දියවඩන්නාගේ ඇත් දඩයම

දියවඩන නිලමේ යනු ආගමික වැදගත්කමක් ඇති, හොඳ බෞද්ධයින් පමණක් විසින් දරණු ලබන වැදගත් පදවියකැයි බොහෝදෙනා විශ්වාස කරති. පදවිය පමණක් ගත් කළ එවැන්නක් නැත. පොලිස් කොස්තාපල් කෙනෙකුට ඇති රාජ්‍ය බලය පවා නැති, මේ නාමික පදවිය අතීතයේ වැඩවසම් යුගයේ සිට පැවත එන්නා වූ නෂ්ඨාවශේෂයකි. එහෙත් යම් යම් වකවානුකල වැදගත් මහත්වරුන් විසින් දැරීම තුළින් මේ පදවියටද ගෞරවයක් හා පිළිගැනීමක් හිමිවිය. නිශ්ශංක විජේරත්න හා නෙරන්ජන් විජේරත්න යනු මෑත භාගයේ එසේ පදවියට ගෞරවයක් ලබාදුන් වැදගත් දියවඩන නිලමේවරුන් දෙදෙනෙකි.

අනෙක් අතට නුසුදුස්සන් විසින් දැරීම තුළින් ඉතිහාසයේ යම් යම් වකවානු වල දියවඩන නිලමේ පදවිය ඊට හිමි ගෞරවය ලබා නොගත් අවස්ථාද ඇත. අද අන්තර්ජාලයේ විහිළුවක් බවට පත්ව සිටිනා, “අයි ඈම් ලෝඩ් බුද්ධාස් ඩෙන්ටිස්ට්” කියුවායැයි කියන හීන්බණ්ඩා උඩුරාවණද අපේ හිටපු දියවඩන නිලමේ කෙනෙකි.

වර්තමාන දියවඩන නිලමේ ප්‍රදීප් නිලංග දෑල එතැනට එන්නේ තනිකරම දේශපාලන බලපුලුවන්කාරකමටය. දෑලට අවශ්‍ය වන්නේ කතරගම දේවාලයේ බස්නායක නිලමේකමය. එහෙත් ඒ පදවිය තම ඥාතිපුත්‍ර ශෂින්ද්‍ර රාජපක්ෂට දීමට බලාගෙන ඉන්නා රාජ්‍ය නායකයා උපක්‍රමශීලීව දෑලව දළදා මාළිගාවේ දියවඩන නිලමේ බවට පත් කරයි. මේ වෙනුවෙන් නොයෙක් පුද පඬුරු දීමටද රාජ්‍ය නායකයාට සිදුවේ. එහෙත් රට තම රජ පවුලේ පෞද්ගලික බූදලයක් යැයි සිතාසිටින ඔහුට ඒවා කරන්නට බැරි හිරිකිත දේවල්ද නොවේ. මේ වර්තමාන ශ්‍රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂයේ කුහක සදාචාරයයි.

අරවින්ද ද සිල්වා මෝටර් රථ එකතු කරන්නාක්සේ ප්‍රදීප් නිලංග දෑලගේ විනෝදාංශය අලි ඇතුන් එකතු කිරීමයි. තමන්ගේ ආසාව නිසා කෙනකු අලි නොවේ කොටි එකතු කළත් අපට කමක් නැත. එහෙත් ඒ සඳහා කෙනකු තම පදවියේ බලය භාවිතා කර මහජන මුදල් වැය කරන්නේ නම් එය වරදකි. නිලංග දෑල කරන්නේ මෙයයි. ඔහු මුලින්ම රාජ්‍ය නායකයා ලවා තායිලන්තයෙන්ද බුරුමයෙන්ද අලි ගෙන්වා ගනී. ඉන්පසු ඔහුගේ ඇස ගැටෙන්නේ පින්නවල උපත ලබන කුඩා ඇත් පැටවුන් දෙදෙනෙකි. පින්නවලදී උපත ලබන එකම ඇත් පැටවුන්ද මොවුන්ය. (අලින් හා ඇතුන් අතර ඇති වෙනස ඇතුන්ට දළ තිබීමය.)

පුදුමයකට මෙන් මේ ප්‍රශ්නයේදී එක්තරා දුරකට තම සාම්ප්‍රදායික රාජ්‍යපාක්ෂිකභාවය හා ජාතිවාදී පුවත්පත් කලාව අතහැර සිටින ‘දිවයින’ පුවත්පත කියන හැටියට නිලංග දෑල මේ ඇත් පැටවුන් බැලීමට කිහිප වාරයක් පින්නවලට ගොස් ඇත. “ඔහොම හිටපන්, කවදා හරි උඹලා මගේ තමා” යි ඔහු මේ ගමන් වලදී සිතා ගන්නට ඇත.

["පුංචි" නමැති අම්මාටත් "නීලගිරි" නමැති තාත්තාටත් දාව "රාජු" නමැති සිඟිත්තා පින්නවලදී එළිය දුටුවේ 2006 වසරේ සැප්තැම්බර් මස දෙවැනිදාය. එසේම "ශාන්ති" නමැති අම්මාටත් "ජයසු" නමැති තාත්තාටත් දාව "සින්දු" නමැති සිඟිත්තා එහිදීම මෙලොව එළිය දුටුවේ 2006 නොවැම්බර් මස නවවැනිදාය. මෙසේ එළිය දුටු රාජුටත් සින්දුටත් අප මේ කතාකරන අලි හොරුන්ට තරම් මහා මේරු පර්වතය තරම් විශාල බලාපොරොත්තු තිබුණේ නැත. අම්මාගේ සෙනෙහෙ ගැලී, අම්මාගේ කිරිපොදක මිහිර විඳ කෙළි දෙලෙන් පසුවනවා මිස තවත් සතුටක්‌ මොවුන් දෙදෙනාට වෙන මොකටද?

මේ අලි පැටවුන් දෙදෙනා ගැන (අලි හොරුන්ට අමතරව) මහා මේඝයක්‌ තරම් බලාපොරොත්තු තිබුණා නම් ඒ වෙනකාටවත් නොව පින්නවල අලි රැකවලුන්ගේ කාර්ය මණ්‌ඩලයට පමණි. ලෝකයේ හොඳම අලි අභිජනන හා සංරක්‍ෂණ මධ්‍යස්‌ථානය වශයෙන් පින්නවල නමක්‌ දිනා යන ගමනේදී උපන් ප්‍රථම ඇත්පැටවුන් දෙදෙනා මොවුන්වීමද පැහැදිලිවම මව්-පියන් නමින්ම හඳුනා ගෙන තිබූ පෙළපත ඇත් ජානය ඉදිරියට ගෙනයැමට තිබු අනර්ඝතම අවස්‌ථාවක්‌ මෙය වීමද ඊට හේතුවයි. එහෙත්, කාටත් වඩා මේ පුංචි පැටවුන්ගේ දළ සටහන්වන තුරු ඇඟිලි ගනිමින් සිටි අයද පින්නවලට නිතර ආගිය බව වැටහුණේ කිරිවැරීමටත් පෙර මේ දඟකාරයින් දෙදෙනාට පසුගියදා මුහුණ දෙන්නට සිදුවු ඉරණම ගැන කල්පනා කිරීමේදීය.

