Midweek Review

Easter Sunday carnage: How P CoI boomeranged on former Prez Sirisena

Published

4 years ago

2020/12/2

Sahan Weerasooriya

Polonnaruwa District MP Maithripala Sirisena leaving P CoI recently

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Many an eyebrow was raised when Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, intervened in the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (P CoI), tasked to inquire into the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage.

The Diocese of Colombo stepped-in, in the wake of accusations that attempts were being made to suppress the investigation. The then President Maithripala Sirisena, who named the P CoI, on Sept 22, 2019, wouldn’t have anticipated the P CoI to boomerang on him.

Sirisena, who is also the beleaguered leader of the SLFP, constituted the P CoI, ahead of the seven-member Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) submitting its report to the Parliament, on Oct 23, 2019. The PSC sittings took place between May-Oct 2019.

Sirisena, who had been away in Singapore, at the time of the coordinated suicide attacks, on the morning of April 21, 2019, returned on the following day, to take charge of the situation. Initially, the public didn’t find fault with the President, whereas the then Premier Ranil Wickemesinghe was mercilessly attacked. Within days after the attacks, Sirisena appointed his first P CoI to probe the attacks. The P CoI, headed by Supreme Court Justice Vijith Malalgoda, included former IGP N.K. Illangakoon (July 16, 2011 to July 11, 2016) and retired Secretary to the Ministry of Law and Order Padmasiri Jayamanne.

It would be pertinent to mention that the Easter Sunday carnage mastermind Zahran Hashim stepped up his clandestine activities, during Illangakoon’s tenure, as the IGP. By August 2015, Hashim had reached consensus with a group of Muslim politicians, and the parties they represented.

Sirisena named his second P CoI, in response to the PSC named by the then Speaker Karu Jayasuriya. Headed by Deputy Speaker Ananda Kumarasiri, the PSC consisted of SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem, Ravi Karunanayake, Dr. Rajitha Senaratne, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka. M.A. Sumanthiran, PC, Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa , Prof. Ashu Marasinghe, and Dr. Jayampathy Wickremaratne, PC. The PSC summoned members of the first P CoI, on August 20, 2019. Illangakoon and Jayamanne also appeared before the PSC, on July 25, 2019.

Special status for Prez, SIS head

Sirisena declined to appear before the PSC. Instead, the PSC visited him at the President’s House, on Sept 20, 2019. Sirisena received kid glove treatment. Let me reproduce what the PSC stated in its report on meeting Sirisena:

“Committee, having observed the evidence of H.E. Maithripala Sirisena, the President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, who was the Minister of Defence at the time these incidents took place, would be very helpful and important in preparing the final report of the Committee, decided to make a request to H.E. the President to give the Committee an opportunity for that.”

Sirisena named his second P CoI two days after his chat with the PSC, on Aug 20, 2019. The then head of the State Intelligence Service (SIS) Senior DIG Nilantha Jayawardena too received special status when his testimony was recorded in camera, at the Parliamentary Committee Complex (formerly Agriculture Ministry) located at Rajamalwatta Road, Battaramulla, at 7.00 p.m., on July 24, 2019. The hearing continued till 1 a.m. the following day. Jayawardena, having joined the Police, as an ASP, in February, 1998, received appointment as Senior DIG, in late Feb 2019. Interestingly, even after the PSC named Jayawardena as the main culprit, the incumbent SLPP administration appointed him Senior DIG, in charge of the Eastern Province. Jayawardena received the appointment on Jan 1, 2020.

Obviously, Sirisena never expected the second P CoI to really go into the Easter attack. Perhaps, Jayawardena, too, didn’t anticipate any devastating exposure, at the second P CoI.

Sirisena concluded his testimony, on Nov 25, having appeared before the P CoI, on eight occasions, with Shammil Perera, PC, Counsel for the Diocese of Colombo, giving the former President a very hard time. Sirisena, now an SLPP (Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna) MP for Polonnaruwa, ended up having to produce his medical reports to the P CoI.

The on-going second P CoI comprises Court of Appeal Judge Janak de Silva, Court of Appeal Judge Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne, Retired High Court Judges Nihal Sunil Rajapaksa, and A.L. Bandula Kumara Atapattu and former Secretary of the Ministry of Justice W.M.M.R. Adikari. Secretary to the Commission is H.M.P.B. Herath.

Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith refrained from seeking changes to the P CoI, though President Gotabaya Rajapaksa requested the Archbishop of Colombo to make suggestions. Instead, the Church had Counsel therein to raise pertinent issues. Perhaps Sirisena felt confident that he could deal with the situation. However, the proceedings have taken a nasty turn with the Counsel for disgraced former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando questioning Sirisena whether he lied before the P CoI.

Responding to Fernando’s Counsel, Sirisena, on Nov 24, acknowledged how his son Daham’s wedding had to be shifted from the Shangri-La Hotel, where Zahran Hashim, and another, carried out suicide attacks, to Hilton Colombo. Sirisena also defended visiting Tirupathi, before Singapore, where he claimed he received treatment, whereas Fernando’s Counsel insisted he was there for a regular checkup. The Counsel also challenged Sirisena’s excuse for not taking an earlier flight, in spite of the unprecedented national security emergency.

