Features

In London — As Secretary-General, IPPF

Published

8 months ago

2025/06/15

Thilina Walpola

Bradman

Voluntary Exile (1984-1989)

Filling the position of chief executive officer of an organisation which had a worldwide network, with its headquarters in London, can be for anyone quite a challenge. Particularly to me, an Asian coming to head an international post for the first time, the transition was excruciatingly demanding. I never felt more alone than in those early days. Unlike an ambassador’s job, there was not the support of an embassy staff of one’s own nationality. One could not take comfort in the knowledge that your ministry of foreign affairs was only a telephone call away. Particularly in the international NGO world, you were completely alone. You either made it, gritting your teeth, or you caved in and pulled out. I decided I’d stick it out and enjoy the challenge until the five-year contract was done.

The position of Secretary-General of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) – a worldwide federation of 151 national family planning associations – was being filled for the first time by a man from a small third world country. The post had been held since its inception, 45 years earlier, by either Europeans or Americans. They had impressive qualifications and often the backing of powerful donor countries. My predecessor was a Swede. For the first time IPPF was to have a non-white as its chief executive.

Although the colour of skin was not important, and we were then at the last quarter of the 20th century, I could not help noticing that most of the others whom you needed to associate with were white; you were brown. I felt I could now empathise with S W R D Bandaranaike who in his Memories of Oxford1 had said that ‘before you are their equal you must be their superior’, or words to that effect. There was always the danger of being marginalised unless one resolutely stood one’s ground.

I decided that I would not be overwhelmed by the situation but would take up the challenges as they came. I had much to learn; nothing to lose. I had not sought the job. It had been offered to me after Lord Slim’s telephone call some months ago.

I had begun learning about IPPF’s work during my year as director of its Indian Ocean region a few years earlier. But this was the Real McCoy. London was where the buck stopped.

I found that we were in a very competitive world — both in terms of making and propagating policy and in collecting funds for our global programmes. IPPF’s work was full of controversy. The very subject of family planning was contentious. Powerful religious lobbies opposed the very thought as it did, in their view, interfere with the design of the divine. Of those who accepted it as desirable, some were for population control in the interest of sound economics; the balance between human numbers and human needs and the conservation of the environment. Some, the neo-Malthusians were fearful of the consequences of the population `bomb’ which, when and if it exploded in the developing countries, posed a severe threat to the lifestyles of those in the developed countries. So, one needed urgently to control the growth of numbers in the poor countries. There were others, particularly linked with the robust feminist movement who raised issues of human rights and of the distress caused to people by mass sterilisation campaigns or the use of untried drugs and untested techniques on people in poor countries.

Since IPPF was a voluntary organisation, representatives of all these major tendencies had a presence in its policy-making councils. Helping shape IPPF policy and promoting it outside was an important aspect of my job. I found out that I needed – both verbally and in writing – to do so incessantly. Issues came up all the time, from around the world, which needed much deliberation with one’s senior staff in London and the volunteer members of the policy making bodies scattered around the world. What was IPPF’s stance on, for example, China’s ‘one child’ policy; use of abortion-inducing drugs; South Africa’s racially exclusive family planning clinics; vending machines for condoms in public places; incentives to those who accepted sterilisation and so on. The consultation that followed the raising of such disputable issues was intense and interminable.

Everyone had a different opinion to offer and I found myself daily on the telephone, e-mail and fax to Bonn,’ Bombay,’ Trinidad,’ Kuala Lumpur’ or Sydney’ getting advice, persuading and working out the acceptable compromise. Often the staff had a different opinion but ours was an organisation of volunteers and the volunteer view should in the best instance prevail. The senior staff, most of them internationally recruited, were generally long-serving and experienced hands, and experts in their areas of medical research’ and technology, law,’ communications,10 social marketing and operations management.” The international volunteers were no less qualified, being in their professional life, top flight gynaecologists,” social psychologists,” environmentalists, lawyers, professors at leading national universities in economics and political science, accountants 14 and business executives heading multi- national corporations. There would also invariably be a few women who were basically non-professional but extremely dedicated social workers. They reflected the essence of the quintessential volunteer. Being with a group as multifaceted as these men and women were, or sometimes having to chair such a forum, for a day or two, was a quality intellectual experience.

