Midweek Review

The Order of the Rising Sun conferred on former Governor of Central Bank, Sri Lanka

Published

4 years ago

2022/09/7

Governor, CBSL, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, responding to lawmakers. (From left:) Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, Dr. Weerasinghe, SLFP MP Angajan Ramanathan and Deputy Secretary General of Parliament, Kushani Rohanadeera, who introduced the Governor, while acknowledging the parliamentary accountability for finance (pic courtsy Parliament)

For the first time in parliamentary history, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has issued a dire warning to Parliament and political parties therein over the responsibility on their part to ensure financial stability and discipline. Their failure to do so would trigger public protests again, they were told. There hadn’t been such a public warning. The warning was issued by no less a person than Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Governor of the Central Bank, when he dealt with ‘Sri Lanka’s current economic situation and way forward’ on Aug 31.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The Government of Japan, on August 22, conferred ‘The Order of the Rising Sun,’ Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon’ on Deshamanya Prof. Weligamage Don Lakshman, former Governor of the Central Bank (Dec 2019-Sept – 2021). Prof. W.D. Lakshman received the Japanese honour at a ceremony held at the residence of Japanese Ambassador Mizukoshi Hideaki. Kalyani Siriseeli Lakshman, the spouse of the emeritus professor, was conferred ‘The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette.’

The Japanese Embassy declared they were honoured for their distinguished contribution in promoting mutual understanding and friendship between Japan and Sri Lanka, through education.

‘The Order of the Rising Sun’ is awarded by the Emperor of Japan to foreign nationals who have made a distinguished contribution to enhancing friendly relations with Japan. The Japanese Embassy statement, dated August 22, also made reference to his tenure as the Governor of the Central Bank.

Before The Island dealt with Prof. Lakshman’s CBSL leadership, it would be pertinent to mention that Sri Lanka’s diplomatic relations with Japan suffered irreparable damage during this tenure when the former unilaterally cancelled the Tokyo-funded Light Rail Transit (LRT) project, after much groundwork had been completed. Dr. P.B. Jayasundera, the then Secretary to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in September 2020, just weeks after the UPFA scored a landslide victory at the last general election, issued instructions to terminate the Japan International Cooperation Agency-funded LRT on the grounds that it was ‘very costly and not the appropriate cost-effective transport solution for the urban Colombo transportation infrastructure.’

Recently, the former Chairman of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) Prof. Charitha Herath, MP, asserted, in Parliament, that the cancellation of the LRT project still remained a mystery. The SLPP rebel alleged that even the person (Dr. PBJ) who issued instructions, in that regard, is silent over the circumstances leading to the cancellation of the project. Did President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the Cabinet-of-Ministers, the Finance Ministry, or Dr. PBJ, who functioned as the President’s chief advisor on economic affairs, consult Prof. Lakshman and then Attorney General Dappula de Livera, PC, before rushing to that decision?

The Governor of the Central Bank heads the five-member Monetary Board. At the time Dr. PBJ issued instructions, as regards the termination of the project, the Monetary Board consisted of Governor Prof. W.D. Lakshman, S.R. Attygalle (both ex-officio), Sanjiva Jayawardena, PC, Dr. Ranee Jayamaha and Samantha Kumarasinghe.

During the COPE proceedings, in May this year, chaired by Prof. Herath, the parliamentary watchdog committee established failure as well as the responsibility on the part of the Monetary Board, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa (he held the finance portfolio at that time), the Cabinet-of-Ministers, and Dr. PBJ, for the current crisis. The incumbent Governor, CBSL didn’t mince his words when he, in response to questions posed by Prof. Herath and opposition SJB lawmakers, Patali Champika Ranawaka and Dr. Harsha de Silva, named those responsible. Soft spoken Dr. Weerasinghe didn’t hesitate at all when he identified Dr. PBJ as the one who blocked an early agreement between the government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Of course reform medicines, that the Fund prescribes, are very bitter to swallow for those seeking its assistance and it is not short of critics around the world. And many of its patients, especially in Latin America and Africa, are yet in dire straits after swallowing its medicines for years, if not decades. Many of those countries have got some glimmer of hope only after countries like China came forth with generous aid projects, especially in the form of massive infrastructure developments, like railways, housing, etc., often criticized by the West.

Playing politics with a bankrupt economy

Recently some members of Parliament demanded an inquiry into the failure on the part of Dr. Weerasinghe to inform Parliament of the status of the economy. They found fault with him for declaring Sri Lanka’s inability to service foreign debt before bringing it to the notice of the House.

A section of the media reported that Dr. Weerasinghe is in a soup for not duly informing Parliament about the ground situation. Perhaps, the lawmakers had conveniently forgotten that the then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had requested Dr. Weerasinghe to take over the leadership of the CBSL after the country became virtually insolvent, even unable to pay for basics from abroad. At the time Dr. Weerasinghe retired, in January 2021, he held the post of Senior Deputy Governor and received the top post on April 08, about a month before a humiliated Mahinda Rajapaksa quit the premiership. Just 72 hours later, the UNP leader succeeded Rajapaksa. Less than two weeks later, Wickremesinghe secured the finance portfolio, too.