Diocese of Colombo responds

The Island

sought an explanation from His Lordship Rt. Rev. Dr. J. Winston S. Fernando, S.S.S., President, Sri Lanka Catholic Bishops’ Conference and Bishop of the Diocese of Badulla as regards the intervention made by the Church.

Asked whether the decision to employ legal counsel had been taken by the Sri Lanka Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Dr. Fernando explained how the Diocese of Colombo could take the relevant decision as the Easter Sunday attacks took place within the area coming under its authority. The senior clergyman pointed out that the church, attacked in the Batticaloa district, didn’t come under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Batticaloa. Responding to another query, Dr. Fernando said that the intervention of the Sri Lanka Catholic Bishops’ Conference depended on the nature of the issue at hand. On behalf of the Sri Lanka Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Dr. Fernando strongly endorsed the measures taken by them to ensure justice for those who perished in terror attacks.

Dr. Fernando underscored the pivotal importance of maintaining cordial relations among communities as the investigation progressed. Colombo is among altogether 12 Dioceses which constitute the Sri Lanka Catholic Bishops’ Conference, the Supreme body responsible for the overall direction of the community. Rt. Rev. Dr. J.D. Anthony Jayakody, Auxiliary Bishop of Colombo, functions as the Secretary General of the body.

In October 2020, the supreme body had the courage to reject the much touted 20th Amendment to the Constitution. Instead, it called for the appointment of an independent constitutional council to draft a new constitution. It also called for tangible measures to plug the loopholes that could lead to multiple interpretations.

Thanks to apt strategies adopted by the Church, the P CoI inquiry attracted unprecedented attention with the Counsel going ahead with no holds barred questioning of no longer privileged ex-President Sirisena which would have been unthinkable a year ago. Did Sirisena realize how the P CoI inquiry could boomerang on him! Obviously, consequences are catastrophic and irreversible. The impact on the Muslim political leadership too is quite devastating and likely to undermine their longstanding relationship with major political parties. If not for the tough stand taken by the Church, utterly corrupt political party system could have easilysucceeded in suppressing the investigation.

The releasing of Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) Vanni District lawmaker Rishad Bathiudeen’s brother, Riyaj, taken into custody over his alleged involvement with one of the National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) suicide bombers, by the incumbent government, is a case in point. Attorney General Dappula de Livera, PC called for an inquiry into the release of Riyaj. However, law enforcement authorities are yet to take him back into custody.

Pompeo’s questionable claim on Easter Sunday attacks

Outgoing US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, at the end of his official talks in Colombo on Oct 28, 2020, directly blamed ISIS for the Easter Sunday attacks. Let me reproduce the relevant section of his statement verbatim: “Finally, this afternoon, I’ll travel – it’s important for me to take a moment to go and visit the Shrine of St. Anthony, one of the five sites that were attacked by ISIS on Easter Sunday of 2019. I’ll shortly have the chance to pay my respects to the hundreds of victims of evil terrorists, including five Americans. I’m proud that the State Department has offered substantial counterterrorism assistance to help Sri Lankans bring killers of Americans and their own people to justice. These Easter Sunday attacks represent the kind of sectarianism that Sri Lankans are ready to leave behind forever. Sri Lankans of all backgrounds – Buddhists, Hindus, Christians and Muslims alike – want a peaceful nation where their human rights are respected.”

Two senior intelligence personnel, a retired official and a serving officer categorically denied ISIS culpability, though the organization claimed responsibility for the Easter Sunday carnage, several days after the attack. Both having access to an entire range of information, emphasized that at the time the suicide bombers struck, the ISIS hadn’t been aware of the operation. Referring to the US Secretary of State’s claim, they underscored the need to set the record straight as the perceived ISIS leadership could divert government and public attention, away from the real perpetrators.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, they explained that the ISIS claimed responsibility for coordinated bombings at churches and high-end hotels on Tuesday (23) after a youth, 21, from Matale, who had been in Qatar before, contacted the ISIS. The CID later arrested the suspect.

The ISIS offered no evidence to back its claim, initially announced in Arabic, carried by its Amaq news agency, on April 23, 2019. The news agency claimed the attackers were ‘among the fighters of the Islamic State.’

ISIS later issued a longer, formal statement, identifying the seven suicide bombers, who detonated explosive-laden vests, at the churches, and hotels, and a housing complex, on that particular Sunday.

Elusive ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a week later, reiterated his fighters carried out the attack.

In spite of Sirisena continuing to deny knowledge of the NTJ build-up, there had been three briefings on Zahran Hashim at the National Security Council (NSC) before the Easter Sunday massacre. In addition to them, the Defence Ministry received nine comprehensive reports on the extremists. The DMI, on several occasions, in the run up to the Easter Sunday attacks, suggested that Zahran Hashim be arrested and dealt through legal means.

Who really masterminded the Easter Sunday carnage?

What really triggered the Easter Sunday attacks? Did negligence on the part of the political leadership, and the security apparatus, paved the way for this high profile terror project? Who masterminded the overall operation? If Zahran Hashim wasn’t responsible, who actually picked the targets? Did Thowheed Jamaat suicide bomber Atchchi Muhammadu Hastun’s Tamil wife P. Pulasthini Rajendran alias Sarah, 24, leave their Sainthamaruthu hideout, on April 28, before troops, and the police, cordoned off the area. Pulasthini remains an enigma, well over a year after a series of blasts, within the hideout, claimed the lives of 15 persons, including six children. Troops captured Zahran Hashim’s wife and child following the confrontation at Sainthamaruthu.

