Lanka president Mahinda Rajapaksa with Salman Khan and Jacqueline Fernandez. (AFP Photo)
Chennai: Hitting out at Bollywood actor Salman Khan for allegedly campaigning for Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, MDMK chief Vaiko on Monday dubbed him as a ‘betrayer.’
“He is also a betrayer,” Vaiko told reporters here when asked about this.
Earlier, reports had suggested that the Indian superstar, along with actor Jacqueline Fernandez, had been roped in to campaign for the Lankan leader, who is testing his electoral fortunes for a third time in the coming Presidential elections, due next month in the island republic.
Rajapaksa is under fire from political parties in Tamil Nadu, especially MDMK, as he was at the helm of affairs in 2009 when civilian casualties in the Tamil-dominated areas in Sri Lanka’s northeast reportedly peaked during the last leg of the war between Lankan army and LTTE.
Khan is not the only Indian influence in the Rajapaksa campaign. It has been reported that Arvind Gupta, a BJP social media guru, is helping the incumbent in the social media side of the campaign.
The presidential election will take place on January 8 as Rajapaksa called the election two years ahead of schedule in an apparent attempt to seek fresh mandate before his party’s popularity tumbles further, after dropping over 21% in September local elections.
Kolkata: Rohit Sharma (264) made history by becoming the highest individual scorer in One-Day International (ODI) cricket and also became the first batsman to score two double hundreds as he powered India to a mammoth 404 for five in their fourth match against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens here Thursday.
The 27-year-old smashed nine sixes and 33 fours to register the record score in 173 deliveries against a hapless Sri Lankan bowling attack.
Rohit, who scored 209 against Australia in November 2013, stitched a 202-run partnership for the third wicket with skipper Virat Kohli (66).
Brief Scores:
India: 404 for five in 50 overs (Rohit Sharma 264, Virat Kohli 66; Angelo Mathews 2/44, Nuwan Kulasekara 1/89, Shaminda Eranga 1-77) vs Sri Lanka.
Hyderabad: A superb all-round performance helped India cruise to a six-wicket win in the third One-Day International (ODI) against Sri Lanka and clinch the five-match series 3-0 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here Sunday.
Set a target of 243 runs, India coasted to victory in 44.1 overs, winning with 35 balls to spare. Opener Shikhar Dhawan played a stellar knock (91) and forged useful partnerships with Ajinkya Rahane (31) and Ambati Rayadu (35) to lead India to victory.
Skipper Virat Kohli also contributed with a solid 53, in the process becoming the quickest batsman to reach 6,000 ODI runs, taking only 136 innings to reach the feat. Pacer Umesh Yadav (4/53) wrecked Sri Lanka’s top order earlier in the day to help set up the triumph.
India approached their run chase in the right spirit, giving nothing away despite chasing a small target against a mediocre attack.
Dhawan was in hot form, hitting the ball superbly and dictating the proceedings. He was ably supported by Rahane and Rayudu. Kohli carried on the momentum after their departure to smoothen the road to victory.
Dhawan called upon his wide range of shots to give the opponents no ray of hope, becoming the fastest Indian and fifth fastest to reach 2,000 ODI runs, in just 48 innings.
But just when victory was in sight, first Dhawan and then Kohli fell. But that could do nothing to change the outcome of the match.
In the afternoon session, Sri Lanka rode on the back of a brilliant century from veteran Mahela Jayawardene to put up a total of 242.
Jayawardene, who struck his 17th century, was well supported by Tillakaratne Dilshan (53) at the start but, after the latter got out, no other batsman gave much support to Jayawardene. In the end, the visitors, who elected to bat, were bowled out for 242 in 48.2 overs.
Sri Lanka got off to a poor start after opener Kusal Perera (4) was caught behind on the sixth ball of the innings. Another veteran Kumar Sangakkara perished for a duck two runs later, leaving his team tottering at 7/2.
However, the 37-year-old Jayawardene showed his hunger for runs to score a well-planned 118 to bring up his 12,000 runs in ODI cricket. He caressed 12 boundaries and hit one six in his 125-ball innings.