- දිවයින ඉරිදා සංග්‍රහය 02-08-2009]

එක් පියවරකින්ම තමන්ට පුද්ගලිකව මෙම ඇත් පැටවුන් හිමි කර ගත නොහැකි බව දන්නා නිලංග දෑල තමන් රාජ්‍ය නායකයා සමඟ ඇති කිට්ටු සම්බන්ධතාවය භාවිතා කර ඔවුන් අස්ගිරි හා මල්වතු විහාර වලට ‘පූජා කිරීමට’ කැබිනට් පත්‍රිකාවක් සම්මත කර ගනියි. ඉන්පසු දිනක රාත්‍රියේ තමාම පොලිසිය සමඟ පැමිණ අවි බලය යොදවා මහ ජරමරයක් කොට මේ කිරි බොන කුඩා පැටවුන් අමානුෂිකව හා බුදුන් වහන්සේ වදාළ අහිංසා ධර්මයට ඉඳුරා පටහැනිව මව් ඇකයෙන් උදුරාගෙන ගෙන යයි. ‘දිවයින’ මෙ පුවත් වාර්තා කරන්නේ මෙසේය (දිවයින මේ ප්‍රශ්නය ගැන දරණ ස්ථාවරය අනුමත කිරීමක් මින් අදහස් නොකෙරේ. මේ පහසුව තකා වාර්තාවක කොටසක් උපුටා ගැන්මක් පමණකි.):

[ක්‍රීඩා හා පොදු විනෝදාත්මක කටයුතු පිළිබඳ අමාත්‍ය ගාමිණී ලොකුගේ විසින් (පින්නවල අලි අනාථාගාරය අයත්වන්නේ ඔහුගේ අමාත්‍යාංශයටයි.) 2009-06-10 දින අංක 09/0970/341/012 දරන කැබිනට්‌ පත්‍රිකාව මගින් මල්වතු, අස්‌ගිරි උභය විහාරස්‌ථාන සඳහා අලි පැටවුන් දෙදෙනකු පින්නවලින් ලබාගැනීම සඳහා අනුමැතිය පතන අතර ඊට ලැබෙන කැබිනට්‌ අනුමැතියේ පරිදි අලි පැටවුන් දෙදෙනකු ලබාදීම සඳහා අවසර ලැබේ. එහෙත් එහිදී කිසි ලෙසකින්වත් ඇත් පැටවුන් දෙදෙනකු ලබාගැනීමට අනුමැතිය පළ නොවන අතර එම අනුමැතියේ "රාජු" සහ සින්දු යන පැටවුන් දෙදෙනා ලබා ගැනීමටද අනුමැතිය පළ නොවේ.

ඉහත තීරණය දඩමීමා කරගනිමින්, සහ මීට ප්‍රථම අභියාචනාධිකරණය මගින් ලබාදී ඇති තීරණයක්‌ පරිදි වයස අවුරුදු පහට අඩු පැටවුන් සත්වෝද්‍යාන දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවෙන් (පින්නවල අයත්වන්නේ එම දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවටයි) ඉවත් නොකිරීමේ කොන්දේසියද කඩා දමමින් ඉකුත් (25) සෙනසුරාදා රාත්‍රි 8-9 ට පමණ අලි අනාථාගාරයට ස්‌වයංක්‍රීය අවිවල ආධාර හා රැකවරණය මැද්දේ පැමිණෙන දියවඩන නිලමේවරයා මාර්ග වසා බලහත්කාරයෙන් මවුඇකයේ කිරිඋරාබොමින් සිටි රාජු සහ සින්දු නමැති මේ ලාබාල පැටවුන් දෙදෙනා රැගෙන යන්නේ කිරි බුරුල තෙත්වු මවු ඇතින්නන්ගේ පමණක්‌ නොව උන් රැක බලාගත් සේවක මණ්‌ඩලයේද හදවත් තුළ වේදනා ජනිත කරලමිනි.

"සින්දු" තවමත් වයස අවුරුදු 2 යි මාස 8 ක්‌ වන කෙළිලොල් වියේය. "රාජු" ට වයස අවුරුදු 2 යි. මාස 10 සම්පූර්ණ වූවා පමණි. තවත් අවුරුදු දෙකක්‌වත් අම්මාගේ කිරි උරමින් කෙළි දෙලෙන් ඉන්නට තිබූ මේ දඟකාරයින් දෙදෙනා දැන් මව්වරුන්ගෙන් වෙන්ව දළදා මාලිගාව පිටුපස දියවඩන නිළමේ නිල නිවසට යාබද ගරාජයක්‌ තුළ රඳවා ඇත. ඒ නිකම්ම නොව හීලෑ කිරීම සඳහා මුගුරුවලින් පහර දෙමින් සහ හීලෑකිරීම සඳහාම කරනු ලබන යකඩ රත්කර පුළුස්‌සා දැමීම් මධ්‍යයේය.

- දිවයින ඉරිදා සංග්‍රහය 02-08-2009]

රාජ්‍ය නායකයා සමඟ තමාගේ ඇති කිට්ටු සම්බන්ධතාව නිසා ලබන බලපුළුවන්කාරකම නිසා ප්‍රදීප් නිලංග දෑල තවත් කියන්නේ පරිසර වේදීන් මොනවා කිව්වත් ඇත් පැටවුන් යළි පින්නවලට භාර නොදෙන බවය. රාජ්‍ය නායකයා කියන කියන තැනකට වඳින නිවට තත්වයට පත්ව සිටින ජාතික හෙළ උරුමයේ චම්පික රණවක පරිසර අමාත්‍යවරයාද මේ ප්‍රශ්නයේදී කසාය බිව් ගොළුවකු මෙන් නිහඬය.

අප තවදුරටත් මේ පාපතරයින් බුදුන් වහන්සේගේ නාමයෙන් කරන මේ තුච්ඡ හිංසක ක්‍රියාවලියට ඉඩ දිය යුතුද?

Only Tamils are terrorists; not Pakistanis?

It is more than 48 hours Sri Lankan cricketers were attacked horribly by Pakistani terrorists in Lahore and the silence in Colombo surprises me. It is almost deafening.

For a moment imagine the reaction if the same happened here in Colombo. Having probably more suicide bombers than gunmen this is not the type of the attack LTTE would have dared, but for arguments sake, let us assume they did.

I can imagine the series of events that will follow.

Within no time we will see colorful posters from NMAT, JHU and Wimal Weerawansa all over the city condemning the attack with an emotional appeal. I am sure Weerawansa would have come up with a bright coloured poster of Ajantha Mendis in action with the slogan “Kuriru Koti Thrasthavaadhayen Kreedaava Surakimu!”

We would have also seen them calling press conferences one after the other. Newspapers would have been full of statements from every Tom Dick and Medhananda condemning the attack.