Although Pulasthini was widely believed to be therein, later multiple sources claimed she escaped. Had the P CoI been able to verify claims Hasthun’s wife fled to India, in September 2019, suggesting the possibility of she being one of the informants, run by Indian intelligence?

The Indian intelligence warning, in spite of being ignored by Sri Lanka, revealed the true status of the Indian operation that enabled New Delhi to alert Colombo, well over two weeks before the coordinated terror strikes. Perhaps, Sri Lanka’s response to intelligence warning wrong-footed New Delhi, as Indian interests here were provided enhanced security. On the other hand, New Delhi certainly knew the attackers’ preparations, hence additional warnings.

The confidential Indian memo provided names, addresses, phone numbers, even the times in the middle of the night that one suspect would visit his wife.

If one examined the testimony of Sirisena, and fallen SIS Chief Jayawardena, who appeared before the P Col, for at least 20 days, the bone of contention is nothing but the latter’s failure to tell President of the Indian warning, received on April 4th. Zahran Hashim’s group carried out thespate of blasts, on April 21. Who would believe Sirisena didn’t receive the alert against the backdrop of revelation at the P CoI where there were at least 20 telephone conversations between the two from April 4 to April 21 period alone.

During October 24 P CoI proceedings, President’s Counsel Shamil Perera watching the interests of the Catholic Church, revealed how Sirisena and Jayawardena engaged in a 159-second telephone conversation, beginning at 7.59 am on the day of the attacks. The first blast hit St. Anthony’s Church, at 8.45am. The bomber targeted the Tamil service. However, the PSC, in its report, asserted that the suicide attacks, on St. Anthony’s Church, as well as St. Sebastian’s Church, Katuwapitiya, were carried out at 8.45 am. The next blast, at The Kingsbury Hotel took place at 8.47 am, Shangri-La at 8.54 am, Zion Church, Batticaloa, at 9.10 am and the sixth explosion at the Cinnamon Grand at 9.12 am.

There were two subsequent blasts at Tropical Inn, Dehiwalaand the Dematagoda house of spice tycoon Mohammad Yusuf Ibrahim, at 1.30 pm and 2.25 pm, respectively. Ibrahim’s two sons were among those who carried out attacks. When police surrounded the Dematagoda residence, Ibrahim’s daughter-in-law detonated explosives. Ibrahim who had been on the JVP’s National List, at the 2015 general election, is still in detention, under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

Counsel Perera produced a document before P CoI, in the presence of Sirisena, that proved the then President and hisspy chief had been constantly in touch. The list proved that there had been altogether 221 calls, from January to April 2019, therefore claim of Jayawardena didn’t receive an opportunity to pass such vital information, is highly questionable.

Similarly, can the possibility of Premier Wickremesinghe receiving the intelligence warning be ruled out, asJayawardena had shared security alert, received from New Delhi, with the then IGP Pujitha Jayasundera and CNI (Chief of National Intelligence Intelligence) retired DIG Sisira Mendis? Both IGP Jayasundara and Mendis wouldn’t have received appointments if they weren’t the UNP’s favourites.

Political background

The NTJ struck a couple of months after UNP leader Wickremesinghe regained the premiership, following Sirisena’s abortive bid to have the general election ahead of the presidential poll, which eventually took place on Nov 16, 2019. If the UNP-TNA-JVP combine hadn’t been successful in its legal challenge, the general election would have taken place on January 5, 2019. Had that happened, who would have taken the upper hand? Under whatever the circumstances, the SLPP wouldn’t have secured a near 2/3 majority by winning 145 seats. The result could have gone either way. Most importantly, the then UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa wouldn’t have an opportunity to contest the general election, under a new symbol. In other words, in case the SLPP won the Jan 2019 general election, envisaged by Sirisena, with a slim majority, the main Opposition would have been the UNP. What we should also take into consideration is that if Sirisena managed to sustain his strategy, his SLFP would have had a far bigger share in the SLPP parliamentary group. The SLFP managed to obtain 13 seats, under the SLPP ticket, and one on its own, in the Jaffna peninsula, at the Aug 2020 general election, after the judiciary reversed the then President’s strategy.

The NTJ mounted attacks after Wickremesinghe regained premiership though the police couldn’t be brought under the UNP. Sirisena would have been in a far more comfortable situation now if he gave in to the UNP demand to have the police under its control. However, an adamant Sirisena retained both the defence and police portfolios thereby automatically taking responsibility for the Easter Sunday carnage.

As claimed by academic Rajan Hoole in his explosive ‘Sri Lanka’s Easter Tragedy: When the Deep State gets out of its Depth, ‘launched ahead of the Nov 2019 presidential election, the failure of high profile NTJ’s political project to get some parliamentary representation, at the 2015 general election, may have prompted the Easter Sunday attacks. According to Prof. Hoole, the NTJ sought an arrangement similar to that of the LTTE having its interests represented in Parliament, through the TNA. An in depth examination of political factors is certainly essential as part of the overall investigation which is still at a very early stage.