I learn of the death of my mother

In November of 1984, my mother, Edith, passed away. My father had died in 1956, three months after I had been married. My mother, as widows usually do, expected to die soon after but she lived in relatively good health for almost thirty years more. Except in the last few years when she was stricken with a stroke, which left her with a crippled right hand, she was active, of good health and invariably in good humour. As the wife of a police officer in the outstations in colonial times she had made many friends and was known to be a sociable type. My earliest recollections of her are in Kandy and Kalutara where we always seemed to be having lots of parties at home. The outstation social life then was heavy with most things centring around the ‘Senior Officials Club’. She had a good eye and build for sports and played a fair game of tennis, often partnering Edmund, my father, at mixed doubles. She was a bit of an all-rounder; could cook like an angel, paint a portrait, darn a torn shirt, knit a sweater, embroider a dress or polish my father’s police uniform buttons, if it was required. If I had to write her school report I would unhesitatingly say that she was very versatile and a good team player. To match her all-around abilities she was a warm and caring person. She always found time for the village relations, and in fact in Kalutara, kept the children of two such families in our home, so that they might go to school in the town. Our friendship and close links with the country cousins was greatly encouraged. This served the useful function of bringing village ways, speech and beliefs into our lives from an early age.

While my father would be very strict with everybody, including us children, my mother was easy and approachable. When in trouble, and that was often, we would run to her to escape the wrath of our father. He remained very much a policeman, even at home. She was a naturally gifted artist. She was an art teacher at Princess of Wales College, Moratuwa, when at 18 she met Edmund, who was several years older than her. They married soon afterwards. She was fair in complexion, wiry and small-made and had five children (I came in the middle) over a marriage which lasted forty years. While Edmund came from the village of Payagala in the Kalutara district and had left it for education in the city, Edith’s background was from the suburbs of Colombo and she was born and educated in the town. While she was a Christian of the Anglican faith my father was a Buddhist who converted to Christianity early on as a result of his education at Wesley College in Colombo and employment in the state’s service. In 1911 the colonial police force would undoubtedly have preferred to recruit Christians. I found it strange that my father, with his village roots, was generally uncomfortable when he went back to the village. He distrusted our village relatives and was likely to disbelieve their stories. My mother, on the other hand, with her city background, was attracted to the village and got on well with the relatives and rural people in general.

I left London for Colombo immediately on hearing of the news of her death. Before I had reached her home in Mount Lavinia, I learned that Premadasa and his wife had called and inquired how they could be of help.

Major Concerns for IPPF — Abortion and Reproductive Health

Two issues of fundamental importance for IPPF began to occupy my thinking and work during the first few years. One was that of the admissibility of voluntary medical termination of pregnancy (or as more commonly known – abortion) into our programmes; the other, was that of broadening our mandate which was ‘family planning’ into ‘reproductive health’ and reproductive rights. These had serious implications not only for us, but for all population and family health institutions. The tremors they caused in the global population and health firmament seem to be yet reverberating through these organisations.

(Excerpted from Rendering unto Caesar, autobiography of Bradman Weerakoon) ✍️

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Features

More state support needed for marginalised communities

Published

14 hours ago

2026/02/13

Thilina Walpola

A landslide in the Central Province

Message from Malaiyaha Tamil community to govt:

Insights from SSA Cyclone Ditwah Survey

When climate disasters strike, they don’t affect everyone equally. Marginalised communities typically face worse outcomes, and Cyclone Ditwah is no exception. Especially in a context where normalcy is far from “normal”, the idea of returning to normalcy or restoring a life of normalcy makes very little sense.

The island-wide survey (https://ssalanka.org/reports/) conducted by the Social Scientists’ Association (SSA), between early to mid-January on Cyclone Ditwah shows stark regional disparities in how satisfied or dissatisfied people were with the government’s response. While national satisfaction levels were relatively high in most provinces, the Central Province tells a different story.

