on the country. The president could not bear to see the progress that was being achieved and in a cowardly manner waited till the prime minister was out of the country and sacked three ministers and took over three crucial ministries. On his return to the country, the support for Ranil was overwhelming. Throngs turned up at the airport to greet him and people lined up on the road from the airport to Colombo to show their support. With all that support, this was the ideal time for him to turn tables on the then president but that was not the style of Ranil Wickremasinghe, the true democrat. While the president’s actions were a manifestation of the petty politics this country has seen since Independence, it was not unconstitutional and Ranil respected the Constitution. Parliament was dissolved subsequently even though the government had a working majority.

So my appeal to political parties is that differences be cast aside and all come together in the formation of a National Government. Of course being part of a National Government doesn’t mean that one should be given the right to place stumbling blocks in the way of an already successful path to recovery.

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Features

Misinterpreting President Dissanayake on National Reconciliation

Published

3 hours ago

2026/02/10

Sahan Weerasooriya

President Dissanayake

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has been investing his political capital in going to the public to explain some of the most politically sensitive and controversial issues. At a time when easier political choices are available, the president is choosing the harder path of confronting ethnic suspicion and communal fears. There are three issues in particular on which the president’s words have generated strong reactions. These are first with regard to Buddhist pilgrims going to the north of the country with nationalist motivations. Second is the controversy relating to the expansion of the Tissa Raja Maha Viharaya, a recently constructed Buddhist temple in Kankesanturai which has become a flashpoint between local Tamil residents and Sinhala nationalist groups. Third is the decision not to give the war victory a central place in the Independence Day celebrations.

Even in the opposition, when his party held only three seats in parliament, Anura Kumara Dissanayake took his role as a public educator seriously. He used to deliver lengthy, well researched and easily digestible speeches in parliament. He continues this practice as president. It can be seen that his statements are primarily meant to elevate the thinking of the people and not to win votes the easy way. The easy way to win votes whether in Sri Lanka or elsewhere in the world is to rouse nationalist and racist sentiments and ride that wave. Sri Lanka’s post independence political history shows that narrow ethnic mobilisation has often produced short term electoral gains but long term national damage.

Sections of the opposition and segments of the general public have been critical of the president for taking these positions. They have claimed that the president is taking these positions in order to obtain more Tamil votes or to appease minority communities. The same may be said in reverse of those others who take contrary positions that they seek the Sinhala votes. These political actors who thrive on nationalist mobilisation have attempted to portray the president’s statements as an abandonment of the majority community. The president’s actions need to be understood within the larger framework of national reconciliation and long term national stability.

Reconciler’s Duty

When the president referred to Buddhist pilgrims from the south going to the north, he was not speaking about pilgrims visiting long established Buddhist heritage sites such as Nagadeepa or Kandarodai. His remarks were directed at a specific and highly contentious development, the recently built Buddhist temple in Kankesanturai and those built elsewhere in the recent past in the north and east. The temple in Kankesanturai did not emerge from the religious needs of a local Buddhist community as there is none in that area. It has been constructed on land that was formerly owned and used by Tamil civilians and which came under military occupation as a high security zone. What has made the issue of the temple particularly controversial is that it was established with the support of the security forces.

The controversy has deepened because the temple authorities have sought to expand the site from approximately one acre to nearly fourteen acres on the basis that there was a historic Buddhist temple in that area up to the colonial period. However, the Tamil residents of the area fear that expansion would further displace surrounding residents and consolidate a permanent Buddhist religious presence in the present period in an area where the local population is overwhelmingly Hindu. For many Tamils in Kankesanturai, the issue is not Buddhism as a religion but the use of religion as a vehicle for territorial assertion and demographic changes in a region that bore the brunt of the war. Likewise, there are other parts of the north and east where other temples or places of worship have been established by the military personnel in their camps during their war-time occupation and questions arise regarding the future when these camps are finally closed.

There are those who have actively organised large scale pilgrimages from the south to make the Tissa temple another important religious site. These pilgrimages are framed publicly as acts of devotion but are widely perceived locally as demonstrations of dominance. Each such visit heightens tension, provokes protest by Tamil residents, and risks confrontation. For communities that experienced mass displacement, military occupation and land loss, the symbolism of a state backed religious structure on contested land with the backing of the security forces is impossible to separate from memories of war and destruction. A president committed to reconciliation cannot remain silent in the face of such provocations, however uncomfortable it may be to challenge sections of the majority community.