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Midweek Review

US funding for Colombo port project involving Adani group and JKH in the balance

Published

4 days ago

2024/12/4

Sahan Weerasooriya

US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) CEO Scott Nathan and US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung at West Container Terminal site in early Nov. 2023. The visit took place in the wake of the US announcement of a $553 mn loan to Colombo West International Terminal Private Limited (CWIT). Adani group partly owns CWIT (pic courtesy US embassy)

Gautam Adani

In response to US indictment, Adani has declared that his conglomerate is committed to “world-class regulatory compliance.” The international media quoted one of the world’s richest as having said: “This is not the first time we have faced such challenges. What I can tell you is that every attack makes us stronger. And every obstacle becomes a stepping stone for a more resilient Adani Group.”

Adani said so at an awards ceremony in Jaipur.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Dr. Ganeshan Wignarajah, in his capacity as an advisor to the Sri Lankan President, and member of the Geopolitical Cartographer board, as mentioned in the latest Indo-Pacific Defence Forum, dealt with the ongoing economic-political-social crisis here.

Dr. Wignarajah, who had served as the Executive Director of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute (LKI) during the Yahapalana administration, quite confidently asserted (i) economic mismanagement (ii) Chinese loans and (iii) Covid-19 and other external shocks caused the unprecedented crisis.

The quarterly, published by the Commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, is meant to promote their overall political-military and social strategy in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Sri Lankan-born academic, in his article titled ‘Partners for Progress: Sri Lanka works with India, U.S. to bolster economy, stability,’ examined the developing situation here against the backdrop of, what he called, Chinese debt trap diplomacy. China has strongly refuted such accusations over the years. We haven’t forgotten the verbal battle between Yahapalana Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake and the then Chinese Ambassador Yi Xianliang over the former’s disparaging remarks on interest rates on loans provided by China. This was in late 2016, several months after the second mega Treasury bonds scam, perpetrated by the Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe-led government.

Dr. Wignarajah conveniently refrained from making reference to over USD 10,000 million in new International Sovereign Bonds that had been taken between 2015 and 2019, following the change of government. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa is on record as having declared procurement of USD 10,000 million, by the Yahapalana leaders, broke the back of the Sri Lankan economy. Instead, the academic cleverly hid the Yahapalana borrowings. Dr. Wignarajah declared (in verbatim): “Sri Lanka’s default demonstrates the risk of imprudent foreign borrowing, with relying on sovereign bonds with high interest rates to finance development projects or high-interest, low return Chinese loans.’’

As the article had been formulated before the presidential election that was held on Sept. 21, 2024, the professorial fellow in economics and trade at Gateway House, Mumbai, missed an opportunity to examine post-national poll developments.

The unexpected emergence of the National People’s Power (NPP), as the dominant political power, at the expense of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and the United National Party (UNP), according to some, may change the dynamics of Sri Lanka’s relations with the US-led grouping that includes India. However, others assert that bankrupt Sri Lanka has no other option but to continue with the IMF agenda and an agreement on economic partnership, signed in July 2023, by Premier Narendra Modi and the then President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Wickremesinghe, who suffered a humiliating defeat in the presidential poll on September 21, and then at the parliamentary elections on Nov. 14, 2024, emphasized the responsibility on the part of his successor Anura Kumara Dissanayake to fully implement, what he called, the ‘Vision document’ with India.

The Press Trust of India (PTI) quoted Wickremesinghe as having said so on the sidelines of an event he attended at the Sri Sathya Sai Vidya Vihar school recently.

The SLPP-led Parliament that elected Wickremesinghe as the President in July 2022 to complete the remainder of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s five-year term, owed the country an explanation whether the former received the approval of the Cabinet to finalize the so-called ‘vision document.’ The latest Indo-Lanka agreement dealt with strengthening maritime, air and energy ties, as well as land connectivity between the two countries. There hadn’t been a proper discourse, at any level, regarding the ‘Vision document,’ though various interested parties promoted the controversial ‘Vision document’ in the run-up to the presidential election.

On behalf of India, Pathfinder Foundation requested the leading candidates at the presidential election, namely Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sajith Premadasa and Anura Kumara Dissanayake, to go ahead with the ‘vision document.’

It would be pertinent to mention that Dr. Wignarajah has ceased to be an advisor to the Sri Lankan President in the wake of Wickremesinghe’s defeat. The advisor had been also involved with Pathfinder Foundation as a senior visiting fellow at the Foundation.

He has had the audacity to even deal in cavalier fashion with India’s intervention in 2022 to save Sri Lanka with reference to the Adani Group’s investments here as well as longstanding US projects, such as the Millennium Challenge Corporation that was rejected by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government.

Essentially, the expert addressed the issues at hand from the point of view of the US-India response to the Sri Lanka crisis.

New developments

The killing of Canada-based Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside his Vancouver temple in June 2023 has caused an unprecedented diplomatic row between New Delhi and Ottawa. The killing that Canada had blamed on India without whatsoever hesitation led to tit-for-tat expulsion of diplomatic staff. Among those who had been expelled were the top most Indian and Canadian intelligence officials based in the respective capitals.

But what really upset New Delhi was the US and the UK throwing their collective weight behind Canadian accusations, thereby undermining the Modi government’s international standing. Perhaps, the harm that had been caused to the relations between Canada and India can never be restored.