I am also sure to have received minimum twenty emails by now how LTTE tried to attack our sportsmen ever since its inception. (I am sure they would have dug enough evidence t prove the case.)

Not to mention the blogsphere. By this time Lanka Libertarian is sure to have taken a round of gunfire on peaceniks. (Yes, the usual lot. Everyone knows the names by heart now; no need to repeat.)

Is this what we see? Certainly not. Enough talk, but I do not see anyone seriously condemning the attack. I also do not see anyone angry. Isn’t that surprising?

Apart from the customary condolence messages from key political parties I do not see anyone bothered at all. The only exception is Udaya Gammanpila, who links the incident to LTTE – so that does not really count. He is contesting the elections, like me, so exploiting the opportunity to win some attention is acceptable. On the other hand Gammanpila will blame LTTE even if mother passes wind.

We see neither posters on walls nor press conferences.

In the blogsphere, Lanka Libertarian, who once wrote ‘i don’t refer much to patriotism in this blog. for instance my arguments for defeating terrorist pussies (with violence if needs be) are based not on patriotism but on preserving human rights, freedom, justice, and democracy’ is maintaining a deafening silence as if this incident has nothing to do with freedom, democracy and justice. Human rights of Sri Lankan cricketers have conveniently been forgotten.

Voice in Colombo has reported the incident but yet to offer his opinion and/or condemn the attack. So are so many other bloggers, Sinhala and English.

Suddenly they have become presenters of facts instead of opinions.

And our friend Ranuka, who once openly questioned me why I don’t condemn LTTE attacks has nothing to say about this incident. Why not he practices what he preaches? (As for me, I normally do not waste space condemning every attack; instead I voice my opinions only on incidents that I think worth talking about)

What does all this tell us?

Those who pretend they are forever anti-terrorist are actually not. They do not necessarily react to acts of terrorism. What they do is overreacting subconsciously to their inner feelings of racism. Tamils are the traditional enemies of Sinhalese for millennia. I will be surprised to see that racism not gone into our genes. This requires an effort from one to control overreacting to Tamil acts, terrorist or not. Most don’t care and let their feelings out. Same or worse done by other terrorist groups are ignored because that does not trigger their racist thinking. This includes racist wolves in libertarian clothes too. (Exaggerating and exploiting them for political gains, as Kurakkan uncle does now is another matter. )

So that is how only what Tamils do are branded acts of terrorism and no matter how brutal and inhuman they be, whatever done by Pakistanis may still not be called the same.

Who said there is no ethnic issue in Sri Lanka?

නිදහස් සිතිවිලි: ඒකීය සිංහල රටක දෙමළාගේ අනාගතය

රාජ්‍ය මාධ්‍ය මේ දිනවල අපට ඇඟිල්ලෙන් ඇණ මතක් කර දෙන එක් කාරණයක් වන්නේ මෙවර නිදහස් උළෙලේ ඇති වෙනසය. මෙහි යම් සත්‍යතාවක් ඇති බව මම පිළිගනිමි. එහෙත් ඒ ඔවුන් සිතනවාට වඩා බෙහෙවින් වෙනස් ආකාරයකටය.

දෙවුන්දර තුඩුවේ සිට බලන කෙනෙකුට පෙනෙන්නේ උතුර හා දකුණ යාවී ඇති බවය. වසර තිහක කාලයක්, සිට දෙවසරක් හැරුණු විට, අප පෙළු යුද්ධය තාවකාලිකව හෝ නතර වී ඇත. ත්‍රස්තවාදය කෙසේ වෙතත්, අප්‍රසන්න කේමෝතෙරපියකින් LTTE පිළිකාව විනාශ කොට ඇත. යුදමය වශයෙන් මෙය රාජපක්ෂ රජය ලබා ගත් ජයග්‍රහණයක් බව අවිවාදිතය. ඒ වෙනුවෙන් අති විශාල කැපකිරීමක් කළ සිංහල ජනතාව කල්පනා කරන්නේ මේ සව්දිය පිරීමට නිසි අවස්ථාවක් ලෙසය. ඒ එක පැත්තකි.

අනෙක් අතට, මේ යුදමය ජයග්‍රහණය රටට ඵලදායී දේශපාලන ජයග්‍රහණයක් බවට පරිවර්තණය කරගැනීමේ කිසිදු දීර්ඝකාලීන වැඩ පිළිවෙලක් රජයට නැත. රාජපක්ෂ රජයක් යටතේ බලය බෙදීම හිතළුවකි. දෙමළුන්ට 1970 ගණන් වලට පෙර තිබු අයිතීන් වත් ලබා දීමට මේ රජයට උවමනාවක් හෝ හැකියාවක් නැත. දෙමළුන්ට ඉතාම සුළු තීරණයක් ගැනීමට පවා රාජපක්ෂ රජයෙන් ලැබෙන ඉඩ ජාතික හෙළ උරුමය හා වීරවංසගේ ත්‍රීවීලර් පාටිය විසින් වලකනු ඇත්තේය.

අදින් වසරකට පමණ ඉහත දිවයිනේ හැම පළාතක්ම සඳහා ආවේනික පුෂ්පයක් නම් කරනු ලැබීය. මෙහිදී උතුරු නැඟෙනහිර පළාත් සඳහාද පුෂ්ප නම් කරන ලද්දේ කොළඹ කේන්ද්‍රීය රජයේ තනි කැමැත්තෙනි. මෙබඳු සරල තීරණයක් වත් ගැනීමට දෙමළුන්ට ඉඩක් ලබා දීමට රාජපක්ෂ රජය කැමති නැත. (මෙය දෙමළුන්ට පමණක් නොව අනෙකුත් සුළු ජාතීන්ටද මුහුණ දීමට සිදුවන පොදු ගැටළුවකි. සිංහල තලිබාන් සමාජය අනෙකුත් වාර්ගික අනන්‍යතා රුස්සන්නේ නැත.උදාහරණයක් විදියට අද ලාංකික මුසල්මානයන්ට පර්දාව අඳින හැටි කියා දෙන්නේ සිංහල අන්ත වාදියකු වන චම්පික රණවකය. හෙට දෙමළුන්ට පොට්ටුව තියන තැන කීමටත් මොහු ඉදිරිපත්වනු ඇත.)