In fact, by the time Prof. Lakshman quit, in September 2021, to pave the way for Ajith Nivard Cabraal, who previously served as the Governor CBSL from 2006 to 2015, to return to the same top post, the economy was in tatters. Cabraal’s much publicized six-month roadmap didn’t change a thing. The ruling SLPP continued to engage in silly propaganda as the situation deteriorated, rapidly; by the time President Rajapaksa’s government approached Dr. Weerasinghe in Australia, the crisis was beyond control.

The retired political appointee Prof. Lakshman cannot absolve himself of causing unprecedented destruction and current turmoil though he simply succumbed to political pressure. What Prof. Lakshman actually did was the overseeing of the destruction of the economy in his capacity as the Governor and head of the Monetary Board.

Of course matters were exacerbated by some unforeseen events, beginning with the unprecedented terror attacks by Islamic terrorists here on Easter Sunday 2019, supposedly in retaliation for terror attacks on Muslims, in places like Christchurch, New Zealand, that delivered a body blow to the vital tourism industry here. Then before we could recover from that, there came the pandemic fear from the beginning of the following year with resultant lockdowns that also crippled the entire economy. To the credit of our rulers, we did weather the pandemic storm better than most countries, including India, where unknown numbers perished. We were also hit, like every other country, by the war in Ukraine, which could have been easily defused, like the 1962 Cuban missile crisis involving the then two super powers as now. But in our opinion what reduced us to being international beggars was the almost successful shutting down of our last lucrative foreign exchange earner, the remittances of our expatriate workers by illegal underground money transfer schemes, known as Hawala and Undiyal.

It was also the fault of the authorities, going back to possibly the 1990s, for allowing private foreign exchange traders to operate with hardly any controls that led to the bleeding of vital foreign currencies from the country. It has been a known fact that proceeds from the lucrative drug trade had been easily repatriated abroad by drug dealers, thanks to the free availability of foreign currency with those dealers, where no questions are asked. We wonder whether such anti-national decisions were taken at the behest of economic hitmen at the IMF and the World Bank.

Combination of these situations led to the country being reduced to an international beggar.

Hell-bent on appeasing his political masters, Prof. Lakshman, well past his prime, merely followed instructions. Those who remained as Monetary Board members, under Prof. Lakshman’s leadership, cannot absolve themselves of the responsibility for the current crisis. Had Jayawardena, a highly successful lawyer, and Jayamaha, a retired top Central Banker, and even headed private banks, were so concerned and opposed the conduct of Prof. Lakshman and Treasury Secretary Attygalle, they should have quit the outfit. Instead, they remained. And they continued to do so. Their declarations at the COPE proceedings of their failed bids to influence Prof. Lakshman cannot justify their failure.

Of course, the Japanese Embassy, in Colombo, shouldn’t be faulted for recommending the Order of the Rising Sun for Prof. Lakshman in the evening of his life for services rendered during better days. However, the Japanese Embassy caused quite a stir when Senior Professor Sampath Amaratunga, Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) was conferred ‘The Order of the Rising Sun’ twice.

The academic received the award on 14 October 2021 from the then Japanese Ambassador in Colombo, Akira Sugiyama, at his official residence. For the second time, the UGC Chief received the same at Dharmavijayaloka Vihara in Rukmale in Pannipitiya at an event organized on January 22, 2022. The incumbent Japanese Ambassador Mizukoshi Hideaki and the then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa were present on the occasion.

Ali Sabry, PC, had the guts to defend Dr. Weerasinghe in Parliament. In fact, both Dr. Weerasinghe as well as Sabry, in his capacity as the Finance Minister squarely blamed those who had advised President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for the economic meltdown. Having held talks in Washington with the IMF and the World Bank in late May, Sabry, in an exclusive interview with Swarnavahini in early June disclosed how the advisors (Dr.PBJ, Governors of the CBSL, Treasury Secretary et al) deceived the President and the Cabinet-of-Ministers until it was too late.

No one challenged Sabry over his shocking declarations. Actually, Sabry basically repeated what Dr. Weerasinghe told the COPE.

Formidable challenge

Dr. Weerasinghe, obviously has earned the wrath of some lawmakers/political parties for taking an uncompromising stand against irresponsible governance. Addressing the Mps, on the invitation of Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, in Parliament, the day after President Wickremesinghe, in his capacity as the Finance Minister presented an interim budget, Dr. Weerasinghe warned that the whole exercise, involving the IMF, could collapse if political parties didn’t change their strategies. Dr. Weerasinghe demanded a genuine acceptance of the agreement or warned political parties to prepare to face the consequences. Had the Parliament met its two primary obligations, namely financial responsibility and enactment of laws, the Speaker wouldn’t have found any justifiable reason to invite the Governor who indicated he would not stand any nonsense under any circumstances.