International news agencies in Oct, 2024 quoted the spokesperson of the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) as having said: “We are in contact with our Canadian partners about the serious developments outlined in the independent investigations in Canada. The UK has full confidence in Canada’s judicial system. Respect for sovereignty and the rule of law is essential.”

“The Government of India’s cooperation with Canada’s legal process is the right next step,” the official added.

On top of the simmering diplomatic row with Ottawa, the US has filed charges against an Indian government employee over his alleged involvement in a failed plot to kill an American citizen of Indian origin. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has identified a New York-based targeted person as a prominent advocate for Sikh separatism.

The US Attorney’s Office for New York declared in Oct, 2024 that it filed “murder-for-hire and money laundering charges” against Vikash Yadav.

Another suspect in the case, Nikhil Gupta, was extradited to the US earlier, in 2024, to face charges, while Yadav remains at large. There hadn’t been such high profile previous cases involving Indian government agents conducting clandestine operations in the West.

Canadian and US investigations have placed India in an utterly embarrassing position. In spite of strong Indian denials, both Canada and the US have maintained that India is under investigation.

The possibility of Canada and the US trying to establish a connection between those who had been involved in operations in their respective territories cannot be ruled out.

The state of crisis of Indian foreign relations with the West has to be discussed, taking into consideration the shocking Canadian declaration that no less than Home Minister Amit Shah, widely believed to be the second most powerful person in the country, sanctioned the Vancouver hit.

Regardless of Indian denial, Canada has refused to change its stand with regards to Shah’s direct involvement in targeting those India considered as a threat. There seems to be no way forward for India on the matter, especially in the West as both Canada and the US pursued investigations.

How could the Canadian and US common stand in respect of clandestine operations undertaken by India undermine India’s once robust relations with the West? Can the West jeopardize their relations with India, at a time they are in conflict with China and Russia?

The Modi’s government obviously has ended up with egg on its face and is struggling to cope up with extremely harmful media coverage. Shah is the chief aide to Premier Modi.

Against the backdrop of Canadian accusations directed at Shah, the US is also likely to probe the possibility of the powerful Home Minister having a hand in the New York operation. Whatever the outcome of Canadian and US investigations, New Delhi will have to address the collective responsibility on the part of the Indian Cabinet in authorizing clandestine operations overseas.

The Adani factor

Dr. Ganeshan Wignarajah

When Wickremesinghe recently demanded that his successor President Dissanayake goes ahead with the ‘Vision document’ with India, he was probably turning a blind eye to the US indictment of Gautam Adani over high profile accusations regarding the USD 265 mn alleged bribery scam to benefit Indian government officials.

Perhaps, the US move against Adani, one of the closest associates of Modi, may destabilize Indo-US relations. Adani and seven others had been charged over, what the US called, the corrupt solar project. They have been accused of securities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and wire fraud.

Dr. Wignarajah, in his piece to the US military magazine, praised the Adani projects here to the high heavens. Obviously, as the US indictment hadn’t been announced at the time the academic submitted his piece to the Indo-Pacific command, he couldn’t be faulted for the omission. However, the new Sri Lanka government shouldn’t try to side-step the issue by engaging in delaying tactics.

Unexpected bribery accusations that had been directed at the Indian conglomerate placed a major US funded project here under an extremely difficult situation, particularly because the US was to provide funding to the tune of over half a billion USD. The West Container Terminal at the Colombo port involved Sri Lankan blue chip John Keells and the Adani Group. Other participants are Special Economic Zone Limited and Sri Lanka Ports Authority in the USD 700 mn project.

The NPP government never expected the US to move legal action against the Adani group and may find it difficult to explain Sri Lanka’s continuing partnership with the Indian conglomerate. Unless of course, proper reassessment was made in respect of the Port project as well as other investments, particularly investment of U.S. 1.4 bn for wind power plants.

The US recently disclosed that though they promised over half a billion USD for the Colombo port project, the funding hadn’t been made available so far. Would denial of US funding undermine the implementation of the Port project. Construction began in Nov. 2022, five months after Parliament elected Wickremesinghe as the President.

The US stepped in during Ranil Wickremesinghe tenure as the President after previous plans for the East Container Terminal, involving Japan and India, had to be shelved due to protests. Sri Lanka had no other option but to offer the Colombo West Terminal project to appease New Delhi, furious about unilateral cancellation. The country paid a huge price for such cancellations, having announced mega projects without proper evaluation and consensus with stakeholders. There can be no better example than the idiotic cancellation of the Japanese-funded Colombo light rail project soon after the 2020 general election.

Japan reacted angrily to the unilateral announcement of the cancellation of USD 1.4 bn project funded by Japan through a soft loan.

What would be the fate of the West Container Terminal project in case Adani and JKH had to fund it in the absence of US financial backing? How could the US and India intend to maintain close links as desired by both powers against China in the backdrop of continuing bad press over attacks on Sikhs living overseas and the Adani fiasco.

The Congress-led Indian Opposition disrupted both Lower and Upper Houses of Parliament demanding a joint committee to investigate Adani’s companies in the agriculture, renewable energy, coal and infrastructure sectors. Unless India addresses accusations against Adani in a transparent manner, they can have long term repercussions, both domestically and internationally.

