Agriculture Minister D. M. Jayaratne is vehemently opposing the government’s decision to allow the CWE and other agencies to purchase paddy from the bumper harvest this year.
Mr. Jayaratne said that as Sri Lanka was going for the biggest paddy harvest in history this year, the government had unwisely given the purchasing authority to the CWE, the Department of Co-operative Development, and other farmer organisations. He warned this would lead to a huge wastage of the harvest and other problems both for the farmers and the consumers. Upto now, the paddy Marketing Board which functions under Mr. Jayaratne’s ministry had a monopoly on purchases.
The Minister had warned the cabinet, that the CWE was not capable of handling the purchase of paddy on a large scale, and urged that PMB be given its job back.
According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture the 1997/98 Maha harvest, will exceed a gigantic ninety million bushels of paddy, which amounts to 1.22 million metric tons of rice. A minimum of Rs. 7 billion is required from any agency to purchase this massive quantity of paddy even at the present guaranteed rate of Rs. 7.42 per kilo.
Meanwhile it is learnt that Mr. Jayaratne had been urging the Trade Ministry to arrange for the export of 300,000 metric tons of paddy this year, on the basis that paddy cannot be preserved for over six months.
In the aftermath of the Dalada Maligawa bomb blast it is disclosed a request to upgrade the Maligawa Police post has been turned down.
The request made to Deputy Defence Minister Anuruddha Ratwatte by Diyawadana Nilame Neranjan Wijeratne has been turned down by the IGP W. B. Rajaguru and Senior DIG P.B. Ekanayake.
Immense damage has been caused to the Sri Dalada Maligawa. It is the duty of the Sri Lankans to assist the Diyawadana Nilame in the task of rehabilitation. This is the view put forward by the Colombo Navam Maha Perahera Organization.
On behalf of the Navam Maha Perahera Organization the following devotees contributed Rs. 250,000/- to Neranjan Wijeyaratne, Diyawadana Nilame of the Sri Dalada Maligawa through Gangaramaya, Colombo 2.
H.K. Dharmadasa, Chairman, Nawaloka Group of Companies, U.K. Edmond & Children, On behalf of Mount Lavinia Hotel, Messrs. Lal & Palitha Edirisinghe, Edna Chocolates, Don Yasapala Jayasuriya, Homagama, P.V.M. de Silva, Ruhunu Hardware Stores, Gangodawila, Nugegoda.
The Chief Patron of this Organization, The Ven. Galaboda Gnanissara Thera of the Gangaramaya (Podihamuduruvo) who visited the scene is of the firm belief that this is one occasion where the Power of Lord Buddha has been clearly seen.
The Central Bank and other buildings of sophisticated design and construction were reduced to ashes by bombs. The ancient dry roofs and clay walls withstood this onslaught. This clearly portrays the power of the Venerated Tooth Relic. Some of the buildings of the Dalada Maligawa were severely damaged. Small buildings where the Tooth Relic is housed remain without any damage.
No useful purpose would be served by criticising or commenting on this dastardly act. It’s far better to endeavour to rebuild this Relic Palace by the appropriate use of gold, silver and copper.
The Navam Maha Perahera Organization expects the Sri Lankans and the other Buddhists the world over to extend their kind co-operation to re-build the Dalada Maligawa.
The Navam Maha Perahera Organization is doing everything possible to hold the Colombo Navam Maha Perahera. This Perahera is held to honour the Triple Gem. Failure to do so will be an affront to Buddhists. In the event of not being able to hold the Perahera due to unavoidable circumstances, the organizers will donate all collections to the Dalada Maligawa rehabilitation work.
The public are urged to visit the Maligawa and to see for themselves how miraculously the chamber has been preserved.
The University of Peradeniya is most concerned over the damage caused to the Sri Dalada Maligawa by a terrorist act.
The Council of the University of Peradeneya has decided that the University should make a voluntary contribution towards the restoration of this hallowed shrine.
For this purpose a current account has been opened at the People’s Bank Peradeniya. The account number is 16100 50 960.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Peradeniya appeals to all the university employees to make a voluntary contribution of one day’s salary for this worthy cause. Those who wish to make a contribution from their monthly salaries could complete a form giving their consent and forward it to the Bursar of the University of Peradeniya.
In one of the biggest foreign job frauds, a woman who ran an agency at Nugegoda, is alleged to have swindled upto Rs. 9 million from 186 young persons, mostly girls.
All 186 persons who were defrauded marched to the Kohuwela police station where they made a record number of 186 complaints against the woman.
They said they had given upto Rs. 50,000 each to the woman who had promised them lucrative jobs in various West Asian countries. They were told to come to the agency on a particular day but when they went there, two clerks told them that the woman was not available.
Realising they had been taken for a ride, the 186 job seekers went to the Kohuwela police but it was a little too late — the woman had bolted.
The police arrested the woman’s son identified as Nalin Asanka Malwenna. He was produced before the Gangodawila Magistrate and remanded while immigration authorities have been directed to prevent the woman from leaving the country.