Whatever some unscrupulous politicians say, the vast majority of the public appreciated senior officials taking such a stand. It would be pertinent to mention the circumstances Dr. Weerasinghe received a six-year term on June 30 as the Governor, CBSL. Dr. Indrajith Coomaraswamy, who succeeded Arjuna Mahendran in June 2016, in the wake of the second far bigger Treasury bond scam, was unceremoniously asked to leave after Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s triumph at the Nov 2019 presidential election. Those who managed the President’s diary almost succeeded in depriving Dr. Coomaraswamy an opportunity to pay a courtesy call on the President before his retirement. Dr. Coomaraswamy’s six-year term was shared by Prof. Lakshman, Cabraal and Dr. Weerasinghe. Now that Dr. Weerasinghe has received a fresh six-year term, the government is not in a position to remove him, unless he left voluntarily.

At last a Governor of the CBSL has dared to take a principled stand vis-a-vis political interference. An utterly corrupt and reckless and irresponsible lot had been told in no uncertain terms that a bankrupt country couldn’t continue the way, those who represented the legislature wanted to exploit the electorate at the expense of the national economy.

The culpability of Cabraal, who represented Finance Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa cannot be disregarded. As the State Finance Minister for Money and Capital Markets and State Enterprise Reform (Aug 2020 to Sept 2021) Cabraal played a significant role in the overall financial management. Dr. Harsha de Silva has repeatedly raised Cabraal’s culpability as regards the current financial turmoil.

Reappraisal of perks and privileges

As the country struggles to come to terms with the growing difficulties, the government in consultation with all political parties represented in Parliament and trade unions representing key sectors should review the national economy. The need to reexamine and take tangible corrective measures cannot be delayed any further. Perks, privileges granted to all sectors, should be reviewed. If they are genuine, the issuance of much abused duty free vehicle permits can be examined as part of the overall measures to save foreign exchange. Thanks to anti-corruption campaigner, controversial Attorney-at-Law Nagananda Kodituwakku, the country got to know how our lawmakers brazenly abused the duty free permits. They had an absolutely wonderful scheme (wonderful to them and their associates) which allowed them to sell the ownership of the duty free vehicles imported by them to those not entitled to that facility the same day the vehicles were registered in their names.

Nagananda Kodituwakku has not been successful in his attempts to move Court against those lawmakers engaged in a lucrative trade/massive scam with the blessings of Parliament whoever won the general election. Only a few declined the offer to obtain a duty free permit for the sole purpose of financially benefiting at the expense of the national economy.

At the onset of the financial crisis in 2020, the Finance Ministry submitted a Cabinet paper to import duty free vehicles for all MPs. The move was later shelved amidst growing public resentment. Over the years, successive governments mercilessly exploited the country until the national economy deteriorated to such an extent, violent public protests erupted on March 31.

Incumbent CBSL Governor warned political parties represented in Parliament that public protests could erupt again if they repeated their habitual political strategies meant to win elections at any cost.

Dr. Weerasinghe quite cleverly used his speech to highlight how all political parties shamelessly undermined the national economy by promising relief in spite of the government whoever was in power lacking the financial strength to do so. The lawmakers were warned against undermining the economy by electioneering based on promises. There had never been such a fiery speech delivered by an outsider to members of Parliament since the shifting of Parliament, from Galle Face to Sri Jayewardenepura, 40 years ago. Members of Parliament, past and present would have been humiliated and ashamed of the way they managed the national economy, especially since 1977.

The Parliament released the link that gave access to Dr. Weerasinghe’s full speech. President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, the Cabinet-of-Ministers, leaders of political parties represented in Parliament, the media and the civil society should pay attention to the Governor’s talk. The Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary should heed the concerns raised by the Governor. There had never been such a straightforward criticism of an utterly corrupt system that thrived at the expense of the public.

Dr. Weerasinghe response to reckless, corrupt and irresponsible system can be examined against the backdrop of advice given by Dr. Coomaraswamy several years ago. In Nov 2018, Coomaraswamy advised the electorate as regards parliamentary elections. Dr. Coomaraswamy made the appeal before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCol) on irregularities at SriLankan Airlines, SriLankan Catering and Mihin Lanka.

Dr. Coomaraswamy told the PCol almost prophetically that the country was facing a non-virtuous cycle of debt and it was a very fragile situation which could even lead to a debt crisis. “Of course my colleagues in the debt department have plans and capability to manage it. But it’s the duty of every citizen to act responsibly as regards the government policy”, he told the PCol. Dr. Coomaraswamy emphasized that people should elect MPs who were prudent enough to handle fiscal and monetary matters of the country. “I am not referring to any government, but it’s been the case ever since Independence”.

Obviously, the electorate didn’t heed Dr. Coomaraswamy’s call. Those who won the next general election in Aug 2020 simply allowed things to slip out of control. They couldn’t have done so without the support of those who managed the economy. Two of Dr. Coomaraswamy’s successors, Prof. Lakshman and Cabraal are under fire for their role in the current crisis. The Court has been moved against Cabraal.