In the wake of the US indictment, Kenya cancelled multimillion-dollar deals with the Adani Group for airport modernization and energy projects. The mega company will also face scrutiny in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

The damage to US-India ties would be much more with legal action against Adani compelling India to play it safe. While the government remained silent on the issue at hand, Amit Malviya, the governing Bharatiya Janata Party’s IT head, declared in a post on the social media platform X that the US charges were “allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.” Critics asserted that this was nothing but a show of support by the Modi government for the Adani Group.

It would be interesting to see how the much weakened Opposition in Sri Lanka Parliament takes up the Adani issue. Parliament meets this week, though the issue is not on the agenda, an Opposition member may take the opportunity to comment on the politically sensitive matter.

Adani is the major Indian investor here. According to available data, Adani’s projects account for nearly 70% of overall Indian investments during the 2005-2019 period.

A story from the past

Undue Indian government intervention on behalf of Adani group was disclosed amidst unprecedented political turmoil here with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa under tremendous pressure in June 2022 with the country unable to finance basic needs with covert groups even having blocked worker remittances through official channels.

The revelation was made by then head of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) M.C.C. Ferdinando during an open hearing of the Committee of Public Enterprises (COPE) that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa told him that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had insisted that a 500-megawatt wind power project be directly given to the Adani group.

Embattled President Rajapaksa denied the disclosure. Within two days after the shocking declaration in Parliament, Ferdinando claimed that he lied after being overwhelmed by emotion. Of course no one took Ferdinando’s denial seriously for obvious reasons.

“On November 24, 2021, the President summoned me after a meeting and said, India’s Prime Minister Modi is pressuring him to hand over the project to the Adani group,” Ferdinando said, according to a video clip of his testimony made available by Parliament. According to the CEB head, he had received instructions from President Rajapaksa in this regard in Nov. 2021, just weeks after Adani visited Colombo.

Ferdinando was responding to questions posed by the then head of COPE Prof. Charitha Herath and another member about the circumstances the Adani group had chosen to construct a 500 MW wind power plant on the northern coast.

Ferdinando told the committee that he informed the President that the matter didn’t concern the CEB, but the Board of Investments. “The President insisted that I look into it. I then sent a letter mentioning that the President has instructed me and the Finance Secretary should do the needful. I pointed out that this is a government-to-government deal,” Ferdinando said.

During the heated hearings, Prof. Herath asked whether the wind power deal would be considered “unsolicited”. “Yes, this is a government-to-government deal, but the negotiations should take place according to the least cost policy mentioned in the act,” said Ferdinando.

On the following day, President Rajapaksa contradicted the CEB Chief. “Re a statement made by the #lka CEB Chairman at a COPE committee hearing regarding the award of a Wind Power Project in Mannar, I categorically deny authorization to award this project to any specific person or entity,” he tweeted.

“I have withdrawn that statement,” Ferdinando said. The media quoted the CEB Chief as having said that he only realized that he mistakenly made such a comment, when the Minister inquired from him about the matter on Saturday (June 11) morning.

Thereafter, Ferdinando issued a statement to Prof. Hearth on Saturday in which he tendered an apology, saying that due to “unexpected pressures and emotions”, he was compelled to name the Indian Prime Minister.

The public hearing took place on a Friday, a day after Parliament passed an amendment to the 1989 Electricity Act that removed competitive bidding. The main opposition, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), alleged that the primary reason for bringing forward the amendment was to accommodate the “unsolicited” Adani deal. The SJB demanded that projects beyond 10 MW capacity should go through a competitive bidding process.

The amendments to the Sri Lanka Electricity Act were passed with 120 votes in favour of the amendments with 36 voting against in the 225-member Parliament amid strong resistance from power sector trade unions in the state-run Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB). Thirteen MPs abstained in the voting.

The story should be examined taking into consideration Adani’s pow vows with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Premier Mahinda Rajapaksa in late Oct. 2021 in Colombo.

Midweek Review

Agnotology and ethnic relations

Published

4 days ago

2024/12/4

Sahan Weerasooriya

by Geewananda Gunawardana,
Ph.D.

The scientific study of culturally induced ignorance and its effects on society is referred to as agnotology. Regardless of the catchy name, this discipline gives credence to the phenomenon and helps the systematic investigation of this sensitive subject. Ignorance is not a demeaning term, but it is a condition that must be acknowledged and dealt with, just as a sickness needs to be treated. Sri Lankans have another reason to do so: Buddhism teaches it as the root cause of all human problems, even though it refers to a different kind of ignorance. Culturally induced ignorance is becoming more prevalent, particularly with the rise of Artificial Intelligence; for example, the country that has the best education system in the world is not free from it as shown by its recent election of a convicted felon to lead them. In that sense, we the Sri Lankans should be enormously proud of our accomplishment; we have proven our wisdom as a nation. But the job is not complete, there are more dark corners that need illumination.

This type of ignorance results from the intentional dissemination of inaccurate or misleading information for the benefit of an individual, organisation, or a movement (Iain Boal 1992). That does not mean the facts are not available, but they are overridden, hidden, and muddied: “We live in a world of radical ignorance, and the marvel is that any kind of truth cuts through the noise. Even though knowledge is ‘accessible,’ it does not mean it is accessed” (Robert Proctor 1988). Therefore, ignorance is not the lack of education itself, it is the inability to separate fact from fiction. A good example is tobacco use: health hazards of tobacco had been known for a century, but it took that long to overcome the mega industry’s advertising campaign and convince the authorities and public to curtail it.