LTTEය පැරදවීමෙහිලා අනුපමේය මෙහෙයක් ඉටුකළ කරුණා තවමත් නිකම්ම නිකං මන්ත්‍රී කෙනෙකි. ඡන්ද දහයක් වත් ගන්නට බැරි තිස්ස විතාරණලාට ඩිව් ගුණසේකරලාට ඇති තැන වත් ඔහුට නැත. පුදුමයකට මෙන් තිස්ස විතාරණට බලයක් ඇත්තේ ඔහු සමසමාජ වීම නිසා නොව සිංහල වීම නිසාය. පිල්ලායන්ට මැතිවරණයට පෙර පොරොන්දුවූ ලෙස ඔහුගේ කාඩර් වරුන් පිරිසක් තවමත් කොරියාවට යවා නැත. දේවානන්දට, තොන්ඩමන්ට හා චන්ද්‍රසේකරන්ට ලබා දී ඇත්තේ මතක තියා ගැනීමට පවා නොහැකි ආකාරයේ අවැදගත් ඇමති ධුර තුනකි. ලක්ෂ්මන් කදිරගාමර් මැරුණේ ඔහුගේ වාසනාවටය. නැත්නම් අද ඔහුට හිමි වන්නේ දෙමළ සංස්කෘතිය පිළිබඳ ඇමතිකමය. මේ දෙමළකුට සිංහල කේන්ද්‍රීය රාජපක්ෂ රජය යටතේ බලාපොරොත්තු විය හැකි ඉහළ තැනකි. දෙමළුන් අග්‍ර විනිශ්චය ධුර දැරුවේ ඉස්සරය. වර්තමාන ආණ්ඩුව යටතේ දෙමළකුට ලබා ගත හැකි ඉහළම තැන උතුරු හෝ නැඟෙනහිර පළාත් දෙකින් එකක මහ ඇමතිකමය. ඒද ඕනෑම මොහොතක පළාත් සභාව විසුරුවා හැරීමට බලතල ඇති සිංහල ආණ්ඩුකාරයකු යටතේය.

2005 ජනාධිපතිවරණයේදී රාජපක්ෂට තම සහය දැක්වීම සඳහා හෙළ උරුමය සේම ජවිපෙද ඉල්ලුවේ ඉතාම සුළු දෙයකි. ඒ ‘ඒකීය රටක්’ යන පදය තම ප්‍රතිපත්ති ප්‍රකාශනයේ අඩංගු කරන ලෙසය. මොකද්ද මේ ඒකීය රට? එහි ලක්ෂණ මෙසේ ලඝු කළ හැකිය.

1. සමස්ත පාලනය මධ්‍යගත (centralised) හා කොළඹ කේන්ද්‍රීය (colombo centered) විය යුතුය. යාපනයේ දෙමළුන්ට තියා හම්බන්තොට සිහළුන්ටවත් තීරණ ගැනීමට අයිතිය නැත.
2. මුළු රට එකට ගතහොත් අනිවාර්යයෙන්ම සිංහල බෞද්ධ ප්‍රතිශතය ඉහළ නිසා සිංහල බෞද්ධයකුට හැර අන් කිසිවකුට නායකත්වය ලැබීම ඉබේම සීමා කෙරේ. අපේ බරක් ඔබාමාලා හූල්ලමින් බලා සිටිය යුතුය.

මුලින් භාවිතා නොකළද, දැන් මේ පදය පුන පුනා සඳහන් කරන රාජපක්ෂ උතුර ආණ්ඩු කිරීමට යොදා ගනු ලබන ක්‍රමය ඔහු නැඟෙනහිර ආණ්ඩු කිරීමට අද යොදාගන්නා රිමෝට් කන්ට්‍රෝල් ක්‍රමයම විය හැකිය. රාජ්‍ය තන්ත්‍රයේ සියළු බල යොදා රූකඩයක් (puppet) මහ ඇමති බවට පත් කෙරෙයි. මේ රූකඩයට තීරණ ගැනීමට බලයක් නැත. සියළු තීරණ ගනු ලබන්නේ කොළඹ කේන්ද්‍රීය ‘සිංහල’ රජයෙනි. පළාතේ සංයුතිය වෙනස් කිරීමට සිංහල ජනතාව මේ දෙපළාතෙහිම පදිංචි කෙරෙනු ඇත. මේ පළාත් වලට ආර්ථික නිදහසක් ලැබෙනු ඇතැයි සිතීම උගහටය.

ඊට අමතරව දෙමළ ජනතාව අතරින් මතුවන හැම දේශපාලන බලවේගයක්ම ‘ත්‍රස්තවාදය’ නම් බලගතු මන්තරය මතුරා නිහඬ කෙරෙනු ඇත. මුස්ලිම් කොන්ග්‍රසය බඳු දේශපාලන පක්ෂයක් වත් බිහිකර ගැනීමට උතුරු හා නැඟෙනහිර දෙමළුන්ට අවකාශ නොලැබෙනු ඇත.

දෙමළ තරුණයන් අවි අතට ගත්තේ ඔවුනට ලැබිය යුතු සරල අයිතීන්වත් නොලැබුනු තැන 1970 මැද හරියේදීය. මීට පෙර 1920 තරම් ඈත කාලයකට දිවෙන දෙමළ අයිතීන් දිනා ගැනීමේ ප්‍රජාතාන්ත්‍රීය වැඩ පිළිවෙලක් තිබිනි. බණ්ඩාරනායක ආණ්ඩු මුලින්ම ගැහුවේ මේ ප්‍රජාන්ත්‍රවාදී ව්‍යාපාරයටය. අන්තිම දෙමළා මරා ඔහුගේ (හෝ ඇයගේ) සමින් සපත්තුවක් සාදා පළදින තුරු නින්ද නොයන වග කීවේ චම්පික රණවක හා නලින් ද සිල්වාගේ පුර්වගාමික කේ.එම්.පී. රාජරත්නය. සිරිමා බණ්ඩාරනායක රජය යාපනයේ දෙමළ මහා සම්මේලයනට ගසා නව දෙනෙකු මරා දැමුවේ ඇල්ෆ්‍රඩ් දොරෙයිඅප්පා මරා දැමීමට ඉහත 1974දීය. ආයුධ ආවේ ඉන් පසුවය.

2009න් පසු දෙමළුන් සිංහල කේන්ද්‍රීය ඒකීය රජය මෙසේ තවදුරටත් තම අයිතීන් කප්පාදු කිරීම කෙසේ ඉවසනු ඇත්ද?

ආර්ථිකය පිළිබඳ ප්‍රශ්නය පමණක් ගනිමු. ආචාර්ය එන්. එම්. පෙරේරා වරෙක යාපනය දුටුවේ ‘මනි ඕඩර් ආර්ථිකයක්’ හැටියටය. 1948 දී අප නිදහස ලබන විට ලංකාවේ දෙවන ප්‍රධාන නගරය වූ යාපනය ඉන් පසු ලැබුවේ කුඩම්මාගේ සැලකිල්ලය. ඇමතිවරුන් වැඩ කළේ තමන්ට ඡන්දය දෙන සිංහල ජනතාවටය. දෙමළ පළාත් නියෝජනය කළ ඇමතිවරුන් සිටියේ නැත. මේ නිසා උතුරට හා නැඟෙනහිරට ලැබුනේ ආර්ථික ඉඳුල්ය. යාපනයේ ජනතාව පණ නළ ගැට ගසා ගත්තේ කොළඹ වැඩ කරන ඥාතීන් මාසය අන්තිමට එවූ මනි ඕඩර් වලිනි.