Only 35.2% of Central Province residents reported that they were satisfied with early warning and evacuation measures, compared to 52.2% nationally. The gap continues across every measure: just 52.9% were satisfied with immediate rescue and emergency response, compared with the national figure of 74.6%. Satisfaction with relief distribution in the Central Province is 51.9% while the national figure stands at 73.1%. The figures for restoration of water, electricity, and roads are at a low 45.9% in the central province compared to the 70.9% in national figures. Similarly, the satisfaction level for recovery and rebuilding support is 48.7% in the Central Province, while the national figure is 67.0%.

A deeper analysis of the SSA data on public perceptions reveals something important: these lower satisfaction rates came primarily from the Malaiyaha Tamil population. Their experience differed not just from other provinces, but also from other ethnic groups living in the Central Province itself.

The Malaiyaha Tamil community’s vulnerability didn’t start with the cyclone. Their vulnerability is a historically and structurally pre-determined process of exclusion and marginalisation. Brought to Sri Lanka during British rule to work for the empire’s plantation economies, they have faced long-term economic exploitation and have repeatedly been denied access to state support and social welfare systems. Most estate residents still live in ‘line rooms’ and have no rights to the land they cultivate and live on. The community continues to be governed by an outdated estate management system that acts as a barrier to accessing public and municipal services such as road repair, water, electricity and other basic infrastructures available to other citizens.

As far as access to improved water sources is concerned, the Sri Lanka Demographic Health Survey (2016) shows that 57% of estate sector households don’t have access to improved water sources, while more than 90% of households in urban and rural areas do. With regard to the level of poverty, as the Department of Census and Statistics (2019) data reveals, the estate sector where most Malaiyaha Tamils live had a poverty headcount index of 33.8%; more than double the national rate of 14.3%. These statistics highlight key indicators of the systemic discrimination faced by the Malaiyaha Tamil community.

Some crucial observations from the SSA data collectors who enumerated responses from estate residents in the survey reveal the specific challenges faced by the Malaiyaha Tamils, particularly in their efforts to seek state support for compensation and reconstruction.

First, the Central Province experienced not just flooding but also the highest number of landslides in the island. As a result, some residents in the region lost entire homes, access roadways, and other basic infrastructures. The loss of lives, livelihoods and land was at a higher intensity compared to the provinces not located in the hills. Most importantly, the Malaiyaha Tamil community’s pre-existing grievances made them even more vulnerable and the government’s job of reparation and restitution more complex.

Early warnings hadn’t reached many areas. Some data collectors said they themselves never heard any warnings in estate areas, while others mentioned that early warnings were issued but didn’t reach some segments of the community. According to the resident data collectors, the police announcements reached only as far as the sections where they were able to drive their vehicles to, and there were many estate roads that were not motorable. When warnings did filter through to remote locations, they often came by word of mouth and information was distorted along the way. Once the disaster hit, things got worse: roads were blocked, electricity went out, mobile networks failed and people were cut off completely.

Emergency response was slow. Blocked roads meant people could not get to hospitals when they needed urgent care, including pregnant mothers. The difficult terrain and poor road conditions meant rescue teams took much longer to reach affected areas than in other regions.

Relief supplies didn’t reach everyone. The Grama Niladhari divisions in these areas are huge and hard to navigate, making it difficult for Grama Niladharis to reach all places as urgently as needed. Relief workers distributed supplies where vehicles could go, which meant accessible areas got help while remote communities were left out.

Some people didn’t even try to go to safety centres or evacuation shelters set up in local schools because the facilities there were already so poor. The perceptions of people who did go to safety centres, as shown in the provincial data, reveal that satisfaction was low compared to other affected regions of the country. Less than half were satisfied with space and facilities (42.1%) or security and protection (45.0%). Satisfaction was even lower for assistance with lost or damaged documentation (17.9%) and information and support for compensation applications (28.2%). Only 22.5% were satisfied with medical care and health services below most other affected regions.