Myths or misinformation

We have myths or misinformation that are millennia old and are entrenched in our collective memory. It is the practices based on such beliefs that have brought us to where we are. The way we elected our leaders is the prime example. Monarchs ruled us for millennia followed by colonial rulers for another few centuries. After that, the country’s elite took over. This long history has drilled into the nation’s psyche the fallacy that the elite must be venerated. The elite took advantage of this vulnerability: voters were manipulated by using their culturally induced beliefs to fabricate threats so the elites could stay in power and enrich themselves. Our past elections have been fought based on the interests of this elite, and not that of society or the nation. The use of chicanery, violence, all manner of vulgarities, and bribery by the elite had become the norm. We voted according to their wishes and not ours.

We the people owe it to ourselves, and to the future generations, to eliminate this ignorance for good. First, we must stop our habit of venerating our leaders and turning them into a new elite. As mentioned before, challenging the tradition, or culture is not easy; difficult and unpleasant it may be, but change is necessary, and our survival depends on it. This responsibility rests on all of us: adults, teachers, clergy of all faiths, and most importantly the media. As a country with a long history, it has no shortage of culturally inherited misinformation. The most damaging one among them is the myths surrounding ethnicity.

The narration in the great chronicle Mahawamsa on populating the island is accepted as historical facts by the majority. Minorities have countered that with their own versions. The question we must ask is, did the authors on both sides present facts or wrote things that were favourable to a cause that each was pursuing. On the Vijaya episode in the Mahavamsa, a historian has argued that it is not a story about the origins of the Sinhala people, but about the origins of a political elite. Indeed, he suggested, a fully-fledged Sinhala ethnic consciousness only arrived in the British period (Gunawardana 1995). Note that he used the term political elite.

Another historian describes the presence of similar accounts in the mythology of many other countries including Greece and Rome. He sums up the essence of these stories as follows. It is interesting to note that this historian was not aware of the Sri Lankan version.

“The king is an outsider, often an immigrant warrior prince whose father is a god or a king of his native land. But, exiled by his own love of power or banished for murder, the hero is unable to succeed there. Instead, he takes power in another place, and through a woman: princess of the native people whom he gains by a miraculous exploit involving feats of strength, ruse, rape, athletic prowess, and/or the murder of his predecessor.” (Sahlins 1985).

Science unheeded

Unfortunately, both sides of this debate do not pay attention to what science has to say on this matter. What follows is a survey of scientific information available on this topic, but to get closer to reality, one must remove the coloured glasses put on us at birth. The first archaic human species (Homo erectus), evolved in East Africa about two million years ago. Fossil records show that they emigrated out of Africa and populated most of Asia and Europe. Modern humans (Homo sapiens) appeared, also in East Africa, about 300,000 years ago. Sapiens have migrated out of Africa in two waves: the first around 130 to 100 thousand years ago taking a northern route and the second around 70 to 60 thousand years ago taking a southern route, hugging the coastline. These later migrants have both interbred with and or displaced the earlier arrivals while settling in different corners of the globe. There have been several other Homo species, like Neanderthals and Denisovans; while none of them exists today, some human populations carry their genes.

Peopling of the Indian subcontinent, the meeting ground of settlers from several adjoining regions, has been a complex one. Following are the four main population groups involved in this process: a) Aboriginal Indians. These are the members of the second wave of humans that left Africa and settled around fifty thousand years ago; b) Iranian farmers; c) Farmers from Central Asian Steppes; and d) East Asian rice farmers. The farmers from Iran and steppes were wheat and barley growers, and their East- Southeast migration had been slowed for some time as their crops were not ideally suited for tropical climate. While rice farming was adopted by all populations, the East Asian farmers have not made much of an impact in populating the country, except in the Northeast corner.

The accepted migration pattern of these populations is as follows. Iranian farmers who have arrived in the Indus valley around nine- to seven thousand years ago had crossed into India, mixed with the Aboriginal Indians, and moved southward around four thousand years ago. The resulting population is referred to as Ancestral South Indians. Farmers from the steppes moved to Indus valley, mixed with the Iranian farmers. These Steppes farmers, referred to as Europeans but differ from the Germanic Europeans, introduced horses and wheels. This Iranian-Steppes mix moved Eastwards towards the Gangetic valley and mixed with the earlier arrivals. This population is referred to as Indo-Europeans. Their southward migration has been slowed for several reasons. It is accepted that it was this latest group that introduced the precursor to Sanskrit language, Vedic literature, and the four-tier caste system.

Some argue that it was the strict caste system that prevented further mixing and southward spread of this Indo-European group. These classifications and nomenclature have created much controversy and debate. The use of terms like Ancient Northan Indians and Ancient Southern Indians are disputed as their origins are outside of India. The use of Aryans and Dravidians is equally controversial, and arbitrary. And specifically in our case, dangerously misleading.

Now, let us see what happened in Sri Lanka. The maximum depth of the 48 km long Adams Bridge is about ten metres while most of the shoals are less than 1 metre underwater. During the height of the ice age, between 80 to 20 thousand years ago, the sea levels stood about 120 metres below the current level. Therefore, Sri Lanka had been part of the Indian landmass, allowing for the southward migrations to reach the island, until the sea level rose about six thousand years ago.