Dr. Coomaraswamy is on record as having said that the failure on the part of successive governments to manage expenditure since the country gained Independence has caused the current economic instability.

Months later, in response to The Island query, Dr. Coomaraswamy declared Sri Lanka had been plagued by a toxic combination of populist politics and an entrenched entitlement culture among the people.

“Time and again, the electoral calendar has undermined fiscal discipline,” Dr. Coomaraswamy asserted.

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Midweek Review

Three high-profile alleged suicides shaping key investigations

Published

2 days ago

2026/07/22

Sahan Weerasooriya

Former IGP Chandana Deepal Wickramaratne, 63, succumbed to gunshot injury he received at his residence at Parakrama Mawatha, in Thalahena, Malabe, on 17 July. Wickramaratne, the 35th IGP (25 November, 2020, to 23th November, 2025), was pronounced dead at the Mulleriyawa Hospital.

The incident triggered speculation regarding the circumstances leading to the ex-IGP’s death. Some declared that Wickramaratne shot himself with a weapon issued to his bodyguard. Others alleged that Wickramaratne had been deeply depressed over divorce proceedings, involving his son and daughter-in-law, and accusations directed at his son over domestic violence. They claimed that the situation may have had unexpected bearing on Wickramaratne.

There are also lingering concerns regarding the impact of the ongoing investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage, on Wickramaratne’s demise, the third such incident after the last presidential elections held in September, 2024.

Assistant Director of the External Resources Department of the Ministry of Finance, Ranga Nishantha Rajapaksa, 50, was found dead in the garden of his Kuliyapitiya home on 30 April, 2026. At the time of Rajapaksa’s alleged suicide, blamed on injuries he supposedly inflicted on himself using a knife, while he was under suspension over the USD 2.5 mn heist from the Treasury. He was the official who lodged a complaint with the CID regarding the unprecedented theft.

Former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SriLankan Airlines, Kapila Chandrasena, 61, was found dead at No. 38, Pedris Road, Kollupitiya, on 8 May, 2026. Authorities declared Chandrasena died by hanging. Chandrasena was the prime suspect in the SriLankan Airlines bribery case, exposed by the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO), in a joint investigation carried out with US and French authorities. At the time of his death, he was out on bail but faced re-arrest over alleged violations of bail conditions.

The Finance Ministry official and ex-IGP died as a result of ‘incidents’ at their respective homes, while Chandrasena allegedly took his own life at the posh residence of his brother-in-law Aravinda de Silva. Their deaths are mired in controversy for obvious reasons. One of the major issues at hand is whether their deaths impacted the ongoing politically sensitive cases.

The USD 2.5 mn theft sent shockwaves through the National People’s Power (NPP) government, struggling to cope up with a spate of other sensitive developments, such as the massive coal scam that led to the resignation of Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody, and the controversial release of 323 red flagged containers from the Colombo port, without any checks, in addition to two containers carrying narcotics.

The police faced the challenging task of conducting transparent investigations into the deaths of Ranga Nishantha Rajapaksa, Kapila Chandrasena and C.D. Wickramaratne.

Although the Finance Ministry official’s death was caused by cardiorespiratory failure due to heavy loss of blood, many questioned how he inflicted grievous cut wounds on his legs and on his left wrist. The judicial post mortem report that was made available within 24 hours after the alleged suicide raised concerns. The Opposition expressed suspicions. A section of the media, too, weren’t satisfied with the way the government handled the case. The truth is in spite of a post mortem examination conducted by a four-member expert panel, suspicions remain regarding the Finance Ministry official’s death.

It would be pertinent to mention that The Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickrematunga was stabbed to death though police and all others concerned initially claimed firearms attack caused his death. The Attorney-at-Law was killed inside his car that he was driving on the Attidiiya Road, Ratmalana, on 8 January, 2009. Over 17 years after the still unresolved killing of the one-time The Island staffer, the vast majority of people still believe Wickrematunga was shot dead. Wickrematunga’s case is just among several high profile investigations hampered by deliberate falsification of relevant autopsy reports.

Sarah Jasmine factor

Among those who paid their last respects to Wickremaratne at a funeral parlour in Colombo was former President Ranil Wickremesinghe. Former Minister Sagala Ratnayake accompanied the UNP leader.

One of the issues that received public and media attention, following Wickremaratne’s demise, was the controversial third DNA test conducted in spite of two previous DNA tests confirming that Pulastini Rajendran, alias Sarah Jasmine, was not among the dead caused by a series of explosions at Sainthamaruthu, in the East, a week after the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage.

She was married to Achchi Muhammadu Mohammadu Hasthun, the National Thowheeth Jaamath (NTJ) operative who carried out the suicide blast in St. Sebastian Church, Katuwapitiya.

The CID questioned Wickremaratne as he served as the IGP at the time of the third DNA test. Controversy surrounds the decision to call for a third DNA test and, in addition to Wickremaratne, the CID questioned former Deputy IGP of the CID Prasad Ranasinghe in the second week of December last year. Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananda Wiejapala commented on the issue at hand in Parliament in early June, 2025.