අප නැවත ගමන් කරන්නේ මේ මනි ඕඩර් යුගයට නම් ය පරදා ලද ජයග්‍රහණයේ අරුත කුමක්ද? ‘මානුෂීය මෙහෙයුමෙන්’ උතුරු නැඟෙනහිර දෙමළ ජනතාව මුදාගන්න ලද්දේ ඔවුන් මෙසේ කබලෙන් ලිපට තල්ලු කිරීමටද?

දෙමළු ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට ආගන්තුක පිරිසක් නොවෙති. දක්ෂිණ භාරතයේද මෙහි දෙමළ ජනයා වෙසෙන පළාත්වලද හමුවන කසලපිටි ඇසුරින් ඔවුන්ගේ ප්‍රාරම්භය කිතු වසට පෙර තුන්වන හා පළමුවන ශතක අතර කාල පරාසයකට සම්පාත කරන්නේ මහැදුරු සෙනරත් පරණවිතානය. පොළොන්නරු යුගයේදී අප දෙමළ සංස්කෘතියෙන් ඍජුව පෝෂණය වීමු. පොළොන්නරු යුගයෙන් පසු ආර්ය චක්‍රවර්තීහු නල්ලුර් අගනගරය කොට ගෙන රාජ්‍ය වංශයක් බිහි කලහ. සවැනි පැරකුම්බා රජ දවස සපුමල් කුමරු සටන් වැදුනේ ආර්ය චක්‍රවර්තීන් සමඟය. දෙමළ නිසා සිංහල සංස්කෘතියද; සිංහල නිසා දෙමළ සංස්කෘතියද අන්‍යොන්‍ය වශයෙන් පෝෂණය වී ඇත. අද උග්‍ර දෙමළ විරොධී ස්ථාවරයක් ගන්නා ජාතික හෙළ උරුමයෙහි නමේ ‘උරුමය’ කොටස බිඳී ආයේ දෙමළ ‘උරුමෙයි’ වචනයෙනි.

මේසා ඉතිහාසයක් ඇති දෙමළ ජනතාව රිමෝට් කන්ට්‍රෝල් වලින් සිංහලුන් විසින් පාලනය කරනු ලබන දෙවන පන්තියේ ජන කොටසක් විය යුතුද?

බලය බෙදීම සඳහා මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ අළුතින් යමක් කිරීම පවා අනවශ්‍යය. ඔහුට කිරීමට ඇත්තේ දහතුන්වන ව්‍යවස්ථා සංශෝධනය යටතේ කිරීමට නියමිත වෙනස්කම් ක්‍රියාත්මකකිරීම පමණය. එය 100%ක් නීත්‍යනුකූලය. 100%ක් ව්‍යවස්ථානුකූලය. නමුත් මේ සරල වෙනස් කිරීම පවා කිරීමට ඔහු සූදානම් නැත. ඒ සමස්ත සිංහල ජනතාව පිනවීම පිණිස නොව ඉතා සුළු පිරිසක් වන හෙළ උරුම/වීරවංස අන්තවාදීන් තුටු කිරීම පිණිසය.

මෙවර නිදහස් උළෙල කාට කෙසේ වෙතත් දෙමළුන්ට විශේෂ වනු ඇතැයි මා සිතන්නේ ඒ නිසාය. තමන් උපන් බිමෙහිම දෙවන පන්තියේ ජන කොටසක් වීමේ ඛේදවාචකයට ඔව්හු මුහුණ දී සිටිති. මෙයින් මිදිය හැකි එකම මඟ යළි අවි අතට ගැනීම නොව ඔවුන්ගේ අයිතිවාසිකම් වලට ගරු කරන, එක්සත් ලංකාවක් තුළ හැම ජාතියකටම හිස කෙළින් තබා කටයුතු කළහැකි වාතාවරණයක් ගොඩනැඟිය හැකි දේශපාලන බලවේගයක් සමඟ එක් වීමය. එසේ වීම ඔවුන්ගේ සේම සමස්ත දේශයේද සැබෑ නිදහස දිනා ගැනීම වන්නේය.

If I get killed tomorrow, will President say “Ajith too was my friend”?

I have been silent for a while. There were two reasons. The provincial council elections are around the corner and these days it takes most of my time. Still, that was not the only reason.

For the last few days I have been repeatedly asking from myself: Should I continue this blog? Is it worth the risk? What makes me certain that no black clad men in motorbikes waiting to show their appreciation for what I write here and Face Book?

I am sure I am not the only blogger who had that strange feeling.

Let me not exaggerate my humble efforts. Compared to what mainstream media Sirasa and Sunday Leader/Irudina could do and have actually done, my blog is nothing. I write largely in English and get 500-1,000 daily hits on average. That is still far less than what Defence.lk receives. I do not see anyone perceiving my blog as a barrier to army capturing Mullaithivu. I do not think it breaks SLFP block votes. According to what I hear, or rather I don’t hear, not even 1% of my electorate reads it (this gives me some independence!) So prima facie, me getting killed for what I write here does not even look remotely possible.

Still at the height of the events early January I, or rather my blog, received some limelight. It received more than 2,000 daily hits for a period of about one and half weeks, culminating at 5,700 hits on the day of Lasantha’s funeral. I created two groups in Face Book, for Sirasa and Lasantha and both have now memberships nearly 2,000.

To say the least, this prominence doesn’t necessarily make me comfortable. Certainly not at a time like this.

Me with party colleagues at Lasantha Wickramatunga’s funeral

Whoever attacked Sirasa or killed Lasantha Wickramatunga, did not really scare us. We still had enough guts to attend Lasantha’s funeral and openly critisise these horrendous acts. (This was the same adjective Cheevan Daniel used in his famous commentary to CNN) We wore black saatakas.

What really made most of us rethink was the attack on Upali Tennakone.

Upali Tennakone, the soft spoken Rivira Editor, was no Lasantha. Like almost all Sinhala newspaper editors of our times (with the exception of Victor Ivan) Upali was more comfortable in swimming downstream. He always gave few pages, and usually the headlines for war news. He reserved half-page for the girl friends, wives and relatives of armed force members to show their affection to dearly beloveds in North. He did nothing even vaguely irritating the Sinhala Taliban mind. All could have done was a minor mistake, someone somewhere took too seriously.

Upali Tennakone was attacked in the most brutal manner. He was nearly killed, if not for his brave wife who fought and shouted at attract the attention of passers-by. It could be the same gang. Who was behind it still remains a mystery.

Somebody thought Upali Tennakoon’s life could be spared. That much is clear. Will the same people give importance to the lives of other dissidents?

Much changed after this than did in the aftermath of Sirasa and Lasantha incidents. At least ten prominent journalists and media activists ran away for life. Lanka Dissent went off-line promising its readers it would appear the day the country is more civilized. (I am not sure when) Lanka eNews started publishing diluted stuff. Defence Watch, Corruption Watch and Development Watch stopped. Only one protest against the attack happened – attended by few those who covered their faces with masks. Chamil Jayaneththi, the one brave man to show his face was charged.

Mangala Samaraweera, a former Foreign Minister left the country, fearing for life.

Can an ordinary human being feel safer when an ex-Foreign Minister is scared?