Wednesday’s com- memoration of Sri Lanka’s 50 years of Independence from colonial rule, dubbed officially as an occasion for all Lankans to unite in a show of national solidarity, was a grandly hollow affair.
The event was staged under such tight security at Kotte that most of the island-nation’s 18 million citizens, it turned out, were compelled to keep away from it.
Few people did manage to show-up there on February 4, watching the event from behind a distant fenced-off enclosure. But throughout the big day, many ordinary Lankans were confined to their homes, while others were stuck in the chaotic traffic that ensued, or were forced to undergo security checks and body searches.
Among the lucky ones were those who paid homage to Sri Lanka’s Golden Jubilee, by watching it on TV or tuning-in to the radio. But, even for them, the commemoration was as remote an electronically aired event as CNN broadcasting the Papal visit to Cuba or President Clinton’s denials about a sex scandal in White House.
As a result, Colombo, in the final hours count- down to the 50th independence ceremony, was strangely still and silent. And, while it unfolded along a narrow strip of road leading to Parliament — euphemistically dubbed by the organisers as a “Parliamentary Esplanade” — it was difficult to imagine that Sri Lanka was marking 50 years of independence.
The build-up to the main event was, in some ways, more exciting than the event itself. The controversy surrounding the Government’s choice of Britain’s Prince Charles as chief guest, the bombing of Dalada Maligawa in Kandy that led to the venue suddenly being shifted to Kotte, and ensuing Buddhist clerical protests that followed, gave way to an anti-climactic denouement. The event largely passed by smoothly, but the absence of senior representatives of the clergy, at such an auspicious occasion, was conspicuous. None of the Mahanayakes of the Malwatte Asgiriya chapter or those from the other Nikayas could be spotted.
To the credit of the organisers, who suddenly had to start from zero with only a week to left till their deadline expired, the commemoration was executed almost like clockwork. Starting around 30 minutes behind schedule, the whole affair lasted close to three hours.
All of the foreign and national dignitaries, plus Prince Charles, who were chauffeured there in their gleaming mercs, BMWs and other luxury cars, arrived on the dot. Foreign Ministers, who were greeted first by a welcoming party of senior government officials, were swiftly followed by the Colombo and New Delhi-based ambassadors. The only latecomer was President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga whose motorcade swept in 16 minutes late.
Already having developed a reputation for always coming late to public occasions, she was ever-reliable in that regard, keeping all of Sri Lanka waiting on the nation’s fiftieth birthday. Having touched down behind a jungle backdrop to the jubilee venue in her presidential Bell Huey, she was then driven in a mauve-painted Mercedes Benz, under escort of mounted Horse Guards and a detail of black clad commandos.
The Prince of Wales, who had preceded her there, stayed visibly calm under his double-breasted Navy blue suit, while soldiers, sailors, and airmen who made up the Honour Guard somehow stayed still during those seemingly endless minutes.
With a succession of formalities out of the way, including the hoisting of the Sri Lankan flag, the singing of the national anthem, and 21-gun salute, the President then addressed the nation.
In her speech, the President paid tribute to the country’s founding fathers and highlighted its achievements during the past 50 years.
“Fifty years ago today, we stepped forth into the dawn of freedom with the hope and vigour of a new nation,” she said in her opening remarks.
But she also took stock of the country’s failures, calling on Sri Lankans to come together to fight the forces that threaten to destroy it.
“We must also, with humility, examine our failures,” she added. “We have failed in the essential task of nation-building.”
In an unprecedented move, which would later draw widespread public criticism, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga read out her speech, not in Sinhala, but in English. For the first time in national commemoration speeches made by a head of a Sri Lankan government, the English version was followed by Sinhala and Tamil versions read out by officials of the Presidential Secretariat.
Perhaps this was done to accommodate the whims of the Chief Guest or to make use of the BBC live coverage to carry her message across to the world.
Throughout her speech in English, Prince Charles remained alert. But while the local language translations were being read out, from the press stand he could be seen slumped in his chair, dozing behind his sunglasses, the effects of jet-lag obviously having not rubbed off.
The President’s speech was also entertaining in a comical way. Just as she was launching into how this “51st year of independence will be the most decisive one for free Lanka”, Inspector-General of Police W.B. Rajaguru, who flanked the President along with the other chiefs of the security services, collapsed. He apparently fainted from the heat, but he was later to blame his mishap on the size of a newly-acquired pair of shoes.
As soon as the President finished her speech, the Armed Forces then put on one of the mightiest displays of land and air power to go on-parade in years at a nationwide commemoration. Close to 2000 servicemen and women marched by, displaying their regimental colours. On the ground, they were backed by some serious military hardware. Camouflaged tanks and armoured vehicles rolled in, their turrets pointed at the VIP stand. In the air, fleets of choppers, aerial gunships, and transport planes flew overhead, while the wail of three Kfir jets seemed to shatter the morning sky.
The military parade also included a march of disabled veterans of Sri Lanka’s 14-year war against separatism. Dressed in full uniform, they proudly hobbled or wheeled themselves by, while the rich and powerful Sri Lankan dignitaries, whose sons or daughters would probably remain immune to Sri Lanka’s wars, gave them a standing ovation.