There had been contradictory claims on Sarah, a Batticaloa Tamil convert to Islam, who lived with the extremist group. In spite of investigations, controversy still surrounds her fate, though both Sri Lanka and Indian intelligence services investigated the circumstances of her ‘disappearance.’

There had been claims that she was taken out of the country by Indian intelligence. Let me remind you what the DSJB lawmaker Mujibur Rahuman said in Parliament on 10 November, 2022, during Ranil Wickremesinghe’s presidency. Declaring that Sarah had taken refuge in India, the outspoken parliamentarian alleged that the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government was struggling to prove she died in the Sainthamaruthu blasts, on the night of 26 April, 2019.

Rajarathnam Kavitha, mother of Sarah, is on record as having told the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) that her daughter had been with Zharan Hashim’s wife, Fatima, from early February, 2019, to 26 April, 2019, the day remnants of the NTJ group triggered the Sainthamaruthu blasts.

Sarah’s mysterious status remains a key factor in the overall investigation, with retired Major General Suresh Sallay named a suspect in the high profile case. Sallay served as the Director of State Intelligence Service (SIS) from November, 2019, to October, 2024. The CID arrested the one-time head of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI/ 2012 to 2016) in late February 2026, under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

Archbishop of Colombo, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, recently filed an intervening petition before the Court of Appeal in respect of the petition filed by Sallay challenging his arrest and detention under the PTA. Cardinal Ranjith sought permission to make submissions regarding Sallay’s petition while requesting the court to dismiss the latter’s petition.

The Church intervened after several prominent Buddhist monks, religious and civil society organisations filed intervenient petitions seeking leave to intervene in Sallay’s writ application, filed by the retired top intelligence officer, challenging the legality of his arrest and detention.

They highlighted the following points:

• The Supreme Court and the PCoI identified Zahran Hashim and the ISIS-inspired NTJ as the perpetrators of the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage while attributing responsibility to State officials for failing to act on prior intelligence.

• None of the official investigations or judicial findings implicated Sallay in planning or facilitating the Easter Sunday attacks.

• The PCoI recorded that Major General Sallay had warned authorities about the rise of Islamist extremism before the attacks.

• The intervening petitions expressed concerns that unsubstantiated allegations have created a public narrative suggesting a wider conspiracy involving Sinhala Buddhist military and intelligence officers, contrary to the findings of the Supreme Court and the PCoI.

• The petitions argued that such unsupported narratives risk undermining public confidence, damaging communal harmony, and unfairly tarnishing the reputation of individuals and institutions without credible evidentiary foundation.

Ex-IGP’s statement

In his statement to the CID, Wickremaratne explained that he directed the senior police officer, in charge of Ampara, to secure the military and STF backing for the Sainthamaruthu operation that led to the death of some inner remnants of Zahran’s group. The Ampara-based officer, identified as Samantha Wijesekera, had got in touch with the Department’s number two officer, as IGP Jayasundera couldn’t be contacted over the phone. That statement dealt with the measures taken by them to ascertain Sarah’s status and the final assertion on the basis of the Government Analyst’s findings (third DNA test) that she was among those who perished in the Sainthamaruthu suicide blast.

The then Police Spokesman DIG, Nihal Thalduwa, has been directed by Wickremaratne to issue a press release confirming Sarah’s death. In his statement to the CID, Wickremaratne explained the deep interest shown by the head of the Indian Intelligence, based in Colombo, regarding Sarah’s status, underscoring their requirement to know whether she was dead or alive. The Indian official has repeatedly emphasised the pivotal importance of establishing Sarah’s status and, according to Wickremaratne, never tried to hide their interest in knowing her fate.

Did India accept the findings of the third DNA test? The possibility of Sarah being an Indian informant cannot be ruled out as India was able to alert Sri Lanka of the impending attacks. SJB Colombo District MP Rahuman has often commented on this possibility. Or, perhaps, India knew of Sarah’s status but raised the issue with Wickremaratne in a bid to indicate they, too, weren’t aware. Perhaps, we’ll never know the truth.

Sri Lanka received three specific warnings on 4, 20 and 21 April regarding impending dastardly NTJ operation. The last warning was received several hours before the NTJ struck hotels and Churches in Colombo, Katana and Batticaloa. The blasts killed 270 persons and wounded about 500.

At the time of the NTJ operation, the DMI was headed by Brigadier Chula Kodituwakku, who appeared alongside President Maithripala Sirisena when he met the media at the Janadhipathi Mandiraya, several days after the attacks. Now retired, Kodituwakku, in his testimony in courts, declared that the SIS refrained from sharing foreign intelligence with the DMI. In fact, Army Commander Lt. Gen. Mahesh Senanayake, who also addressed the media, explained the difficulties experienced by the Army due to refusal on the part of the SIS to cooperate with the DMI.