High-minded leadership

The controversy regarding the president’s Independence Day speech has also generated strong debate. In that speech the president did not refer to the military victory over the LTTE and also did not use the term “war heroes” to describe soldiers. For many Sinhala nationalist groups, the absence of these references was seen as an attempt to diminish the sacrifices of the armed forces. The reality is that Independence Day means very different things to different communities. In the north and east the same day is marked by protest events and mourning and as a “Black Day”, symbolising the consolidation of a state they continue to experience as excluding them and not empathizing with the full extent of their losses.

By way of contrast, the president’s objective was to ensure that Independence Day could be observed as a day that belonged to all communities in the country. It is not correct to assume that the president takes these positions in order to appease minorities or secure electoral advantage. The president is only one year into his term and does not need to take politically risky positions for short term electoral gains. Indeed, the positions he has taken involve confronting powerful nationalist political forces that can mobilise significant opposition. He risks losing majority support for his statements. This itself indicates that the motivation is not electoral calculation.

President Dissanayake has recognized that Sri Lanka’s long term political stability and economic recovery depend on building trust among communities that once peacefully coexisted and then lived through decades of war. Political leadership is ultimately tested by the willingness to say what is necessary rather than what is politically expedient. The president’s recent interventions demonstrate rare national leadership and constitute an attempt to shift public discourse away from ethnic triumphalism and toward a more inclusive conception of nationhood. Reconciliation cannot take root if national ceremonies reinforce the perception of victory for one community and defeat for another especially in an internal conflict.

BY Jehan Perera

Features

Recovery of LTTE weapons

Published

3 hours ago

2026/02/10

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sri Lanka Navy in action

I have read a newspaper report that the Special Task Force of Sri Lanka Police, with help of Military Intelligence, recovered three buried yet well-preserved 84mm Carl Gustaf recoilless rocket launchers used by the LTTE, in the Kudumbimalai area, Batticaloa.

These deadly weapons were used by the LTTE SEA TIGER WING to attack the Sri Lanka Navy ships and craft in 1990s. The first incident was in February 1997, off Iranativu island, in the Gulf of Mannar.

Admiral Cecil Tissera took over as Commander of the Navy on 27 January, 1997, from Admiral Mohan Samarasekara.

The fight against the LTTE was intensified from 1996 and the SLN was using her Vanguard of the Navy, Fast Attack Craft Squadron, to destroy the LTTE’s littoral fighting capabilities. Frequent confrontations against the LTTE Sea Tiger boats were reported off Mullaitivu, Point Pedro and Velvetiturai areas, where SLN units became victorious in most of these sea battles, except in a few incidents where the SLN lost Fast Attack Craft.

Carl Gustaf recoilless rocket launchers

The intelligence reports confirmed that the LTTE Sea Tigers was using new recoilless rocket launchers against aluminium-hull FACs, and they were deadly at close quarter sea battles, but the exact type of this weapon was not disclosed.

The following incident, which occurred in February 1997, helped confirm the weapon was Carl Gustaf 84 mm Recoilless gun!

DATE: 09TH FEBRUARY, 1997, morning 0600 hrs.

LOCATION: OFF IRANATHIVE.

FACs: P 460 ISRAEL BUILT, COMMANDED BY CDR MANOJ JAYESOORIYA

P 452 CDL BUILT, COMMANDED BY LCDR PM WICKRAMASINGHE (ON TEMPORARY COMMAND. PROPER OIC LCDR N HEENATIGALA)

OPERATED FROM KKS.

CONFRONTED WITH LTTE ATTACK CRAFT POWERED WITH FOUR 250 HP OUT BOARD MOTORS.

TARGET WAS DESTROYED AND ONE LTTE MEMBER WAS CAPTURED.

LEADING MARINE ENGINEERING MECHANIC OF THE FAC CAME UP TO THE BRIDGE CARRYING A PROJECTILE WHICH WAS FIRED BY THE LTTE BOAT, DURING CONFRONTATION, WHICH PENETRATED THROUGH THE FAC’s HULL, AND ENTERED THE OICs CABIN (BETWEEN THE TWO BUNKS) AND HIT THE AUXILIARY ENGINE ROOM DOOR AND HAD FALLEN DOWN WITHOUT EXPLODING. THE ENGINE ROOM DOOR WAS HEAVILY DAMAGED LOOSING THE WATER TIGHT INTEGRITY OF THE FAC.