Sadly we live in an era where the life of a human being has lost its value. It is not a surprise. Since it came to power barely three years back, Mahinda Rajapakse government has seen more than 15,000 deaths – one fifth of the total died since 1983 as a result of ethnic war in North and East. Did anyone see the value of these 15,000 lives?

Even at the moment of writing this note, nearly 200,000 civilians, men women, old and young, adults and children are trapped in Wanni, at the mercy of LTTE that prevents their crossing to government controlled areas. I am not talking about LTTE, but about the civilians – like you and me, like our children. How many in our society care for these lives?

Jathika Hela Urumaya, sadly led by few who claim to be ‘Buddhist’ monks see no value of these lives. According to JHU, they are no civilians, but families of LTTE cadre. They should be eliminated perhaps the same was the Yakshas were got rid of at Mahiyangana, 2,500 years ago, according to Mahawamsa.

See the numbers. Will those who do not see the value of 200,000 lives respect just one life?

Under normal circumstances none of us take additional security precautions. We have a feeling that law and order of the society is adequate protection. We know somebody could not just kill and disappear. We know the police will be pressurized by public for action.

These are not ordinary times. We heard the President saying Lasantha Wickramatunaga was his close friend. (Though we never saw the same remorse on his face – as we saw on the day of Anura Bandaranaike’ death. Perhaps he has learnt to restrain emotions since then. Or he was still feeling jubilant of the Kilinochchi victory) If Mangala Samaraweera were killed tomorrow I am sure he too would instantly become president’s friend. President will also remind us Mangala was his campaign manager in the Presidential election of 2005. We know at least the latter is true.

I am sure if I were to be killed tomorrow, President will still say “Ajith was my friend; I am shocked to hear his death” without batting an eye lid. No doubt, everyone likes to be a friend of the omnipotent ruler who rules the land, but it would not be that much fun posthumously.

Should I quit or remain blogging?

Should I try to be President’s friend or remain as plain Ajith P. Perera?

Should one blog even when the Sword of Damocles hanging above one’s head with a single horse hair?

The question is open to you – all my regular readers.

Ven. Gangodawila Soma thero (1948-2003) : The political character of a religious leader

Fifth death anniversary of Ven. Gangodawila Soma thero today, provides an ideal opportunity to revisit his role in Lanka’s socio-political space. This brief post intentionally avoids discussing his role as a religious leader because (a) this site has more to do with politics than religion and (b) for most Soma thero was discussant of the semi-political programs like ‘Anduren Eliyata’ and not the author of religious text like ‘Buddha Stupa’.

The term ‘politics’ does not stand for party politics. Unlike the JHU MPs – who never hesitated before prostituting their respected positions in society to play a petty political role –Ven. Soma thero treated party politics more like a plague. Repeated requests by acquaintances to join racist political parties were politely rejected. Still he was not politically immune. Intentionally or not, Ven. Soma thero has made his mark in Sri Lanka’s political history.

It all began in mid 1990s. ‘Anduren Eliyata’ (from darkness to light), in first ITN and then TNL, was what made his larger than life image. Before that, even in Australia, where he lived for seven years Ven. Soma thero was known only as a religious leader, not too different from any similar missionary Bhikku.

Two transformations in society assisted his almost overnight popularity.

First was the expansion of the class of novae-riches. Started in 1977-aftermath by mid 1990s it has reached culmination. Based mostly on semi-urban areas, the religious exposure of this new middle class was limited. Further they had too little time for the intricacies of abhidharma. What they wanted an instant version of Buddhism. Like instant noodles, it has to be pre-cooked to be made consumable within the shorted possible time. Simple and straightforward language of Soma thero appealed to this crowd. In spite of his famous phrase “Oya eththoma kalpana karala balanna” (You think for yourself) Soma thero provided little to ponder. His messages were simple and straightforward. His language was lucid. Even the relatively less educated could follow him.

The other reason was the widening gap between the political thinking of then government and masses. Globalisation, market reforms and ethnic cohabitation made foundation of Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge government – at least theoretically, though it was too inefficient to implement much. Thinking of the majority, just like today, was diametrically opposite. All they wanted was to live within their own cocoons, hallucinated by the memories of the so called 2,500 year old history. Soma thero’s anti-globalisation, anti-market lullabies became popular at the very rate the government becomes unpopular.

He was also smart taking a go on the popular issues. Soma thero was no Kavoor, but his opposition to Satya Sri Sai-Baba worked perfectly. Probably not because the masses were intellectually matured to accept the reality, but the social status a section of the novae-riches craved to achieve through the blind worship of Sai Baba was prevented by Soma thero’s discourse and offset the mass- jealousy. So he was successful where Kavoor failed.

His anti-Valentine day politics was even more successful. The feudal society that believed only in latent love approved the Soma thero’s opposition to open expression of it.

His ostensible arguments against Valentine Day were: (a) True Love is perpetual; therefore no need for a special date and (b) it is too commercialised. The same arguments hold true also for Vesak or Poson. Still nobody argued, perhaps not wanting to be branded as an anti-Buddhist.

At least two Buddhist intellectuals questioned Soma thero’s approach. One was Lal Hegoda, an elderly gentleman, better known as a photographer and poet. Hegoda questioned whether he preached ‘Budu bana’ or ‘Soma bana’. The other was Dayaratne Ranashinge, author of the popular series of books ‘Nivana’. Sadly, apart from Asraff, who once got into a famous debate with him, nobody seriously questioned his political discourse. Asraff too challenged only the veracity of facts, and not opinions. Still he showed us what shallow waters Soma thero was swimming in. When asked to name a village, alleged to have ‘destroyed’ by ‘Muslim politicians’ drawing high tension wires over it Soma thero went speechless. He also admitted he has actually not visited Dhigavapi area and had to depend on secondary sources. This was nothing but the same JHU philosophy that puts ideology before facts.

‘Untimely’ is the adjective that used frequently to describe Soma thero’s death. He was 55 – about 15-20 years less than the life time of an average Sri Lankan. Still, for someone who has undergone heart surgery once, the extreme St.Petersburg cold can be fatal. It was the same cold that killed tens of thousands of German soldiers during the last phase of World War II. Prof. Chandrasiri Niriella’s post mortem confirmed the cause of death.

Still facts are not something the ideological maniacs appreciate. Their cried made Chandrika government appointing a commission– none of the members having any knowledge in forensic medicine. As expected, this commission did not reveal anything new. If publicly hanging the ‘Christian Fundamentalist’ culprits was what the extremists fantasized, they lost hopes. I guess Prof. Shantha Jayasekera still teaches theology and space technology at International University of Fundamental Studies and offers fake doctorates to those recommended by his brother.

The drama that followed aimed not respecting Soma thero, but building political futures of others. It was the crucial moment at least a section of Buddhists supported Bhikkus entering into political sphere. It was the turning point of demolishing all what build to achieve lasting peace through an honorable solution accepted to all. Finally it was a Gymkhana won by someone down Hambanthota. Not that these things be blamed on Soma thero. His well intentions were misused by a group of political thugs who hijacked the mass emotion.