According to an appeal filed against an order of the High Court-at-Bar, in terms of the Section 451 (3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act No. 15 of 1979, as amended, read with Article 128 of the Constitution, in the Supreme Court, India issued the following warning: “As per an input, Sri Lanka based Zahran Hashim of National Thowheeth Jamath and his associates are planning to carry out suicide terror attack in Sri Lanka shortly. They are planning to target some important churches. It is further learnt that they have conducted reconnaissance of the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka and it is one of the targets for the planned attack.”

No holds barred investigation is required to establish the truth. The Opposition has repeatedly questioned the handing over of the investigation to retired Shani Abeysekera, who had been the Director, CID, at the time of the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage, and accommodating Senior DIG Ravi Seneviratne as the Secretary Public Security Ministry. They had been accused of failing to act on specific intelligence received from the SIS.

Both Abeysekera and Seneviratne, as members of the Retired Police Collective, backed the NPP campaigns in the run-up to the presidential and parliamentary polls, in 2024. Abeysekera, who retired on 30 June, 2021, was recalled and officially reappointed as the Director of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), on a contract basis, by the NPP.

Political factors

There had never been a case as politicised as the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage. Immediately after the massive security lapse, and negligence on the part of the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government, facilitated the NTJ operation, the Church threw its weight behind Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s 2019 presidential bid.

The Church backing made a significant difference on the ground. That prompted SJB’s Harin Fernando to directly accuse Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith of ensuring Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s victory at the expense of Sajith Premadasa. Since the SJB’s highly publicised June, 2020, accusations, there had been contradictory statements regarding the Easter Sunday attacks.

In February, 2021, on behalf of the JVP/NPP, Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa (current Health and Media Minister) declared that India masterminded the Easter Sunday attacks.

This accusation was made just a few weeks after the PCoI handed over its report to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who, for some strange reason, appointed a six-member committee, consisting of SLPP lawmakers, headed by his elder brother Chamal, than requesting the Attorney General Dappula de Livera, PC, to act on the recommendations.

In May, 2021, Dappula, after having failed to convince President Rajapaksa to extend his term by one year, alleged that the Easter Sunday attack was a grand conspiracy. In spite of growing doubts regarding the delay in implementing the PCoI recommendations, the Church tried to convince the President to act on them. In July 2021, the Church wrote to President Rajapaksa. Against the backdrop of the SLPP’s continuing indifference, by the end of that year, the Church reached a consensus with those opposed to the government.

The Church openly backed the protest campaign, against President Rajapaksa, and remained committed to the operation until the very end.

Two sons of wealthy spice merchant and JVP National List MP, at the 2015 general election Mohamed Yusuf Ibrahim’s sons Ilham Ahamed and Imsath Ibrahim, carrying out suicide attacks, on behalf of the NTJ, made no difference. Ibrahim was later released on bail, in May, 2022, during Wickremesinghe’s tenure as the President. Ilham Ahamed’s heavily pregnant wife detonated an explosive vest, inside their Dematagoda mansion, when the police surrounded the place, soon after the attacks. Did the spice trader know about the despicable NTJ strategy? Zaharan Hashim’s wife Abdul Cader Fathima, who survived the Sainthamaruthu blast too was granted bail in March, 2023, during Wickremesinghe’s presidency.

The Church, at one point, demanded that the Deputy Defence Minister Maj. Gen. Aruna Jayasekera be removed pending conclusion of the investigations. The Church claimed that as Jayasekera served as the Eastern Commander at the time of the Sainthamaruthu blasts, he should give up the Defence portfolio for the time being. The government ignored that demand.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Midweek Review

‘The Play’s the Thing’, in Shakespeare

Published

2 days ago

2026/07/22

Sahan Weerasooriya

Shakespeare. Image courtesy NYT

Exposing Complexities of the Human Condition in Man’s Quest for Power

Shakespeare believed that drama could illuminate truths about human nature more effectively than argument or philosophy. The famous line, “The play’s the thing, wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king,” expresses not merely Hamlet’s strategy but Shakespeare’s own artistic philosophy – that theatre exposes hidden moral realities and awakens the human conscience.

Shakespeare and the Human Condition

Shakespeare displayed an extraordinary understanding of the human mind, long before psychology emerged as a formal discipline. He possessed an unparalleled gift for revealing human experience through vividly drawn characters and situations they create. He drew from Renaissance historical material as they provided a rich source of dramatic material, and chose themes that reflected musings of the Elizabethan era he lived in, taking his audiences with him.

Complexities of the human condition, regardless of culture, nationality or historical period have endured. As his fellow playwright, Ben Jonson famously proclaimed over four hundred years ago: “He [Shakespeare] is not of an age, but for all time”. He continues to alert our senses and raise our conscience about humanity with all its strengths and weaknesses by way of dramatic expression. Shakespeare is our contemporary.

I have endeavoured to examine the great playwright’s work in relation to the treatment of psychological and moral complexities surrounding humanity’s pursuit for power, in order to demonstrate how these works continue to speak with remarkable urgency to our own time. The enduring relevance of this idea becomes apparent in the following three Shakespeare’s plays: Henry V, Macbeth and The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, I have chosen to illustrate my argument.