Restoring services proved nearly impossible in some areas. Road access was the biggest problem. The condition of the roads was already poor even before the cyclone, and some still haven’t been cleared. Recovery is especially difficult because there’s no decent baseline infrastructure to restore, hence you can’t bring roads and other public facilities back to a “good” condition when they were never good, even before the disaster.

Water systems faced their own complications. Many households get water from natural sources or small community projects, and not the centralised state system. These sources are often in the middle of the disaster zone and therefore got contaminated during the floods and landslides.

Long-term recovery remains stalled. Without basic infrastructure, areas that are still hard to reach keep struggling to get the support they need for rebuilding.

Taken together, what do these testaments mean? Disaster response can’t be the same for everyone. The Malaiyaha Tamil community has been double marginalised because they were already living with structural inequalities such as poor infrastructure, geographic isolation, and inadequate services which have been exacerbated by Cyclone Ditwah. An effective and fair disaster response needs to account for these underlying vulnerabilities. It requires interventions tailored to the historical, economic, and infrastructural realities that marginalized communities face every day. On top of that, it highlights the importance of dealing with climate disasters, given the fact that vulnerable communities could face more devastating impacts compared to others.

(Shashik Silva is a researcher with the Social Scientists’ Association of Sri Lanka)

by Shashik Silva ✍️

Features

Crucial test for religious and ethnic harmony in Bangladesh

Published

2 days ago

2026/02/12

Sahan Weerasooriya

A political protest that led to governmental change in Bangladesh mid last year. (photograph: imago)

Will the Bangladesh parliamentary election bring into being a government that will ensure ethnic and religious harmony in the country? This is the poser on the lips of peace-loving sections in Bangladesh and a principal concern of those outside who mean the country well.

The apprehensions are mainly on the part of religious and ethnic minorities. The parliamentary poll of February 12th is expected to bring into existence a government headed by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Islamist oriented Jamaat-e-Islami party and this is where the rub is. If these parties win, will it be a case of Bangladesh sliding in the direction of a theocracy or a state where majoritarian chauvinism thrives?

Chief of the Jamaat, Shafiqur Rahman, who was interviewed by sections of the international media recently said that there is no need for minority groups in Bangladesh to have the above fears. He assured, essentially, that the state that will come into being will be equable and inclusive. May it be so, is likely to be the wish of those who cherish a tension-free Bangladesh.

The party that could have posed a challenge to the above parties, the Awami League Party of former Prime Minister Hasina Wased, is out of the running on account of a suspension that was imposed on it by the authorities and the mentioned majoritarian-oriented parties are expected to have it easy at the polls.

A positive that has emerged against the backdrop of the poll is that most ordinary people in Bangladesh, be they Muslim or Hindu, are for communal and religious harmony and it is hoped that this sentiment will strongly prevail, going ahead. Interestingly, most of them were of the view, when interviewed, that it was the politicians who sowed the seeds of discord in the country and this viewpoint is widely shared by publics all over the region in respect of the politicians of their countries.

Some sections of the Jamaat party were of the view that matters with regard to the orientation of governance are best left to the incoming parliament to decide on but such opinions will be cold comfort for minority groups. If the parliamentary majority comes to consist of hard line Islamists, for instance, there is nothing to prevent the country from going in for theocratic governance. Consequently, minority group fears over their safety and protection cannot be prevented from spreading.

Therefore, we come back to the question of just and fair governance and whether Bangladesh’s future rulers could ensure these essential conditions of democratic rule. The latter, it is hoped, will be sufficiently perceptive to ascertain that a Bangladesh rife with religious and ethnic tensions, and therefore unstable, would not be in the interests of Bangladesh and those of the region’s countries.

Unfortunately, politicians region-wide fall for the lure of ethnic, religious and linguistic chauvinism. This happens even in the case of politicians who claim to be democratic in orientation. This fate even befell Bangladesh’s Awami League Party, which claims to be democratic and socialist in general outlook.