Though opening batsman Dilshan was slow, he gave good support to Jayawardene to take his team out of trouble and strike a solid 105-run third wicket partnership which was eventually broken when Dilshan was caught off Ambati Rayudu.
Thereon, the tables turned for the visitors who could not forge big partnerships as Jayawardene kept running out of partners. The right hander, in order to accelerate the scoring, was stumped by India wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha with the team total at 225.
Seekkuge Prasanna contributed 29 runs lower down the order to take the visitors’ total to 242 before Sri Lanka were bowled out.
Pacer Umesh Yadav and left arm spinner Axar Patel were the pick of the Indian bowlers picking up four and three wickets, respectively.
Batting first, Indian Openers Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan scored tons to take India to 363/5 in 50 overs. The home team then defeated Sri Lanka by 169 runs in the first ODI. Photo: PTI
Cuttack: India defeated Sri Lanka by 169 runs in the first of the five match ODI bilateral series which kick-started at Cuttack yesterday.
Angelo Matthews won the toss and considering the dew factor, opted to bowl first. His decision looked good until the 20th over as the openers added only 90 runs , though both were given a life by Sangakkara.
It was in the 21st over bowled by Randiv, back into the side after 3 years, that things started to turn around. First it was Rahane who reached his 50 off 61 deliveries and then it was Dhawan’s show. He paddle swept the 3rd delivery to the boundary and in the next, reverse swept the bowler to bring 100 of the partnership. Not wanting to tail behind Rahane, he hit the bowler for a six to bring up his 50 in 65 deliveries.
With both the batsmen in full flow, the Indian team took the batting power play in the 24th over. The flood gates opened and each and every bowler on sight were dealt without mercy as boundaries were scored at will. The 2nd over of the power play bowled by Gamage yielded 15 runs while Matthews was taken apart for 18 runs in the 28th over. The Indian batsmen scored 62 runs in the power play overs and 105 between the 20th and 30th over.
Rahane was the first to reach his century in 99 deliveries while Dhawan reached it in the next over with a majestic six off 96 deliveries, his last 64 runs coming in just 35 deliveries. This was the first time after 2003, that both the Indian openers scored a century . The pair was separated only at the end of the 35th over with the score at 231 which consisted of 27 boundaries and 5 sixes.
Raina, playing his 200th ODI, scored a quick fire 52 off just 34 deliveries to keep up the scoring rate and in the process completed 5000 ODI runs. Quick wickets slowed down the rate, but it could not stop the Indians post 363 runs in 50 overs.
Chasing a mammoth score of 364 at a scoring rate of 7.3 RPO from the offset, Sri Lanka had a huge task ahead of them . India had a set back early on as Varon Aaron, bowling at speeds in excess of 150 had to leave the field after bowling just 4 overs. Thankfully it did not create a huge impact as by then the dangerous Dishan was back in the hut and Sri Lanka had just scored 39 in the first 10 overs. They lost wickets at regular intervals and with Sangakkara falling cheaply for 13, it was left to Jayawardane and Matthews to rescue the team.
Jayawardane was dismissed for a well made 43 off just 36 deliveries but his dismissal with the score at 130/5 with a required rate of 9.36 was a bit too much for the tail enders to achieve. The team folded in the 40th over with the score on 194 giving the Indians a huge 169 run victory. Ishanth Sharma was the pick of the bowlers as he scalped 4 batsmen giving away only 34 runs in his 8 overs while AR Patel bowled well to pick 2 wickets.
Scorecard India: A. Rahane c Jayawardene b Randiv 111, S. Dhawan b Priyanjan 113, S. Raina lbw b Randiv 52, V. Kohli c Perera b Randiv 22, A. Rayudu c Perera b Gamage 27, W. Saha (not out) 10, A. Patel (not out) 14. Extras (lb 5, w 7, nb 2) 14. Total (for five wickets in 50 overs) 363.