Henry V: Leadership and the Cost of Glory

It is a reflection on Shakespeare’s stature that he portrays triumphalism of leadership and the anguish of those who pay with their lives in war, in equal measure. In his Historical play, Henry V. King Henry of England makes a claim to the French throne, egged on by church leaders who wish to distract him from domestic issues. Feeling mocked by the French response, Henry declares war. He invades France displaying strong leadership despite hardship and heavy loss of life. On the eve of the pivotal battle of Agincourt, on St. Crispin’s day, he delivers an inspiring speech to his outnumbered troops. The long and poetic speech, which came to be known as the St. Crispin’s day speech – one of the best known in all Shakespeare – strengthened his powerful status in the play.

“…This story shall the good man teach his son;

And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by,

From this day to the ending of the world,

But we in it shall be remember’d.

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;

For he to-day that sheds his blood with me

Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,

This day shall gentle his condition …”

Against the odds, the English defeat the French at Agincourt. The play ends with a note of political and personal triumph, as Henry woos and marries Princess Catherine of France, securing peace between the two nations, at an immense cost to human life.

Macbeth: Ambition and Moral Corruption

In the reign of King Duncan of Scotland, General Macbeth who commands respect as a valiant soldier, returning home with his colleague Banquo following a victorious military expedition, is confronted by three witches who predict cryptically that he is destined to become King of Scotland. Macbeth is urged on by his wife, who, in an ‘’unquenchable desire to become queen’’, attempts to persuade her husband with ‘a humane disposition’ to assassinate the king while he is asleep as a royal guest in their home, and frame the two intoxicated royal aides. Malcolm and Donalbain, King Duncan’s two sons who accompanied him, fled to England.

Macbeth, the play, portrays the tale of a man in pursuit of power destroying anyone on his way, bringing about a collapse in moral order, providing insights into everything inhumane about humankind. The character of Macbeth is first acknowledged as a ‘hero’; his innate desire for power is activated by the prophecy of the witches. But bound by his loyalty to his king, his ‘conscience’ would not allow him the thought of regicide: “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me/ without my stir”. Weighed down by fear and guilt, he drags his feet, but the valiant soldier succumbs to the “valour of his wife’s tongue”: “Your hand, your tongue look like th’ innocent flower/ But be the serpent under’t”. She herself did not have the courage to murder her royal guest with her own hand, but was persuasive: morality yields to the pressure of evil desire. Macbeth completes the task, and they feign their lament at the king’s death which they themselves brought about.

Power did not bring in peace, but inner turmoil: “In the affliction of these terrible dreams/ That shake us nightly; better be with the dead/ Whom we, to gain our peace, have sent to peace/ Than on the torture of the mind to lie/ In restless ecstasy”. Fear, guilt and repentance grip the usurper but pride would not allow their expression.

Fear and insecurity bred paranoia in Macbeth. The usurpers became preoccupied with protecting the throne and handing over sovereignty to their progeny which they were yet to produce. With the advice of the witches he arranges the murder of all they suspect would take over rule after him. First they get Banquo, his colleague, ambushed and killed; Fleance, who accompanied his father, escapes. He then learns that Macduff, the feudal lord of Fife, has fled to England to join Malcolm, the son of the slain King Duncan, and, together they are mobilising an army to attack Scotland with the intent of displacing him from the throne. An outraged Macbeth orders the slaughter of Macduff’s wife and children who remained in Scotland, and anyone related to the defector.

Malcolm and Macduff invade Scotland with a powerful army. Lady Macbeth, afflicted with intense guilt, took her own life. Macbeth was slain after a fierce battle and his severed head was presented to the newly crowned king, Malcolm, who proclaimed …”I should/ Pour the sweet milk of concord, into hell? Uproar the universal peace, confound/ All unity on earth”.

In Macbeth, Shakespeare places on stage a disturbing portrayal of humanity with all its base characteristics that compels us to see ourselves in.

Julius Caesar: Political Power, Hypocrisy and Betrayal

The theme of humans competing with each other for power, exercised inappropriately, provides a fertile ground for Shakespeare to explore the complexities of the human condition. Drawing from history, he gives dramatic expression to such a scenario in his popular play, ‘The Tragedy of Julius Caesar’, displaying the patterns of behaviour of the main characters, the focus for interpretation. The propensity to manipulate the truth in political machinations takes centre stage in the play. “Men may examine things after their fashion/ Clean from the purpose of things themselves” [Cicero: Act 1]

Julius Caesar, the Roman military expansionist, emerged as a formidable leader of the territories, following his successful campaigns in Europe. The play begins with Caesar’s triumphant return to Rome after one of his military expeditions, accompanied by generals and political figures – Cassius, Brutus and Antony. They were welcomed by scores of cheering Romans for bringing ‘‘many captives home… whose ransoms, did the general coffers fill’’. The contention for leadership of the territories, in its entirety, between Caesar and Pompey resulted in a bitter civil war with Caesar emerging victorious.