Our unreserved respect goes to Ven. Soma thero for his honesty and straightforwardness.

His contribution to the society would have been certainly more meaningful if he confined activities within religious sphere.

May he attain Nibbana!

Muslims: The biggest environmental problem in Sri Lanka?

Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has alleged an attempt to inflame anti-Muslim sentiments by creating unnecessary problems over the uniform of Muslim girls in several Colombo schools.

Mr. Wickremesinghe was speaking to a Muslim delegation at Parliamentary Complex today (Dec. 05th).

He said St. Anthony’s Girls’ School, Mutwal, Ananda Balika Vidyalaya, Lindsay Girls’ School, Visaka Vidyalaya, Sangharaja Maha Vidyalaya, Sariputra Maha Vidyalaya and Baron Jayatilake Vidyalaya had especially violated Muslim girls’ right to have a uniform that describes their traditional identity.

Speaking further, the opposition leader said even the Customs was unfairly treating Muslim businessmen.

“When I inquired from Customs officials about this, they said they would face professional problems if they were not strict with Muslims.”

Accusing Jathika Hela Urumaya for these anti-Muslim sentiments, he said, “These are being led by a person who is without a public mandate. This person is trying to set the entire country on fire to lay his political foundation. This person appears as the Environment Minister, and takes all his decisions to attack persons from other faiths and communities.”

http://www.lankadissent.com

Will his Iranian Muslim paymasters react to Chamipika Ranawaka’s anti-Muslim remarks?

Patali Champika Ranawaka is usually a cautious speaker. That is appreciable – given his natural and genuine detest towards the minorities. However, this time it looks like he, like that Aesopian drunken mouse who wants to kill the cat, has put the foot in his mouth. A section of Muslims have already shown their resentment. The others are waiting patiently, not because they tolerate him, but they themselves maintain close relationship with the government, in which Ranawaka is a powerful figure.

It is sad that the self proclaimed Sinhalese Buddhists champions never bother to read the chronicles of Sinhalese. Had he ever read Mahawamsa Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka should have known the first references to local Muslims appear centuries before he thinks Arabs mingled with Sinhalese. If he ever bother to read other sources of history, like for instance, Ibn Batuta’s famous 14th Century travelogues he would never have uttered such derogatory remarks about Muslims of Lanka. But his blindness goes hand and hand with racism. Racism is always blind. Even facts like the sacrifices of Major Muthalif and Lieutenant Colonel Meedin for a war he wholeheartedly advocates will go unnoticed in the face of the natural abhorrence towards Muslims.

Mahinda mama will certainly not take it lightly. He knows the importance of Muslim countries. Take Iran for example. Mahinda mama has to depend on Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his financial needs. It is to him the former runs whenever there is a shortage of cash to run his political war. So effectively it is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who pays Champika Ranawaka’s monthly salary as a Minister.

True, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is more like the kid nobody wants to play. Normally he does not mind buying friends even if the price is bit high. Still how long will he tolerate friends who insult his own religion? How long will he consider Sri Lanka a friend if powerful Ministers start questioning the fundamental right of Muslims to live in this land? Will he tolerate the frequent calls of Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) for Muslims to return to Middle East, the only ‘home-land’ of theirs according to JHU who believes 100% of the island should belong to Sinhalese Buddhists (not to even Sinhalese Christians/Catholics).

It is sadder the stance some of the so called Muslim leaders take in this issue? What Ministers Ferial Ashraff, M.H.M. Athaulla, A.H.M.Fowzie and Governor Alavi Moulana have to say about their colleague’s insulting remarks to Muslims? Will they tolerate it without any question? How will the family members of Major Muthalif, Lieutenant Colonel Meedin feel about such remarks?

Will Minister Champika Ranawaka, like a gentleman, make a formal apology to the Muslim community he insulted?

Champika Ranawaka in honeymoon with Wimal Weerawansa: For how long?

Champika Ranawaka marries Wimal Weerawansa. Politically, that is. So Shashi Weerawansa’s perpetual jealousy should not let her pass the rest of her hubby’s juicy love letters to JVP polity bureau.

A meeting jointly organized by two NGOs Desha Hithaishee Vyaparaya of Wimal Weerawansa and Thrastha Virodhee Jathika Vyaparaya (aka NMAT) of Champika Ranawaka was the second key political event that involved the latter within a week, the first being the protest by Muslims against the derogatory anti-Muslim remarks made by him. Both Champika Ranawaka and Wimal Weerawansa are de facto leaders of two political parties. (Ellawala Medhananda’s leadership role in JHU is confined to issuing press notices) So it is strange why these two wanted organized the meeting in their hats as NGOwallahs and not politicians. Perhaps this is just the engagement – a preparation for a grand scale wedding later.

As a JVPer, any move by Weerawansa to join hands with the extreme nationalist JHU types would have been vetoed by the JVP leadership. A partnership between JVP and JHU would never have been possible. Firstly, JVP, as a party, is weak in building partnerships. Their brief marriage with SLFP ended both parties irate. Secondly both Champika Ranawaka and Athuraliye Rathana have scars from their previous associations with JVP. Finally when JHU was hastily formed in early 2004, JVP was one party that seriously stood against. That seals all possibilities of any joint venture.

However, with the new freedom earned as the leader of his three-wheeler party it is natural for Weerawansa to use the first opportunity to bridge the gaps with JHU – a sister party that stands for more or less for the same petty principles.

Still, what many casual political observers would not notice is the stark difference between the two parties and the individuals. It has to do with the origins.

Physics find two kinds of magnets. A ‘hard’ or ‘permanent’ magnet is one that stays magnetised, without any external influence. Magnetism is an inherent characteristic of them. A ‘soft’ or ‘impermanent’ magnet on the other hand, can be induced to show magnetic characteristics by placing them in a changing electromagnetic field. Racism is not too different. There are hard and soft varieties.

Champika Ranawaka is from a Govigama middle class family. He undergoes the formal education process and receives a degree in Electrical Engineering from University of Moratuwa. Then he enters politics giving up his job as a professional lecturer.

He is the hard variety. His racism is hardcoded. No external factors influence him. As any narrow minded Sinhalese politician with Govigama origins he thinks serving Sinhalese Buddhists is his eternal duty. He fights with anything or anybody stands in his way.

On the other hand, Weerwansa’s racism is largely influenced by external factors. Unlike Ranawaka, he hails from a lower class and lower caste family. His father was a ‘kattadiya’ – not a position of respect in any village. As in case of most JVP hardcores, the caste factor could have played a key role in his politics. The social pressure forces him to join JVP giving up his studies. His university is the party. There he learns to hate the society. As a typical JVPer, ‘dirty capitalists’ were his first enemy. Then at a certain point he realises his induced racism brings more results. That differentiates him from his comrades like Lalkantha and Tilvin Silva who still repeat the same obsolete and outdated Marxist theories.