We have it on the authority of Taslima Nasrin in her ground-breaking novel, ‘Lajja’, that the Awami Party was not of any substantial help to Bangladesh’s Hindus, for example, when violence was unleashed on them by sections of the majority community. In fact some elements in the Awami Party were found to be siding with the Hindus’ murderous persecutors. Such are the temptations of hard line majoritarianism.

In Sri Lanka’s past numerous have been the occasions when even self-professed Leftists and their parties have conveniently fallen in line with Southern nationalist groups with self-interest in mind. The present NPP government in Sri Lanka has been waxing lyrical about fostering national reconciliation and harmony but it is yet to prove its worthiness on this score in practice. The NPP government remains untested material.

As a first step towards national reconciliation it is hoped that Sri Lanka’s present rulers would learn the Tamil language and address the people of the North and East of the country in Tamil and not Sinhala, which most Tamil-speaking people do not understand. We earnestly await official language reforms which afford to Tamil the dignity it deserves.

An acid test awaits Bangladesh as well on the nation-building front. Not only must all forms of chauvinism be shunned by the incoming rulers but a secular, truly democratic Bangladesh awaits being licked into shape. All identity barriers among people need to be abolished and it is this process that is referred to as nation-building.

On the foreign policy frontier, a task of foremost importance for Bangladesh is the need to build bridges of amity with India. If pragmatism is to rule the roost in foreign policy formulation, Bangladesh would place priority to the overcoming of this challenge. The repatriation to Bangladesh of ex-Prime Minister Hasina could emerge as a steep hurdle to bilateral accord but sagacious diplomacy must be used by Bangladesh to get over the problem.

A reply to N.A. de S. Amaratunga

A response has been penned by N.A. de S. Amaratunga (please see p5 of ‘The Island’ of February 6th) to a previous column by me on ‘ India shaping-up as a Swing State’, published in this newspaper on January 29th , but I remain firmly convinced that India remains a foremost democracy and a Swing State in the making.

If the countries of South Asia are to effectively manage ‘murderous terrorism’, particularly of the separatist kind, then they would do well to adopt to the best of their ability a system of government that provides for power decentralization from the centre to the provinces or periphery, as the case may be. This system has stood India in good stead and ought to prove effective in all other states that have fears of disintegration.

Moreover, power decentralization ensures that all communities within a country enjoy some self-governing rights within an overall unitary governance framework. Such power-sharing is a hallmark of democratic governance.

Features

Celebrating Valentine’s Day …

Published

2 days ago

2026/02/12

Sahan Weerasooriya

Valentine’s Day is all about celebrating love, romance, and affection, and this is how some of our well-known personalities plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day – 14th February:

Merlina Fernando (Singer)

Yes, it’s a special day for lovers all over the world and it’s even more special to me because 14th February is the birthday of my husband Suresh, who’s the lead guitarist of my band Mission.

We have planned to celebrate Valentine’s Day and his Birthday together and it will be a wonderful night as always.

We will be having our fans and close friends, on that night, with their loved ones at Highso – City Max hotel Dubai, from 9.00 pm onwards.

Lorensz Francke (Elvis Tribute Artiste)

On Valentine’s Day I will be performing a live concert at a Wealthy Senior Home for Men and Women, and their families will be attending, as well.

I will be performing live with romantic, iconic love songs and my song list would include ‘Can’t Help falling in Love’, ‘Love Me Tender’, ‘Burning Love’, ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight’, ‘The Wonder of You’ and ‘’It’s Now or Never’ to name a few.

To make Valentine’s Day extra special I will give the Home folks red satin scarfs.

Emma Shanaya (Singer)

I plan on spending the day of love with my girls, especially my best friend. I don’t have a romantic Valentine this year but I am thrilled to spend it with the girl that loves me through and through. I’ll be in Colombo and look forward to go to a cute cafe and spend some quality time with my childhood best friend Zulha.

JAYASRI

Emma-and-Maneeka

This Valentine’s Day the band JAYASRI we will be really busy; in the morning we will be landing in Sri Lanka, after our Oman Tour; then in the afternoon we are invited as Chief Guests at our Maris Stella College Sports Meet, Negombo, and late night we will be with LineOne band live in Karandeniya Open Air Down South. Everywhere we will be sharing LOVE with the mass crowds.