Sri Lanka: U. Tharanga c Dhawan b Ashwin 28, T. Dilshan c Saha b Yadav 18, K. Sangakkara c Saha b Sharma 13, M. Jayawardene c Kohli b Patel 43, S. Prasanna c Rahane b Patel 5, A. Mathews c Patel b Raina 23, S. Priyanjan c Saha b Sharma 12, T. Perera c Sharma b Yadav 29, S. Randiv b Sharma 5, G. Prasad c Saha b Sharma 0, L. Gamage (not out) 0. Extras (lb 4, w 13, nb 1) 18. Total (in 39.2 overs) 194.
Anti Muslim Sinhala racist outfit Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), which does not represent the mainstream Sinhala Buddhists, but had done considerable damage to pit Sinhalese against Muslims in the name of Sinhalese and Buddhism, together with Myanmar’s convicted criminal Ashin Wirathu, have declared war on Islam and Muslims in Sri Lanka and in South Asia.
As part of this program the two sides, BBS and 969, also signed a special agreement aimed at creating South Asia free of what they described as (Islamic) terrorism and religious fundamentalism.
Addressing the Sangha Council meeting, organized with pomp and pageantry by the BBS costing millions of rupees on Sunday 28 September 2014 at the Sugathadasa Stadium, Ashin Wirathu, the dreaded leader of the 969 movement, the architect of the massacre of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims and described by TIME magazine as the “face of the Buddhist terror” told, that his organization 969 would work with the BBS to fight so called Islamic terrorism.
Work together for what? Certainly not to promote Buddhism and establish a better Buddhist society but to kill Muslims, destroy their economies and turn them into a community of beggars as the Zionist sponsored United States led European countries have been doing worldwide, especially in the Middle East, since the collapse of former Soviet Union in 1989.
This unholy BBS-Wirathu alliance spells disaster for Sri Lanka and the island’s besieged Muslim community especially in the context of the ongoing persecution of the island’s Muslims striking at their very survival. This has all the ingredients to turn this island into a killing field once again with unpredictable consequences.
The question is whether the country need or afford such mayhem for the benefit of handful of racists?
Now the question is whether this alliance is to prepare for what Jathika Hela Urumaya’s Udaya Gammanpila predicted as the” inevitable repeat attack on the island’s Muslims in 2015 to commemorate the centenary of 1915 riots”. Perhaps the attacks on Aluthgama, Dharga Town and Beruwala Muslims in June 2014 were trial balloons for what is to come next year?
BBS has already poisoned the Sinhalese minds against Muslims to prepare the climate for such an attack. As part of this program, unnecessarily digging out old wounds, certain section of the local media, increasingly under Sinhala racist and Israeli influence, started publishing articles blaming Muslims for 1915 riots.
While the world is moving ahead under the global economic changes now sweeping all corners of the world to ensure better life for people here in the island few hundreds of Sinhala racist are taking the country back to 1915.
It is common knowledge that the BBS and 969 are sworn enemies of Islam and Muslims.
They are not interested in creating a Buddhist society based on Buddha’s teachings and his message of maithri and karuna. They are not interested in fighting against social evils such as liquor, gambling, casino, corruption, prostitution, declining religious, moral, religious, cultural and family values.
Instead they are busy spreading hatred against Muslims in violation of the very same teachings of Buddha which they claim to protect. Their proven agenda is to demonize Islam, kill Muslims and destroy Muslim societies (and destroy everything that Lord Buddha stood for) as Wirathu had done in Myanmar and BBS is doing in Sri Lanka.
BBS General Secretary Galagoda Atte Gnanasara Thero is not a man of peace. Under normal circumstance where there is rule of law he should have been in custody for his role in the Aluthgama-Dharga Town and Berwala attacks on Muslims which reduced once wealthy families into paupers.
He is a demagogue accused of being behind the hate Muslim campaign that enjoys the support and protection of the state. Their foreign masters, perhaps, provide them with enough of money, training and guidance in their campaign to destroy Muslim societies.