With the discovery of ‘good capitalists’ (like those in Mawbima Lanka Foundation) and few jobless oldies like Gunadasa Amarasekera, who support him financially and ideologically respectively Weerawansa sheds his Marxist skin. That does not make him a Ranawaka. His faithful still do not include powerful Buddhist monks. In spite of his oratory skills in vernacular and his stance on civil war, Sinhalese Buddhist society still not ready to take him as one of his own. They do not see him fighting for the Sinhalese Heritage, as Ranawaka does.

One may argue given enough time, these differences will die. I don’t think so. They have common ground, but there are differences that matter.

Their new political intercourse reminds us the popular folk story about Raigamaya and Gampalaya. Former sells beetle leaves (bulath) mixed with leaves of pepper. Latter sells areca nut (puvak) mixed with some similar looking but useless kind of a nut. They barter the commodities to the gain of none.

Perhaps the only difference is both are ‘Raigamayas’ in this case.

As Buddhists, should we further milk local Talibans?

No doubt that Buddhism is the most flexible, tolerable and nonviolent religion in the world. Some of its pillars, known to Buddhists for more than two and half millennia, such as ‘ahimsa’ (nonviolence), ‘samanathmatha’ (equality) and ‘upekhaka’ (indifference) constitute the very basis of civilized life.

The same thing can be said about the sea too. It is vast, calm and deep. Still there can be tsunamis.

The first wave of so called ‘Sinhalese Buddhist’ talibanic tsunami hit us in 2003 – in the immediate aftermath of the demise of Ven. Gangodawila Soma thero. Racism and ethnic hatred are not uncommon in Lankan society but there were no precedents for the abuse of religion for political purposes at such low level. Not even in 1956, with the liberal unleash of chauvinism under the opportunistic leadership of S W R D Bandaranaike.

To give credit to those who deserve it, Ven. Soma thero has always been reluctant to jump to the mud hole of politics. Perhaps he realized it was not his forte. Perhaps he was not dreaming for a Mercedes Benz. In the non-materialistic universe of Ven. Soma thero the place for a Bhikku was at a higher orbit – not so close to earth. So he kept out of politics, leaving it for mortal souls like ourselves.

The politically motivated JHU Benz-wallahs were the opposite. Seeing the opportunity they jumped immediately –like bunch of pariah dogs jump for a bone or bitch under heat. They could win nine seats in the 2004 General Election – a significant number for a party born yesterday – but little did the apolitical upasaka ammas who voted under a kind of religious giddiness know what was in for them.

Ever since it was a bumpy ride. Benz-wallahs broke every possible rule in the book. They sold car permits, abducted their own colleagues, threw ‘parusha vacha’ and ‘pisuna vacha’ not only at political enemies, but also at others belong to different factions. Staged few dramas like the event at Sharuk Khan’s show. (Poor Sharuk! He never returned!) During a ‘fast unto death’ (rather fast unto hospitalization) event at Kandy JHU cheevaradharis behaved like common thugs in closing down the shops.

Still there is something called ‘karma’. We saw it at work when some of them got their testicles massaged by the good doctor Mervin Silva reminding us ‘ditta dhamma vedaniya karmaya’.

All this would have been fine. We would have been enjoyed the comedy if not the believers of other religions were unnecessarily brought in the middle of all this.

Christians and Catholics were the first victims. Overnight even the Sinhalese Christians became non-indigenous; non-Bhumiputra, ‘arrived yesterday’ outsiders. All Christians and Catholics were the target for handful of conversions that have been carried out by few non-traditional and small Christian groups. The madness knew no limits. Only God would have known how many churches have been burnt down ever since.

Then the Muslims. Courtesy of JHU , poor in Ampara were denied shelter simply because of their belief. When thousands of Muslims were unceremoniously chased off from Glennie street there wasn’t anybody even to raise a voice.

Things would not have been so deplorable if not for the Kurrakkan uncle – the opportunists’ opportunist – who saw nothing wrong in riding this racist wave for his own political gains. The outcome was catastrophic. The level of racism unleashed at the 2005 Presidential election was incredible. The divisions in society caused deep wounds, which will never be healed. All these because of the greed of one individual – to make his the royal family of Lanka.

The recent incidents in and out of the Supreme Court too are the continuation of the same drama. What Taliban wants it clear. They look for a discrimination that treats them better than the rest of the society. Muslims chanting ‘Allahu Akbar’ is not tolerable; but noise pollution by temples is not only acceptable but welcome as well. No, we do not want to stand for anybody. We are supreme and above the law. See where they are leading?

As Buddhists, how long are we going to tolerate this Taliban mafia? Shouldn’t it high time that we stand up and say we are tired of all this nonsense and that as Buddhists we do not expect to be treated better than the rest – rather we do not want anyone else mistreated?

These are questions we should ask ourselves as Buddhists, Sinhalese and Sri Lankans. It is not a question of a political party. It is a question of our common future. The damage caused by these extremists to the Lankan society is no means small. We already live in a highly divided society thanks to all racist forces that divided us ever since 1956. Isn’t this the time to use our brains and not our hearts?

Will sacking Anuruddha Polgampola make JVP super clean? My foot!!

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has sacked Anuruddha Polgampola, their parliamentarian from Kegalle district for alleged job smuggling. Polgampola has apparently taken money from another for taking him to Japan illegally guising the latter as his personal-assistant. This led to the embarrassing situation of them having detected at the airport and the ‘personal assistant’ not allowed entering the country.

While state media has done its best to credit this to JVP’s account, some sections of private media jumped to safeguard JVP saying the other political parties should take an example from JVP!

‘The Island’ in an editorial titled ‘Well done JVP!’ has gone to the length reminding us that this is not the first case, even Minister Jeevan Kumaratunga was involved with similar attempts earlier sending party henchmen illegally to Alaska. (One does not have to be Nimal Welgama to know Minister Jeevan Kumaratunga’s affiliations were more with the former regime than this one!)

Does this incident prove JVP a super clean political party?

Perhaps the gullible journalists of print media buy it but for better informed public, job smuggling is nothing more than part and parcel of JVP’s financial strategy.

All political parties need money for their survival. For smaller parties like Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) which has little chance of coming into power finds it extremely difficult to meet ends meet. At least JHU gets their share of ‘dollars’ from the Buddhist temples abroad but JVP has no such luck. Their foreign money supply line from Japan looks dried off after Saman Piyasiri Fernando alias ‘Japan Saman’ has pulled off.

So whether it likes or not JVP has to get involved in various dubious deals to find money. It is an open secret JVP takes contracts to paste posters for private sector. Recently ‘Ravaya’ alleged them for pasting posters promoting sanitary napkins.

JVP trade union leaders also take money from private sector for not taking union action. Little does the party grassroots know about these deals that happen at the top level.

So if is extremely difficult to think Anuruddha Polgampola sahodaraya did this on his own. It could more be a collective work, but when things went out of control JVP washed its hands sacking the comrade. Talk of sacrificial goats!

Interestingly Polgampola was never sacked from the party. So does this mean super clean JVP further tolerates corrupted inside its ranks?

Journalists who jump to whitewash JVP have still lot to learn!