Archaeological evidence shows that some of the early migrations reached the island as early as 125,000 years ago. Modern human fossils found in Sri Lanka has been dated back to 36,000 years (Deraniyagala 1992). Remarkably, these are the only reports of that antiquity in Southeast Asia. They were hunter gatherers using tools belonging to the middle stone age. They thrived until people skilled in agriculture and cattle breeding arrived around 2,800 years ago.

Narration of chronicles

How does the narration of the great chronicles match with this version? The arrival of North Indian prince Vijaya, with his retinue of seven hundred men, and ruling the country from 543 to 505 BCE is the cornerstone of this narration. There are many associated legends that cannot be verified. Vijaya’s campaign to eliminate the natives, who belonged to Yaksha and Naga tribes, is one. Some report Vijaya being from the Northeast coast of India while the others suggest a Northwest origin. However, linguists and historians see a connection between Sinhala and the languages spoken along the Konkani coast, favouring a Northwest origin. Realistically, there is no reasons to rule out continuous exchanges between India and Sri Lanka along the east and west maritime routes as well as through the shallow seas in the Palk Straits throughout the history. Vijay’s arrival had stood out in the chronicler’s mind as he was a notable person, but he cannot be the first to arrive from India.

Now, let us turn to genetic studies of Sri Lankans. Humans are a genetically homogeneous species; this suggests a population collapse in recent times, leaving a small number of females of reproductive age. Modern technologies developed in the field of genetics can use a type of markers known as mutations to track the genealogy of an individual or a population despite this homogeneity. When a cell divides, its genetic material or DNA is duplicated and distributed equally among the two daughter cells. During this copying process some errors are made. Genes or DNA is a set of instructions written in a language that has five letters: A, T, G, C, and U. The words in this language are made up of three letters. Most of the copying errors are misspellings, typos as we say. The type of errors known as single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) are the most common markers used in genetic studies to trace genetic history.

There are several small-scale genetic studies conducted on Sri Lankans. The most recent open access publication by Singh and others in 2008 provides references to these studies. I am using the set of data reported by Ranaweera (2014) and graphically represented by Chaubey (2014) for this discussion, as these data are representative of the overall findings (Figure 1: Mitochondrial DNA analyses of Sri Lankans).

These are the most striking facts that emerge from these data: the major ancestral share of all Sri Lankans, i.e. those identify as upcountry, low country, and mixed Sinhala; Sri Lankan and Indian Tamil; and Adivasi population, is the Ancient South Indian genotype, which is considered as consisting of 75% Ancient Ancestral South Indian and 25% Iranian Farmer genotypes. All Sri Lankans have over 60% of this type. At the same time, all Sri Lankans, except the Indian Tamils, also carry more than 20% Indo-European genotype. Not surprisingly, considering the island’s geographical location in the East-West maritime route and five hundred years of European occupation, Sri Lankans also carry anywhere from 6 to 14% of other genotypes, which are not identified in this study. Sri Lankan Moors are not included in this data set, but they too carry a high percentage of Ancient South Indian genotype indicating mixing with the other types (Perera 2021).

Baseless proposition

Considering these data, to assign an ethnicity and suggest that one or the other group arrived on the island first is an utterly baseless proposition. This allegiance to one or the other camp had to have happened within the island. For example, Indian mercenaries brought into the country in more recent times have settled down in the south and assimilated without trace after the wars ended; in fact, some of the prominent Sinhala leaders belong to this category. Similarly, just because one group follows a distinct set of customs or speaks a particular language is also not related to their arrival chronology. Such divisions could have easily happened after their arrival. Our ancestors have been living on this island for over three millennia through war, peace, and famine. As can be seen all over the world, interbreeding can happen under any condition, for better or for worse. Not only genes, but words, customs, beliefs, and food were exchanged. The boundaries between so-called Adivasis, Aryans, Dravidians, Moors, or others are porous and have no meaning in the big picture. Genetic studies show without doubt that if one assumes that they belong to the pure Ancient Soth Indian genotype or the pure Indo-European genotype, it would be not only a preposterous idea, but it would be a comical one as well. The bottom line is that we all have lived on this small island for so long, we have become near homogenous genetically. Who knows what languages were spoken or what beliefs were practiced by our predecessors four or five generations ago. What matters is that we all are citizens of this land with the same rights, and we should not leave any opportunity for the wicked elite to divide us and fatten themselves ever again.

Unfortunately, the government policies or the failure to implement “successful, sustainable development projects” over the years has strengthened the divisions based on culturally induced ignorance leading to conflicts and economic disasters (Richardson 2005). If we were to succeed as a nation, there are two things the country must do: the government must have policies for sustainable economic development and give equal access to all, and the people must do their part to reduce the culturally induced ignorance among themselves. Myths surrounding ethnicity is only one issue; there are many others that will have to be addressed at another time. All parties that genuinely care about the nation’s future must engage in this civic discourse and prevent the future generations from inheriting our ignorance. The younger generations must be trained to be critical thinkers and not mere followers. This is an excellent opportunity to do so and missing that will be a grave mistake.