Ceylon Today Editorial

Materialism and Enlightenment

12 May 2017

Another Vesak, remembering the Birth, Enlightenment and Parinirvana of the Buddha has 'come, and gone.'

And, in hardly a month from now, on 8 June, the island will also commemorate the arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka from India, introduced by Arahat Mahinda, son of Emperor Ashoka, more than 2,000 years ago, during the reign of King Devanampiya Tissa in Mihintale, Anuradhapura.

And, yesterday, India's Premier Narendra Modi arrived on a whistle-stop two day tour of the island, where, among other things, he will be participating in various ceremonies related to the United Nations International Vesak Festival held here.

Nonetheless, the teachings of the Buddha and the practice He advocated for a 'better' living and therewith, perhaps peace and prosperity not only to self, but in the wider context to a country and even to the whole world, leading to the 'self' attaining 'Nirvana', by being released from suffering, desire and from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth may be captured in his precepts of the 'four Noble Virtues', the 'Four Noble Truths', the 'Five Noble Precepts' and the 'Noble Eightfold Path'.
The 'Four Noble Virtues' 'left behind' by the Buddha to the world were: Love or Loving-kindness (Metta), Compassion (Karuna), Sympathetic Joy (Mudita) and Equanimity (Upekkha).

The 'Four Noble Truths': 'The Truth of Suffering', 'The Truth of Cause of Suffering', 'The Truth of the Cessation of Suffering' and 'The Truth of the Path Leading to the Cessation of Suffering'.

The Buddha's 'Five Noble Precepts': 'Abstain from Killing,' 'Abstain from Stealing,' 'Abstain from Sexual Misconduct', 'Abstain from Lying' and 'Abstain from Consuming Intoxicating Drinks and Drugs' and, finally, his 'Noble Eightfold Path': 'Right Understanding,' 'Right Thought,' 'Right Speech,' 'Right Action,' 'Right Livelihood,' 'Right Effort,' 'Right Mindfulness' and 'Right Concentration.
'The Buddhists form the majority of this population, some 70%. Most, if not all of whom, belong to Sri Lanka's majority Sinhala community.

Nonetheless, due to a mix of poverty and being socially disadvantaged, eclipsing this critical mass of the island's population, they are therefore found to be malleable and are used as tools by vested political interests, unsurprisingly to the detriment of the country in general and to that particular section of the population as a whole, as history, especially since independence, in the modern contemporary context has shown.

But during this period of time, Japan, after being devastated by World War II, phoenix like, rose from the ashes, to become the world's third largest economy.

Japan has a civilization far older than Sri Lanka's 2,500 years and a country where the second largest religion or practice, in respect of the uplift of the self, is Buddhism.

It may be an example to be followed.

What, probably may be missing in the Sri Lankan context in this period of time is 'tolerance' and 'acceptance', though both are widely regarded as cornerstones in Buddhism.

Whereas, in the case of the latter, that is widely connected to the 'Law of Karma' is also believed by the Buddhists.

'Karma' is similar to Newton's third law of physics in reverse, revolving round the mathematician's theory that 'every action has an equal and opposite reaction'.

Whereas in Buddhism, it's one's works, in one's present life or in the past, which determines what sort of a person one is in the present, especially, in the physical and material, or even in one's mental state.

The ultimate objective of a Buddhist is to be free from this 'vicious' cycle of 'Samsara' and graduate into the state of 'Nirvana' or nothingness or enlightenment, by achieving Buddhahood.

Whereas seeking materialism is evil, while seeking enlightenment is not, nevertheless, it's by trying to obtain the former, more often by foul means - fuelled by politicos - that has led, to the country's degeneration economically and spiritually.

The bottom line is that only by practising the teachings of the Buddha and not listening to vested political interests, can Sri Lanka be uplifted, both economically and spiritually.

