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Independence Day Two Thousand Five Hundred Years Ago
by Ernest Macintyre
“Me mage putha novetha”
“Is this not my son”
It was to be my last few days in Peradeniya University. I was seated on my bed wondering what it had all been about. We made friends which would last a lifetime and that was enough. We had had experiences, one of which was called “Maname”, the work of dramatic art created by Ediriwira Sarachchandra about circumstantial fate and the human condition, which would last as long as Lanka existed.
The final exams were to begin on the next day, which was why I felt frustrated that Sarachchandra’s next creation ” Sinha Bahu” was to have its first public tryout this evening. At that moment, Rasanayagam, whom we shortened to “Rasa” like my Macintyre had become “Mac”, walked in. I had told him about “Sinha Bahu” that evening and our exams the next morning. “Machan” he said, “Whatever is going to happen at the exam tomorrow, will happen whatever we do tonight, we are ready for the exam, let’s go to “Sinha Bahu”.
I made contact with my female friend, Sita Fernando at Sangamitta Hall, to hear that she had already decided to see ” Sinha Bahu” that evening, despite the exams the next day.
And so it was that I and my two friends found ourselves that evening, waiting for the play of the legendary Lion, seated on the terraced cut outs on the earth of the circular open-air theatre ,called “Wala” in Sinhala.
A single spotlight, right front, revealed the Pothe Gura or story teller, chanting the opening words of Sinha Bahu, a play using, overtly, a tale from the first part of the Mahavamsa legend, that in time, led to the origin of the Sinhala Nation.The tragic story unfolded in music, dance movement and the poetry of Ediriwira Sarachchandra.
As the stage lights went out, to end the experience, almost abruptly, when lion Sinhaya fell dead from his human son’s third arrow in the chest the dumb founded silence, lasting seemingly to continue without let up, covertly suggested other considerations beyond the extracted part of the Mahavamsa story. The word ‘theatre’ as a performed event, usually satisfied at closing curtain that the subject matter, the story was rounded off as a whole. When this performance, of Sinha Bahu ended in the way it did, it seemed to invite the audience to think of what was left unperformed in the larger story of the Mahavamsa which the they were familiar with. The origin of the Sinhalese.
The three of us had this feeling and the measured clapping in the open air suggested slow hand movements because of accompanying thought.The implications of this unusual response to the end of a play were in Sita’s mind as we finally left the open-air theatre. Sita had obtained special permission from her warden at Sangamitta Hall to come back late, that night.
We walked to the New Peradeniya Hotel, just three quarters of a mile away and sat down to await our dinner. I had a glass of arrack, in my hand, so had Rasa. We started discussing Sarachchandra’s “Sinha Bahu”. Sita was clearly excited.
” What we experienced tonight could be, in effect, a new theory of theatre. This theory has to be worked from what we experienced, because, I think, it is unwritten anywhere.”
“The prolonged silence when the play ended suddenly, and the thoughtful measured clapping, conveyed something.” I said.
Sita continued,
” The plot line from the Mahavamsa legend of the origin of the Sinhala people, is very well known to Lankans, especially Sinhalese. Unselfconsciously, the legend is a part of a people’s being. Do you realize what Sarachchandra may have done? He ends the play, the moment the Lion father falls dead, with a sudden blackout in the lighting. Play over! But it is not over . In the theatre he leaves unperformed, the rest of the legend, stopping at a point
“The playwright is aware that his audience cannot but create another longer play in their thoughts and feelings, relating to this play. That theatre experience can extend from a play experienced to another conceived in the mind.
At that point of the conversation, it was getting late. We were ready to walk back along the Galaha Road . There was some moonlight.
After walking for a short while Sita said that the continuity to the abruptly paused Sinha Bahu had already formed in her mind.
“Tell us, “said Rasa.
Sita related it, stopping on the road now and then, at points in her imagined story whenever she felt like an excited discoverer.
Sita: I don’t think that Sinha bahu as king of a place called Sinhapura, after killing his lion father, would have got laid down on cloth, for a flag, a figure representing the life he put away to move on as a human.
I said, “Logical”
Sita: The Mahavamsa does not tell us, what his son prince Vijaya was rebellious about, to make his father expel him and his followers from the kingdom .
I could not remember whether the epic says what Vijaya was rebellious about, but Sita was probably right.