Once this was over, Prince Charles, along with Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike, left the venue in their respective cars. A spot of confusion, nevertheless reigned when the President’s Mercedes also drove by, apparently to collect her. The President waved it on, staying on for the conclusion of the jubilee.
According to a British official, it was quite normal for Prince Charles to leave the ceremony close to an hour before it ended. At their dinner together at Temple Trees on the eve of the commemoration, he and the President had agreed that he was not obliged to stick around for the concluding procession of floats, the official said.
Depicting the nation’s progress over the past five decades, the floats were not mentioned in the official programme. They were accompanied by hundreds of dancers and musicians. Brilliantly adorned from head to toe in vibrant greens, yellows, and reds, not one of them wilted under a scorching sun, while water was splashed in front of them so that their bare feet wouldn’t burn.
According to other reports, the President was actually compelled to re-instate the floats unofficially into the programme. She is said to have come under pressure from ministers who insisted on their ministries’ floats being displayed, while reports from defence sources suggested that not enough security precautions were taken to sniff out possible LTTE infiltration of this procession.
But it all ended peacefully on Wednesday. Respecting protocol, it finished in the way it started. The President, followed by the foreign and national dignitaries, were whisked away, while the less fortunate in a Western-dominated press corps had to wait longer for the first transports home.
The affable Director of Information Ariya Rubesinghe, and his officials spent weeks working out media arrangements for not only the 50th anniversary celebrations of independence but also for the visit of Prince Charles.
Elaborate plans were worked out after consultation with Police, Security Forces and even the Presidential Security Division which was handling VVIP and VIP security.
So much so, the media personnel, both local and foreign, were forced to yield to every security demand though they were themselves ‘security cleared’ and officially accredited.
Shooting the Prince
One example was the coverage of the golden jubilee celebrations. Much against his own wish, Mr. Rubesinghe was compelled (by the security higher ups) to have all the media personnel gather at the Kirillapone head office of the Department of Information to board a bus to proceed under Police escort to the venue, the grounds opposite Parliament.
The time for assembly? Well, 5.30 am on February 4 to travel a distance of some six kilometres. And that too for a ceremony which was beginning at 9 a.m. As one foreign journalist wryly asked, “are we covering an event in Singapore? It takes only two and half hours to get there.”
But ungrudgingly the media fell in line. The Department had carefully planned out coverage for all events and accredited personnel accordingly.
Ironically some White Sahibs (that was how we called our Colonial masters before they showered us with Independence on February 4, 1948) took over.
On Freedom day (Wednesday) afternoon Prince Charles visited Bishop’s College. The next day he was at the Colombo Museum and later at the Singhalese Sports Club Grounds.
On these three occasions, our full suited White Sahibs, took it upon themselves to decide who should cover their Royal Highness, and who should wait out. Only some five photographers were picked, all arbitrarily and the rest were told to wait out.
Were these White Sahibs, who were our guests and not rulers anymore, entertain fears about security or was it too much for them to see that many locals?
If it was security, the Department had obtained clearance from the National Intelligence Bureau for all applicants. If it was too uncomfortable for them to bear presence of that many local photographers, is it not a gross insult to the hosts, the Government of Sri Lanka? After all, these arrangements were made with the concurrence of Her Majesty’s Government. If restrictions were to be placed, those who were security cleared and accredited to cover the events should have been told so.
Well, poor Information Department officials were helpless. The White Shaibs had their day. Fifty years after leaving our shores, some of them could not help but bring in a little bit of colonialism.
Representatives of some of Britain’s leading media formed part of the entourage of Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, when he was in Sri Lanka for the Golden Jubliee independence celebrations. They reported extensively on the events from Colombo. Here are some highlights:
In a report headlined “Sri Lankans keep Prince waiting” The Times of London said:
“Military parades, helicopters, fighter planes and an interminable cultural show ushered in Sri Lanka’s 50th anniversary of independence yesterday, part of it watched by a hot and besuited Prince of Wales, who filled in the time reading a guide book about the island from cover to cover.
“Guarded by three carloads of Sri Lankan commandos with sub-machine guns, he arrived on time - in violation of local custom - at the venue outside the Parliament building, which sits in the middle of a lake. Frogmen were still searching for suspicious objects as he took up position and waited in the tropical heat in silent and rather lonely participation.
President Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, for whom a couple of hours’ tardiness is quite customary, kept the Prince sweating for some time.
In a report headlined “Prince Charles buries himself in Sri Lankan history”, The Independent said:
.......”Yesterday’s celebration was as subdued as the President’s speech. Colombo residents grumbled that President Kumaratunga was celebrating Sri Lanka’s independence by putting the population of the capital under house arrest. All roads in the city were closed to private traffic, and anyone venturing out was subject to endless checks”.
“Only ministers, the diplomatic community and the media were allowed to witness it; a few hundred citizens watched behind railings a quarter of a mile away...”
Continue to the News/Comment page 3 * Dainty dishes for the Prince * A long wait for waiters at hotel * Prince Charles horrified * English speech draws fire * Pump and pageantry * Lakbima Editor acquitted * Eppawala :civic group wants a debate
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