THE PROJECTILE WAS LATER HANDED OVER TO THE NAVAL WEAPONS EXPERTS WHEN THE FACs RETURNED TO KKS. INVESTIGATIONS REVEALED THE WEAPON USED BY THE ENEMY WAS 84 mm CARL GUSTAF SHOULDER-FIRED RECOILLESS GUN AND THIS PROJECTILE WAS AN ILLUMINATER BOMB OF ONE MILLION CANDLE POWER. BUT THE ATTACKERS HAS FAILED TO REMOVE THE SAFETY PIN, THEREFORE THE BOMB WAS NOT ACTIVATED.

Sea Tigers

Carl Gustaf 84 mm recoilless gun was named after Carl Gustaf Stads Gevärsfaktori, which, initially, produced it. Sweden later developed the 84mm shoulder-fired recoilless gun by the Royal Swedish Army Materiel Administration during the second half of 1940s as a crew served man- portable infantry support gun for close range multi-role anti-armour, anti-personnel, battle field illumination, smoke screening and marking fire.

It is confirmed in Wikipedia that Carl Gustaf Recoilless shoulder-fired guns were used by the only non-state actor in the world – the LTTE – during the final Eelam War.

It is extremely important to check the batch numbers of the recently recovered three launchers to find out where they were produced and other details like how they ended up in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka?

By Admiral Ravindra C. Wijegunaratne
WV, RWP and Bar, RSP, VSV, USP, NI (M) (Pakistan), ndc, psn, Bsc (Hons) (War Studies) (Karachi) MPhil (Madras)
Former Navy Commander and Former Chief of Defence Staff
Former Chairman, Trincomalee Petroleum Terminals Ltd
Former Managing Director Ceylon Petroleum Corporation
Former High Commissioner to Pakistan

Features

Yellow Beatz … a style similar to K-pop!

Published

3 hours ago

2026/02/10

Sahan Weerasooriya

Yes, get ready to vibe with Yellow Beatz, Sri Lanka’s awesome girl group, keen to take Sri Lankan music to the world with a style similar to K-pop!

With high-energy beats and infectious hooks, these talented ladies are here to shake up the music scene.

Think bold moves, catchy hooks, and, of course, spicy versions of old Sinhala hits, and Yellow Beatz is the package you won’t want to miss!

According to a spokesman for the group, Yellow Beatz became a reality during the Covid period … when everyone was stuck at home, in lockdown.

“First we interviewed girls, online, and selected a team that blended well, as four voices, and then started rehearsals. One of the cover songs we recorded, during those early rehearsals, unexpectedly went viral on Facebook. From that moment onward, we continued doing cover songs, and we received a huge response. Through that, we were able to bring back some beautiful Sri Lankan musical creations that were being forgotten, and introduce them to the new generation.”

The team members, I am told, have strong musical skills and with proper training their goal is to become a vocal group recognised around the world.

Believe me, their goal, they say, is not only to take Sri Lanka’s name forward, in the music scene, but to bring home a Grammy Award, as well.

“We truly believe we can achieve this with the love and support of everyone in Sri Lanka.”

The year 2026 is very special for Yellow Beatz as they have received an exceptional opportunity to represent Sri Lanka at the World Championships of Performing Arts in the USA.

Under the guidance of Chris Raththara, the Director for Sri Lanka, and with the blessings of all Sri Lankans, the girls have a great hope that they can win this milestone.

“We believe this will be a moment of great value for us as Yellow Beatz, and also for all Sri Lankans, and it will be an important inspiration for the future of our country.”

Along with all the preparation for the event in the USA, they went on to say they also need to manage their performances, original song recordings, and everything related.

The year 2026 is very special for Yellow Beatz

“We have strong confidence in ourselves and in our sincere intentions, because we are a team that studies music deeply, researches within the field, and works to take the uniqueness of Sri Lankan identity to the world.”

At present, they gather at the Voices Lab Academy, twice a week, for new creations and concert rehearsals.

This project was created by Buddhika Dayarathne who is currently working as a Pop Vocal lecturer at SLTC Campus. Voice Lab Academy is also his own private music academy and Yellow Beatz was formed through that platform.

Buddhika is keen to take Sri Lankan music to the world with a style similar to K-Pop and Yellow Beatz began as a result of that vision. With that same aim, we all work together as one team.

“Although it was a little challenging for the four of us girls to work together at first, we have united for our goal and continue to work very flexibly and with dedication. Our parents and families also give their continuous blessings and support for this project,” Rameesha, Dinushi, Newansa and Risuri said.

Last year, Yellow Beatz released their first original song, ‘Ihirila’ , and with everything happening this year, they are also preparing for their first album.