Sita: Yes, Sinha bahu ,as a young boy , did not ask why they lived in a cave, like animals. When he grew to manhood, he asked his mother Suppa Devi. Similarly, it was when Vijaya had passed from childhood that he first noticed that his father’s two hands looked different, more like the paws of an animal, he did not know about a lion grandfather who had been killed . Sinha Bahu’s explanation to his very young son was that sometimes hands in people are deformed at birth in this way. The barely passed childhood Vijaya, accepted the story.
Vijaya grew up, becoming a young man. It was his turn to ask why they left one kingdom for another. But his father kept putting him off, saying things like, ” I have no time now, another time”. This happened too many times, not to arouse some kind of suspicion and mystery in Vijaya. He then went to his mother Sinhasevali. She was as sympathetic as Suppa Devi her mother was when Sinha Bahu asked why they were confined in a cave.
Sinhaseveli told her son the whole story.
Vijaya was not only stunned , but distressed. His distress soon turned to anger against his father. It became visible.
His anger was so great that he had to tell his friends and followers. One day a friend who was a good painter of temple murals, offered an idea. He said he could paint on cloth a lion and that Vijaya could proclaim it as the flag of the kingdom. His followers would support him. Vijaya was sadly satisfied that his grandfather could be reborn only on cloth. The work began.
When it was created there was a feeling in Vijaya that this was the most he could do . His re-born grandfather was of the colour of gold, and he stood against a background of reddishness, boldly, with a sword held up in his right paw.
It didn’t take long for Vijaya and his followers, about seven hundred, to run boldly through the country, waving the flag, high on a staff, proclaiming it the flag of the kingdom.
This rebellious behaviour of his son had a complex effect on father Sinha Bahu. Complex, because there was a related history before Vijaya turned against him. Though he had knowingly killed his father, gradually a feeling of guilt crept into Sinha Bahu. Though he had consciously put his father ” behind him” to move on in his human story, deep seated was the semi -unselfconscious feeling of guilt that it had to be that way. Sinhasevali his wife- sister first realized this when Sinha bahu told her that her name and his were not their doing, but now he felt something about it which he couldn’t explain. It began to explain itself to Sinhasevali when he told her that he was naming their new kingdom, Sinhapura.
Now with Vijaya treating him with disdain the feeling of guilt accompanied him more frequently.
When Sinha Bahu’s close followers in court reacted in extreme to the growing rebellion in the country ,and proposed that Vijaya be put to death Sinha Bahu could not bear the thought of his being remembered in history as one who killed both his father and son.
The result was a compromise. The guilt-ridden father’s compromise was to expel from the kingdom Vijaya and his many hundreds of rebellious followers, with their families.
With his army doing the work, they were all seized , put into boats which were pushed out to journey into the ocean. No one, not even his followers knew that the flag wrapped up by Vijaya, was hidden in the boat.
You know the rest, landing in an island called Lanka, the misadventure with Kuveni and the beginning of the Sinhalese ,Vijaya becoming their first king. As he unfurled the flag ,of his grandfather, Vijaya and his followers, his people, felt independent for the first time. “
Our Tamil friend, Rasa did not contribute much to the content of the evening. But he listened intently to the story of the Sinhalese, and said at the end, ” So then what about the Tamils?”
Sita was quick. “Very, very long after Vijaya, the Sinhalese put in two stripes in front of the Lion, one for the Tamils and the other, for others, like Kuveni’s original people , the Moors, Burghers and Malays who came later.”
They reached a point on the road where , at a distance, they could now see in the still remaining moonlight, the now empty and silent open-air theatre, where Sita’s imagination had been set in motion about the first Independence Day.
by Dr Gotabhya Ranasinghe
Senior Consultant Cardiologist
National Hospital Sri Lanka
When we sought a meeting with Hon Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Health, he graciously cleared his busy schedule to accommodate us. Renowned for his attentive listening and deep understanding, Minister Pathirana is dedicated to advancing the health sector. His openness and transparency exemplify the qualities of an exemplary politician and minister.
Dr. Palitha Mahipala, the current Health Secretary, demonstrates both commendable enthusiasm and unwavering support. This combination of attributes makes him a highly compatible colleague for the esteemed Minister of Health.
Our discussion centered on a project that has been in the works for the past 30 years, one that no other minister had managed to advance.
Minister Pathirana, however, recognized the project’s significance and its potential to revolutionize care for heart patients.
The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art facility at the premises of the National Hospital Colombo. The project’s location within the premises of the National Hospital underscores its importance and relevance to the healthcare infrastructure of the nation.
This facility will include a cardiology building and a tertiary care center, equipped with the latest technology to handle and treat all types of heart-related conditions and surgeries.