Daily News Editorial

Winds of change in South Korea

12 May 2017

South Korea has been going through a tumultuous period as a result of several political developments. South Koreans will hope that the worst will be behind them with the ushering in of their newly elected President Moon Jae-in (64). Moon ascended to the presidential seat due to a series of scandals that ousted his predecessor Park Geun Hye, the country’s first female President.

In the early autumn of last year, allegations surfaced that Park, a conservative and daughter of a former president, had used her influence as president to help a longtime friend named Choi Soon Sil acquire millions in ill-gotten donations from corporations.

Park was also beset by allegations that she had given Choi, someone with no known professional background or skills, access to classified government materials and had allowed Choi to dictate her government’s decisions.

The allegations spurred the most spirited protest movement South Korea has seen in decades. Large crowds flooded public squares across the country week after week calling for Park to step down. Park was removed from office in December 2016 and formally impeached by the Constitutional Court in March. She is currently in detention awaiting trial on bribery charges. Elections were inevitable once the country’s top court upheld the impeachment.

This was the most direct scenario that led to the election of Moon. While Park is the daughter of a former president, Moon is the son of a labourer and a former soldier turned human rights lawyer. Moon has a personal connection with North Korea, where his parents originally lived before fleeing during the Korean War in the early 1950s. Hence Moon has not concealed his intentions to forge a better relationship with the belligerent neighbour and if possible, to pay a visit across the border. North Korea has sent shockwaves around the world after conducting a series of nuclear and missile tests. If Moon can meet and drive reason into his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong Un, that will be a major triumph. The unification of the two Koreas is one of Moon’s ultimate goals, though no one can give a time period as peace looks a distant possibility right now.

Moon will also have to follow a carefully balanced foreign policy that takes into account the country’s special security relationship with the United States, while also being friendly with China, the country’s biggest trading partner accounting for US$ 131 billion of South Korean exports last year alone. After all, China’s support is also essential for any solution vis-à-vis North Korea.

South Koreans are now used to Kim Jong Un’s sabre-rattling and North Korea was actually not a very big issue at the polls. But South Korea is beset by a whole raft of other problems that are not easy to resolve. Corruption remains a prime concern, because it is very difficult to separate the South Korean economy from the performance of its top conglomerates or Chaebols, nearly all of which have been embroiled in mega corruption scandals.

High unemployment among the youth is one of the most pressing problems. Here too, a sluggish economy precipitated by the less-than-stellar performance of Chaebols has led to zero growth in employment opportunities. Moon, who has promised to rein in the Chaebols, will have his work cut out in dealing with this problem.

Moon has also pledged to make governance more transparent and less bureaucratic. Even small gestures can make a big difference to voters tired of political fortresses – Moon’s offer to move the presidential office from an isolated compound nestled into the mountains in Seoul, to Gwanghwamun Square, the heart of civic life in the capital where protests against Park took place, appealed to younger voters. In fact, one of Moon’s priorities will be building trust with the Korean voters fed up with corruption and bureaucracy. Voters are eager to see the back of the corrupt and elitist corporate and political culture that has dominated the country for many years and Moon’s political survival may depend on delivering this promise.

Moon will want to project a new image of South Korea to the world after all the bad news. There is no doubt that the traditionally strong ties between Sri Lanka and South Korea would become stronger under Moon who is keen to move closer to the rest of Asia. South Korea is one of the few countries that allocate a quota of jobs to Sri Lankan youth. It recently abolished a surety bond requirement for Sri Lankans seeking jobs, which will be a great boon. The Sri Lankan Government should negotiate with South Korean authorities for more jobs. Bilateral trade between the two nations amounts to around US$ 500 million but there is much room for improvement. South Korea is also a leading investor and aid provider. People-to-people contact too has been improved after Korean Air began direct flights to Colombo. We hope that both sides would keep this momentum going and take the bilateral relationship to a new level under Presidents Maithripala Sirisena and Moon Jae In.