On the other hand Myanmar’s Ashin wirathu and his 969 movement have been responsible for the massacre of Rohingya Muslims, burning of Muslim towns and villages, residential and commercial units besides throwing hundreds of Muslims into the sea where they perished.
This very same Ashin Wirathu was granted an entry visa which was refused to the legendary man of peace Dalai Lama who warned Sri Lanka and Myanmar not to harm Muslim minorities.
All peace loving people were shocked when Wirathu was allowed to enter the soil of Sri Lanka thrice visited by ‘Buddha’.
Several Ministers including Senior Minister A.H.M.Fawzie, Justice Minister Rauff Hakeem and Deputy Minister Faizar Mustapha together with many Muslim organizations pleaded with President Mahinda Rajapaksa not to allow Wirathu to enter this country.
However, these appeals were dismissed and fell on deaf ears –perhaps Ashin Wirathu is more important than the Island’s Muslim community? Wirathu who was given a reception usually meant for heads of states, thanked President Mahinda Rajapaksa for granting him visa to visit Sri Lanka.
The Muslim community in general feel deeply disappointed and disgusted .They accuse Muslim politicians whom they consider as sell outs, so called moulavi thumas who have lost the confidence of the community and the so called prominent Muslims for hobnobbing with the government despite repeated humiliation and threats.
For example Muslim parliamentarians continue to remain constituent members of the government and refuse to raise Muslim issues to ensure the rights, dignity and safety of Muslims.
Our half baked, jet setting and wheeler dealer “moulavi thumas” went all the way to Geneva to defend the government not knowing what they were doing and where they were going .In their keen desire to please the Sinhala leadership these “moulavi thumas” even compromised Islam when they asked Muslims to stop reciting “Qunoot”, the most powerful weapon given by Allah, during times of difficulties.
The government also did not take into consideration the so called prominent Muslims who once invited Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse to discuss Muslim issues in a peaceful and relaxed atmosphere but refused to raise any issue stating that “we cannot hurt our guest.”
These very same prominent Muslims who discarded the sufferings and misery of Muslims in aluthgama, Dharga Town and Beruwala attended Iftar parties to please the Sinhala power even before their tears dried.
Despite all these it appears the government has written off the Muslim community.
This is the reality in today’s Sri Lanka which BBS’s once reported to have resigned President Ven Kirama Wimalajothi described as a Sinhala Buddhist country and not a multi religious and multi racial country. The theme of his speech and the Sangha Council itself was open hostility towards Islam and Muslims who were the most peaceful of the three communities as once stated by former Chief Justice Sarath N Silva.
What they failed to realize is the sacrifice Muslims made to ensure the territorial integrity of the country during the three decades of LTTE separatist war. In fact if the Sinhala racists cannot live with the Island’s peaceful Muslim community in harmony, despite continuous state sponsored discrimination, they will never be able to live in peace with anyone in this planet.
In the meeting BBS submitted proposals which could take the country back to medieval age.
Suggested changes included change Sri Lanka to ‘Sinhalay’,State Religion to be ‘Buddhism’, Sinhala to be state language while Tamil and English to be recognized as state communication languages, learning Sinhala, Tamil and English to be compulsory, Sinhala race and Sri Lanka nation to be synonymous, so everyone in Sri Lanka will be called ‘Sinhalese’ and not ‘Sri Lankan’.
The other suggestions were; all minorities to be called ‘Sinhala-Muslim’, ‘Sinhala-Hindu’, ‘Sinhala-Christians’, One Race, One Nation, One Law, change the National Flag to the 1915 National Flag ,National Anthem to be only sung in Sinhala,Vesak to be National Day, do away with the Independence day, Sinhala Buddhism will be the primary culture, minorities will be able to have sub cultures as long as they recognize the Sinhala Buddhism as the primary culture, change the Sri Lanka constitution to be more in line with Buddhist values and do away with European government styles.Sri Lankan leader to be an Executive Prime Minister, but the Executive Presidency need not be abolished within the next 6 years.