Securing funding was a major milestone for this initiative. Minister Pathirana successfully obtained approval for a $40 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. With the funding in place, the foundation stone is scheduled to be laid in September this year, and construction will begin in January 2025.
This project guarantees a consistent and uninterrupted supply of stents and related medications for heart patients. As a result, patients will have timely access to essential medical supplies during their treatment and recovery. By securing these critical resources, the project aims to enhance patient outcomes, minimize treatment delays, and maintain the highest standards of cardiac care.
Upon its fruition, this monumental building will serve as a beacon of hope and healing, symbolizing the unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes and fostering a healthier society.We anticipate a future marked by significant progress and positive outcomes in Sri Lanka’s cardiovascular treatment landscape within the foreseeable timeframe.
by Fr. Emmanuel Fernando, OMI
Jesuit Fr. Aloysius Pieris (affectionately called Fr. Aloy) celebrated his 90th birthday on April 9, 2024 and I, as the editor of our Oblate Journal, THE MISSIONARY OBLATE had gone to press by that time. Immediately I decided to publish an article, appreciating the untiring selfless services he continues to offer for inter-Faith dialogue, the renewal of the Catholic Church, his concern for the poor and the suffering Sri Lankan masses and to me, the present writer.
It was in 1988, when I was appointed Director of the Oblate Scholastics at Ampitiya by the then Oblate Provincial Fr. Anselm Silva, that I came to know Fr. Aloy more closely. Knowing well his expertise in matters spiritual, theological, Indological and pastoral, and with the collaborative spirit of my companion-formators, our Oblate Scholastics were sent to Tulana, the Research and Encounter Centre, Kelaniya, of which he is the Founder-Director, for ‘exposure-programmes’ on matters spiritual, biblical, theological and pastoral. Some of these dimensions according to my view and that of my companion-formators, were not available at the National Seminary, Ampitiya.
Ever since that time, our Oblate formators/ accompaniers at the Oblate Scholasticate, Ampitiya , have continued to send our Oblate Scholastics to Tulana Centre for deepening their insights and convictions regarding matters needed to serve the people in today’s context. Fr. Aloy also had tried very enthusiastically with the Oblate team headed by Frs. Oswald Firth and Clement Waidyasekara to begin a Theologate, directed by the Religious Congregations in Sri Lanka, for the contextual formation/ accompaniment of their members. It should very well be a desired goal of the Leaders / Provincials of the Religious Congregations.
Besides being a formator/accompanier at the Oblate Scholasticate, I was entrusted also with the task of editing and publishing our Oblate journal, ‘The Missionary Oblate’. To maintain the quality of the journal I continue to depend on Fr. Aloy for his thought-provoking and stimulating articles on Biblical Spirituality, Biblical Theology and Ecclesiology. I am very grateful to him for his generous assistance. Of late, his writings on renewal of the Church, initiated by Pope St. John XX111 and continued by Pope Francis through the Synodal path, published in our Oblate journal, enable our readers to focus their attention also on the needed renewal in the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. Fr. Aloy appreciated very much the Synodal path adopted by the Jesuit Pope Francis for the renewal of the Church, rooted very much on prayerful discernment. In my Religious and presbyteral life, Fr.Aloy continues to be my spiritual animator / guide and ongoing formator / acccompanier.
Fr. Aloysius Pieris, BA Hons (Lond), LPh (SHC, India), STL (PFT, Naples), PhD (SLU/VC), ThD (Tilburg), D.Ltt (KU), has been one of the eminent Asian theologians well recognized internationally and one who has lectured and held visiting chairs in many universities both in the West and in the East. Many members of Religious Congregations from Asian countries have benefited from his lectures and guidance in the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in Manila, Philippines. He had been a Theologian consulted by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences for many years. During his professorship at the Gregorian University in Rome, he was called to be a member of a special group of advisers on other religions consulted by Pope Paul VI.
Fr. Aloy is the author of more than 30 books and well over 500 Research Papers. Some of his books and articles have been translated and published in several countries. Among those books, one can find the following: 1) The Genesis of an Asian Theology of Liberation (An Autobiographical Excursus on the Art of Theologising in Asia, 2) An Asian Theology of Liberation, 3) Providential Timeliness of Vatican 11 (a long-overdue halt to a scandalous millennium, 4) Give Vatican 11 a chance, 5) Leadership in the Church, 6) Relishing our faith in working for justice (Themes for study and discussion), 7) A Message meant mainly, not exclusively for Jesuits (Background information necessary for helping Francis renew the Church), 8) Lent in Lanka (Reflections and Resolutions, 9) Love meets wisdom (A Christian Experience of Buddhism, 10) Fire and Water 11) God’s Reign for God’s poor, 12) Our Unhiddden Agenda (How we Jesuits work, pray and form our men). He is also the Editor of two journals, Vagdevi, Journal of Religious Reflection and Dialogue, New Series.