Cassius and Brutus who too had leadership ambitions fought with Pompey against Caesar. Caesar in his magnanimity, while being merciful towards his defeated opponents, remained cautious about Cassius. There was growing concern amongst the common folk [plebeians] regarding their newly emerged leader “soar[ing] above the view of men”, and using his supreme power to establish a new monarchy. They were averse to the extravagant lifestyle and corrupt practices of their former monarchical rulers and feared that Caesar may override their desire to form a republican form of governance with greater representation by commoners.

Cassius, envious of Caesar’s might, instigates a plot to remove him from power. He hatches a plot to draw Brutus into the conspiracy to lend respectability to the project as Brutus is held in high regard by the populace. Brutus is faced with having to balance his personal friendship with Caesar against the “general good of the Republic”. He finally overcomes his ambivalence and joins the conspirators in a plot to assassinate Caesar. “Let not our looks put on our purposes/ But bear it as our Roman actors do/ With untir’d spirits and formal constancy”…. “Let’s kill him boldly, but not wrathfully/Let’s carve him as a dish for the Gods”. [Brutus: Act 2. Scene1]. Caesar is stabbed to death by the conspirators, one after the other, on the ‘ides of March’ – the first full moon of the New Year for festivities and sacrifice. Turning to his friend Brutus, Caesar uttered his last words: “et tu Brute?” [Even you Brutus?”].

In a funeral oration that followed, Brutus pacified an agitated crowd by stating that despite his love for Caesar, he loved Rome more, and that Caesar posed a danger to the liberty of the nation. The masses perceived his act of murdering Caesar as a deed of heroism! But, Mark Antony, a loyalist of Caesar, after skilfully negotiating with Brutus, delivers a stirring oration with the starting captivating lines, which lives on: “Friends, Romans, Countrymen” [Act 3, Scene 2]. In his speech replete with irony, while referring to Brutus as “an honourable man”, refuted the claim by Brutus that Caesar acted in ambition and self-interest. An enraged crowd drove away Cassius and Brutus.

The two exiled assassins, Cassius and Brutus, raise an army to combat a newly formed alliance of Antony, Lepidus and Octavius [adopted son of Caesar]. Undeterred by the suicide of his wife, in his absence, Brutus marched on to combat the enemy at Philippi. “There is a tide in the affairs of men/ Which take at the flood, leads on to fortune;/ Omitted on the voyage of their life,/ Is bound in shallows, and I miseries……[Act 4, Scene 2].

Following the poor performance at the Battle of Philippi, and facing defeat, Cassius gets one of his men to kill him with his own sword. Brutus learning about the death of Cassius, commits suicide by running through a sword held by a colleague. The power sharing alliance between Octavius, Antony and Lepidus ended following a struggle for supremacy.

Shakespeare and the Modern World

Shakespeare presents man’s quest for power as a lens through which the complexities of the human condition are revealed. Portraying such a pursuit as a powerful but destructive force, he reveals the tension between honour and ambition, rhetoric and reality, leadership and moral conflict and glory and human suffering – characteristics that are universal and timeless.

Shakespeare, like other great literary artists, does not lecture to us, nor does he offer solutions, but helps us broaden our sense in recognising the humanity we share with the good and the bad, and our desires that lead us into animosity.

We live in a volatile and unpredictable world marked by geopolitical tensions, economic competition, social discontent and armed conflict resulting in global instability. Contemporary societies are currently experiencing a sense of uncertainty, desperate to find answers to establishing world order and peace.

Alongside technological advancement, humankind has developed increasingly lethal weapons with which to wage war to gain power over one another. Warfare has transformed the battlefield from land to the skies, most recently through airborne long-range missiles targeted with the use of AI; and across the oceans both on the surface and beneath it through submarines, transforming the nature of combat at immense cost to human life and property. The loss of innocent civilians, including children, caught in these conflicts has given rise to the troubling yet widely invoked phrase ‘collateral damage’, a term that seeks to justify what remains profoundly deplorable. Powerful nations frequently evade meaningful accountability, despite widespread international condemnation. And, spirituality appears to have done little to awaken human conscience and humans continue to wage conflict over religious ideology.

Although art and literature do not intend to maintain order in the way the military, the laws and institutions do, their influence is subtle yet foundational in shaping how individuals and societies, and especially their leaders envisage justice, empathy and coexistence, and in lifting us out of the moral darkness we are in. Art, including dramatic art, has a transformative influence on humanity.

Conclusion

Human beings possess an enduring duality: they are capable of reason and irrationality, compassion and cruelty, cooperation and conflict, creation and destruction. These fundamental characteristics have remained remarkably constant across history, even as cultures and technologies have changed. Great literature – particularly Shakespeare’s plays – explores this universal human condition, revealing how love, ambition, fear, grief, honour, jealousy, and the desire for power continue to shape individual actions and the course of history.

by DR. Siri Galhenage, Psychiatrist [Retd.]
[sirigalhenage@gmail.com]