This resembles what is going across the sea in India where Sinhala racists’ new found friend fanatically anti Muslim RSS (Rasthriya Swayamsevak Sang) claim that in India “we are all Hindus”.
However BBS suggestions which take the country back to pre medieval age are simply recipe for disaster of an unpredictable consequence. The irony is that they had forgotten even recent history and once again putting innocent people of all communities at loggerheads to fulfill their racist agendas.
The speakers at the Sangha Council meeting manufactured lies to ridicule Islam and demonize Muslims .In doing so they spoke their Zionist –American masters’ language of killing Muslims and blaming the victims of terrorism.
This is typical Zionist and Zionist ruled US-UK and European strategy to associate Muslims with terrorism to justify their invasion of Muslim countries, destroy their infra structure and slaughter Muslim men, women, children and the aged, destroy the society and push them into refugee camps to suffer in abject poverty as they had done and still doing in Iraq and Syria.
Here in the island too powerful forces unleashed a wave of anti Muslim campaign describing them as extremists and terrorist without any shred of evidence although top army and police officials have repeatedly stated that there are no such elements. In fact it was Sinhala extremists, who have attacked Mosques, destroyed Muslim shrines, threw slaughtered pigs into mosque and carried placards with pigs’ faces described as Allah and such hooliganism without the fear of being taken into custody.
No Muslim ever indulged in such hooliganism. However Muslims have been accused of extremism and terrorism.
In this regard it is worthy to recall what Ven. Professor Kotapitiye Rahula Thera, Director of Postgraduate Institute of Pali and Buddhist Studies University of Kelaniya told Daily mirror on Wednesday 8 October 2014.
In an interview with Shihara Maduwage Prof Kotapitiya stated;
“Buddhism is one of the oldest and most valuable heritages of Sri Lanka. Today, at a time when there is much hullabaloo about Buddhism being destroyed, it is important to protect the true teachings of the Buddhist philosophy. In the present day, although some, including Buddhist monks, were of the view that Buddhism was slowly disappearing from the world, it was a narrow-minded view.
“A lot of people in this country and even some of the Buddhist clergy are alarmed thinking that Buddhism will lose its value in the world. They are making such a big noise, urging the masses to protect Buddhism and are sometimes even seen acting in rash, unwise and aggressive ways because of their panic. However, these are people who have no idea of what is going on in the world. They think in a very narrow way because they have not seen the world’s reaction to Buddhism. In fact, they are alarmed for no reason at all,” he assured.
He further stated that if anyone wanted to promote and preserve Buddhism, the best way to do so was not holding protests or going on religious rampages but to learn the teachings of Buddhism and study Buddhist philosophy and culture in depth. This was in fact one of the main goals of the PGIPBS – spreading Buddhism to the world through proper, structured education rather than through fear or blind acceptance.
The Centre for Policy Alternatives, one of Sri-Lanka’s prominent research and advocacy group has released a report today on online hate speech, looking at Facebook in particular.
The report is said to be the first in the country to focus on hate and dangerous speech in online fora, “contextualising the growth of this disturbing digital content with increasing violence against Muslims and other groups in Sri Lanka.”
According to report authors Sanjana Hattotuwa and Shilpa Samaratunge, “the growth of online hate speech in Sri Lanka does not guarantee another pogrom. It does however pose a range of other challenges to government and governance around social, ethnic, cultural and religious co-existence, diversity and, ultimately, to the very core of debates around how we see and organise ourselves post-war.
Hattotuwa writes that, “the report looks at 20 Facebook groups in Sri Lanka over a couple of months, focussing on content generated just before, during and immediately after violence against the Muslim community. Detailed translations into English of the original material posted to these groups (including photographic and visual content) and the responses they generated are provided. It is the first time a study has translated into English the qualitative nature of commentary and content published on these Facebook groups, indicative of a larger and growing malaise in post-war Sri Lanka.”
Their study aims to focus on challenges around the significant growth of hate speech in post-war Sri Lanka, primarily directly against the Muslim community and Islam.
Download the full report here or read it below on Nasheman.