The Island Editorial

When cops get killed

12 May 2017

 

The growing impotency of the state vis-a-vis powerful crime syndicates has become manifestly evident on numerous occasions during the last few decades. Kudu Nauffer, a drug baron, serving a sentence had the upright High Court Judge Sarath Ambepitiya, who had meted out deterrent punishment to drug dealers, assassinated in 2004. Special Task Force (STF) Commandant DIG R. W. M. C. Ranawana suffered serious injury at the hands of a group of convicted criminals who broke into the Welikada Prison armoury during a riot and opened fire on police in 2012. A powerful underworld gang planned and executed an ambush on a prison bus carrying their rivals in February this year. Six persons including two prison guards perished in the attack. The latest incident was Tuesday night’s daring attack on a group of Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) officers, one of whom died. The attackers came riding motorcycles, emptied the magazines of their assault rifles into the police officers, who were sitting ducks in a car. The masterminds behind the daring attack have been identified as notorious drug kingpin Wele Suda and another criminal known as Madush, we are told.

If armed police and prison personnel are not safe how vulnerable the ordinary public goes without saying. The blame for the rise of the underworld to the present level must be apportioned to successive governments. All notorious criminals work for powerful politicians as is public knowledge. Gonawala Sunil, a convicted rapist and killer pardoned by the late President J. R. Jayewardene, Kalu Lucky, a criminal who stoned Supreme Court judges’ houses, Soththi Upali, a homicidal killer, extortionist and rapist, and many other underworld figures worked for the JRJ and Premadasa governments. Kaduwela Wasantha, a hired gun and armed robber, and Beddegana Sanjeewa, a contract killer and extortionist, were among the criminals who served the Chandrika Kumaratunga government. Sanjeewa was recruited to the police as a Reserved Sub Inspector for services rendered; he was attached to the Presidential Security Division! Wambotta, a serial killer and extortionist, Chandi Malli, a goon turned politician were two of the many criminals who faithfully served the Rajapaksa government. Thankfully, the aforesaid savages are now pushing up daisies.

Regrettably, the yahapalana rule also kicked off with a ‘bang’ in the run-up to the 2015 general election; several hardcore criminals who had fled the country returned after the change of government in that year to do political work for the UNP clashed with their rivals openly in Colombo. The present government showcased its ‘goon prowess’ last year in Hambantota, where it got rock-throwing thugs to work alongside the riot police to crush an Opposition protest against the handover of a vast extent of land to some Chinese companies. Who guards the guards?

While attacks on drug busters et al are discussed special mention must be made of the fate that befell PNB officer IP Douglas Nimal and his wife in 2006. He had conducted several successful raids and brought a number of sharks in the narcotics trade to justice. And in the process, he had antagonised some of his superiors in cahoots with drug barons. Charges were trumped up against him and he was arrested. However, he was released and his name cleared subsequently and he was planning to take the rotten eggs in uniform to courts. It is believed that they preempted his move by having him and his wife murdered. That was the reward for an officer who had proved his mettle! Similarly, most high-ranking police officers have a shameful history of siding with ministerial brats who set upon PNB sleuths at night clubs during raids.

We have written extensively, in this space, about the gunning down of IP Nimal and his wife and called for a proper investigation, but in vain. Let present IGP Pujith Jayasundera be urged to reopen the case, find out what really happened and, most of all, ensure that the intrepid police officer’s two children are taken care of. Better late than never!

Far be it from us to tell the IGP how to respond to threats, but we wonder why the police personnel on dangerous assignments are not backed by the combat ready STF, which alone is equal to the task of neutralising the underworld teeming with well trained military deserters.

Severing the links between politicians and the netherworld of crime is a prerequisite for protecting people’s right to peaceful living. According to the widely accepted Social Contract theory the state derives the legitimacy of its control over people’s rights from its duty and ability to ensure public safety among other things. The yahapalana government came to power, promising to restore democracy and the rule of law, the be-all and end-all of public safety. But, it has so far failed to make good on its solemn pledge. True, the current leaders are not solely responsible for this sorry state of affairs. However, they are left with no alternative but to get cracking to arrest the rapid erosion of public confidence in the incumbent government and the state.