Kay Jay (Singer)

I will stay at home and cook a lovely meal for lunch, watch some movies, together with Sanjaya, and, maybe we go out for dinner and have a lovely time. Come to think of it, every day is Valentine’s Day for me with Sanjaya Alles.

Maneka Liyanage (Beauty Tips)

On this special day, I celebrate love by spending meaningful time with the people I cherish. I prepare food with love and share meals together, because food made with love brings hearts closer. I enjoy my leisure time with them — talking, laughing, sharing stories, understanding each other, and creating beautiful memories. My wish for this Valentine’s Day is a world without fighting — a world where we love one another like our own beloved, where we do not hurt others, even through a single word or action. Let us choose kindness, patience, and understanding in everything we do.

Janaka Palapathwala (Singer)

Janaka

Valentine’s Day should not be the only day we speak about love.

From the moment we are born into this world, we seek love, first through the very drop of our mother’s milk, then through the boundless care of our Mother and Father, and the embrace of family.

Love is everywhere. All living beings, even plants, respond in affection when they are loved.

As we grow, we learn to love, and to be loved. One day, that love inspires us to build a new family of our own.

Love has no beginning and no end. It flows through every stage of life, timeless, endless, and eternal.

Natasha Rathnayake (Singer)

We don’t have any special plans for Valentine’s Day. When you’ve been in love with the same person for over 25 years, you realise that love isn’t a performance reserved for one calendar date. My husband and I have never been big on public displays, or grand gestures, on 14th February. Our love is expressed quietly and consistently, in ordinary, uncelebrated moments.

With time, you learn that love isn’t about proving anything to the world or buying into a commercialised idea of romance—flowers that wilt, sweets that spike blood sugar, and gifts that impress briefly but add little real value. In today’s society, marketing often pushes the idea that love is proven by how much money you spend, and that buying things is treated as a sign of commitment.

Real love doesn’t need reminders or price tags. It lives in showing up every day, choosing each other on unromantic days, and nurturing the relationship intentionally and without an audience.

This isn’t a judgment on those who enjoy celebrating Valentine’s Day. It’s simply a personal choice.

Melloney Dassanayake (Miss Universe Sri Lanka 2024)

I truly believe it’s beautiful to have a day specially dedicated to love. But, for me, Valentine’s Day goes far beyond romantic love alone. It celebrates every form of love we hold close to our hearts: the love for family, friends, and that one special person who makes life brighter. While 14th February gives us a moment to pause and celebrate, I always remind myself that love should never be limited to just one day. Every single day should feel like Valentine’s Day – constant reminder to the people we love that they are never alone, that they are valued, and that they matter.

I’m incredibly blessed because, for me, every day feels like Valentine’s Day. My special person makes sure of that through the smallest gestures, the quiet moments, and the simple reminders that love lives in the details. He shows me that it’s the little things that count, and that love doesn’t need grand stages to feel extraordinary. This Valentine’s Day, perfection would be something intimate and meaningful: a cozy picnic in our home garden, surrounded by nature, laughter, and warmth, followed by an abstract drawing session where we let our creativity flow freely. To me, that’s what love is – simple, soulful, expressive, and deeply personal. When love is real, every ordinary moment becomes magical.

Noshin De Silva (Actress)

Valentine’s Day is one of my favourite holidays! I love the décor, the hearts everywhere, the pinks and reds, heart-shaped chocolates, and roses all around. But honestly, I believe every day can be Valentine’s Day.

It doesn’t have to be just about romantic love. It’s a chance to celebrate love in all its forms with friends, family, or even by taking a little time for yourself.

Whether you’re spending the day with someone special or enjoying your own company, it’s a reminder to appreciate meaningful connections, show kindness, and lead with love every day.

And yes, I’m fully on theme this year with heart nail art and heart mehendi design!

Wishing everyone a very happy Valentine’s Day, but, remember, love yourself first, and don’t forget to treat yourself.

Sending my love to all of you.