Fr. Aloy has a BA in Pali and Sanskrit from the University of London and a Ph.D in Buddhist Philosophy from the University of Sri Lankan, Vidyodaya Campus. On Nov. 23, 2019, he was awarded the prestigious honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, the Most Venerable Welamitiyawe Dharmakirthi Sri Kusala Dhamma Thera.
Fr. Aloy continues to be a promoter of Gospel values and virtues. Justice as a constitutive dimension of love and social concern for the downtrodden masses are very much noted in his life and work. He had very much appreciated the commitment of the late Fr. Joseph (Joe) Fernando, the National Director of the Social and Economic Centre (SEDEC) for the poor.
In Sri Lanka, a few religious Congregations – the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Christian Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the Oblates – have invited him to animate their members especially during their Provincial Congresses, Chapters and International Conferences. The mainline Christian Churches also have sought his advice and followed his seminars. I, for one, regret very much, that the Sri Lankan authorities of the Catholic Church –today’s Hierarchy—- have not sought Fr.
Aloy’s expertise for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and thus have not benefited from the immense store of wisdom and insight that he can offer to our local Church while the Sri Lankan bishops who governed the Catholic church in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (Edmund Fernando OMI, Anthony de Saram, Leo Nanayakkara OSB, Frank Marcus Fernando, Paul Perera,) visited him and consulted him on many matters. Among the Tamil Bishops, Bishop Rayappu Joseph was keeping close contact with him and Bishop J. Deogupillai hosted him and his team visiting him after the horrible Black July massacre of Tamils.
Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
By Gomi Senadhira
senadhiragomi@gmail.com
“You might tell fairy tales, but the progress of a country cannot be achieved through such narratives. A country cannot be developed by making false promises. The country moved backward because of the electoral promises made by political parties throughout time. We have witnessed that the ultimate result of this is the country becoming bankrupt. Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet.” – President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 2024 Budget speech
Any Sri Lankan would agree with the above words of President Wickremesinghe on the false promises our politicians and officials make and the fairy tales they narrate which bankrupted this country. So, to understand this, let’s look at one such fairy tale with lots of false promises; Ranil Wickremesinghe’s greatest achievement in the area of international trade and investment promotion during the Yahapalana period, Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA).
It is appropriate and timely to do it now as Finance Minister Wickremesinghe has just presented to parliament a bill on the National Policy on Economic Transformation which includes the establishment of an Office for International Trade and the Sri Lanka Institute of Economics and International Trade.
Was SLSFTA a “Cleverly negotiated Free Trade Agreement” as stated by the (former) Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate on the SLSFTA in July 2018, or a colossal blunder covered up with lies, false promises, and fairy tales? After SLSFTA was signed there were a number of fairy tales published on this agreement by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International, Institute of Policy Studies, and others.
However, for this article, I would like to limit my comments to the speech by Minister Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate, and the two most important areas in the agreement which were covered up with lies, fairy tales, and false promises, namely: revenue loss for Sri Lanka and Investment from Singapore. On the other important area, “Waste products dumping” I do not want to comment here as I have written extensively on the issue.
1. The revenue loss
During the Parliamentary Debate in July 2018, Minister Samarawickrama stated “…. let me reiterate that this FTA with Singapore has been very cleverly negotiated by us…. The liberalisation programme under this FTA has been carefully designed to have the least impact on domestic industry and revenue collection. We have included all revenue sensitive items in the negative list of items which will not be subject to removal of tariff. Therefore, 97.8% revenue from Customs duty is protected. Our tariff liberalisation will take place over a period of 12-15 years! In fact, the revenue earned through tariffs on goods imported from Singapore last year was Rs. 35 billion.
The revenue loss for over the next 15 years due to the FTA is only Rs. 733 million– which when annualised, on average, is just Rs. 51 million. That is just 0.14% per year! So anyone who claims the Singapore FTA causes revenue loss to the Government cannot do basic arithmetic! Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I call on my fellow members of this House – don’t mislead the public with baseless criticism that is not grounded in facts. Don’t look at petty politics and use these issues for your own political survival.”
I was surprised to read the minister’s speech because an article published in January 2018 in “The Straits Times“, based on information released by the Singaporean Negotiators stated, “…. With the FTA, tariff savings for Singapore exports are estimated to hit $10 million annually“.
As the annual tariff savings (that is the revenue loss for Sri Lanka) calculated by the Singaporean Negotiators, Singaporean $ 10 million (Sri Lankan rupees 1,200 million in 2018) was way above the rupees’ 733 million revenue loss for 15 years estimated by the Sri Lankan negotiators, it was clear to any observer that one of the parties to the agreement had not done the basic arithmetic!
Six years later, according to a report published by “The Morning” newspaper, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on 7th May 2024, Mr Samarawickrama’s chief trade negotiator K.J. Weerasinghehad had admitted “…. that forecasted revenue loss for the Government of Sri Lanka through the Singapore FTA is Rs. 450 million in 2023 and Rs. 1.3 billion in 2024.”
If these numbers are correct, as tariff liberalisation under the SLSFTA has just started, we will pass Rs 2 billion very soon. Then, the question is how Sri Lanka’s trade negotiators made such a colossal blunder. Didn’t they do their basic arithmetic? If they didn’t know how to do basic arithmetic they should have at least done their basic readings. For example, the headline of the article published in The Straits Times in January 2018 was “Singapore, Sri Lanka sign FTA, annual savings of $10m expected”.
Anyway, as Sri Lanka’s chief negotiator reiterated at the COPF meeting that “…. since 99% of the tariffs in Singapore have zero rates of duty, Sri Lanka has agreed on 80% tariff liberalisation over a period of 15 years while expecting Singapore investments to address the imbalance in trade,” let’s turn towards investment.
Investment from Singapore
In July 2018, speaking during the Parliamentary Debate on the FTA this is what Minister Malik Samarawickrama stated on investment from Singapore, “Already, thanks to this FTA, in just the past two-and-a-half months since the agreement came into effect we have received a proposal from Singapore for investment amounting to $ 14.8 billion in an oil refinery for export of petroleum products. In addition, we have proposals for a steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million), sugar refinery ($ 200 million). This adds up to more than $ 16.05 billion in the pipeline on these projects alone.
And all of these projects will create thousands of more jobs for our people. In principle approval has already been granted by the BOI and the investors are awaiting the release of land the environmental approvals to commence the project.
I request the Opposition and those with vested interests to change their narrow-minded thinking and join us to develop our country. We must always look at what is best for the whole community, not just the few who may oppose. We owe it to our people to courageously take decisions that will change their lives for the better.”
According to the media report I quoted earlier, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chief Negotiator Weerasinghe has admitted that Sri Lanka was not happy with overall Singapore investments that have come in the past few years in return for the trade liberalisation under the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. He has added that between 2021 and 2023 the total investment from Singapore had been around $162 million!
What happened to those projects worth $16 billion negotiated, thanks to the SLSFTA, in just the two-and-a-half months after the agreement came into effect and approved by the BOI? I do not know about the steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million) and sugar refinery ($ 200 million).
However, story of the multibillion-dollar investment in the Petroleum Refinery unfolded in a manner that would qualify it as the best fairy tale with false promises presented by our politicians and the officials, prior to 2019 elections.
Though many Sri Lankans got to know, through the media which repeatedly highlighted a plethora of issues surrounding the project and the questionable credentials of the Singaporean investor, the construction work on the Mirrijiwela Oil Refinery along with the cement factory began on the24th of March 2019 with a bang and Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his ministers along with the foreign and local dignitaries laid the foundation stones.
That was few months before the 2019 Presidential elections. Inaugurating the construction work Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the projects will create thousands of job opportunities in the area and surrounding districts.
The oil refinery, which was to be built over 200 acres of land, with the capacity to refine 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was to generate US$7 billion of exports and create 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. The construction of the refinery was to be completed in 44 months. Four years later, in August 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cancel the agreement with the investors of the refinery as the project has not been implemented! Can they explain to the country how much money was wasted to produce that fairy tale?
It is obvious that the President, ministers, and officials had made huge blunders and had deliberately misled the public and the parliament on the revenue loss and potential investment from SLSFTA with fairy tales and false promises.
As the president himself said, a country cannot be developed by making false promises or with fairy tales and these false promises and fairy tales had bankrupted the country. “Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet”.
(The writer, a specialist and an activist on trade and development issues . )
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