Parliament member Namal Rajapaksa (L), son of Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa, shakes hands with former army chief and parliamentarian General Sarath Fonseka (R) after a presentation at parliament of the current budget in Colombo June 29, 2010. Sri Lanka’s Deputy Finance Minister Sarath Amunugama told parliament in his budget presentation on Tuesday the government planned to boost efficiency and revenue from state enterprises, to help keep public investment at 6-7 percent of GDP. Sri Lanka estimated the total expenditure to be 1.28 trillion rupees ($11.27 billion) in the 2010 budget, the first since the end of a quarter-century war with the Tamil Tiger separatists last year.

By Dr Ruwan M Jayatunge

Music is a social force and unquestionably a powerful form of expression. Many elements of human existence are touched by music. Song has accompanied social movements, social justice and human freedom. Music can deeply affect the way that people think. Therefore, musicians can direct society with their musical ability, passion and sincerity.

Among the singers with a genuine passion for positive social stream, Bob Dylan plays a major role. American singer-songwriter and musician Bob Dylan made a deep impact in 1960 s and his songs became the anthems for the civil right and anti Vietnam War movement. He was called “master poet, caustic social critic and intrepid, guiding spirit of the counterculture generation”

Beside Bob Dylan, another female icon that emerged in 60 s was Joan Baez. As a musician and a singer Joan Baez stood for the ideals that she believed were correct. She protested at misleading government propaganda that clouded the nuclear proliferation, War on Vietnam and attacking of the Civil Right activists as Communist conspirators. Her song Birmingham Sunday was dedicated to the four little African American girls who were killed in the 1963 bombing of a Black Church by the KKK (Ku Klux Klan). Joan Baez pioneered to establish the US branch of Amnesty International that brought awareness on human right violations in the United States. In 2003, she performed in San Francisco to protest against the US invasion of Iraq.

Although the world is not fully aware of the music and mission of Vladimir Vysotsky who began performing in the 1960s, in the USSR was a talented as well as an outspoken artist. He was quite critical of the errors of the Communist Regime. He highlighted bureaucracy that ruled the system, criticized the unfair privileges of the elite and objected to repression. He could be called the Russian Bob Dylan. Although he was the living soul and conscience, of his time, his songs were forbidden to be played and his poems went unpublished. Vysotsky’s songs were more profound and carried the message of love and truth. He openly fought against the hypocrisy and double standards. He was the voice of the silent generation of the Soviet Union. Today Vysotsky is considered as a cultural icon and a musician with true a conscience.

Among the singers who stood by the people, Victor Jara was exceptional. Victor Jara made an extremely important influence on the music and culture of Chile becoming the best-known and most influential musical figures of Latin America. The songs of Victor Jara were filled with his thoughts on love for the simple people of Chile. Many of his songs attacked injustices in society and the dictatorship that crushed human rights. His songs became the hope for the oppressed people of Chile. Jara renounced money and comfortable lavish living that he could have achieved via his musical talents. He stood and sang for the people. For his candid stand, Jara paid heavily. He was arrested and murdered during the 1973 Chilean coup, which was led by Augusto Pinochet. Although Jara is dead, he is still remembered by the millions of people around the world.

Like Victor Jara the Jamaican singer, Bob Marley almost experienced death when he faced an assassination attempt for his politically influential music. Bob Marley was a symbol of freedom for people who faced oppression and racial distress. Marley preached his music message of equality, anti racism, and freedom from oppression through an elegant Reggie rhythm. His music and profound wisdom created songs with deep philosophical sense. His stunning song on enslaved African soldiers who used to fight against Native Americans – Buffalo Soldiers became a worldwide hit that brought black identity. Marley described the ways in which racial inequality can lead to war in his song -War. The Redemption Song that was performed by Bob Marley spoke of slavery and oppression in Jamaica. In the Redemption Song he used an enriched phrase – “Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds, have no fear for atomic energy, cause none of them can stop the time. The music and mission of Bob Marley was strongly and truly affiliated to the interest of the people.

When one talks about protest songs that enlighten the public about human freedom and injustice around them, some songs of the renowned Sri Lankan vocalists Nanda Malani can be mentioned. For instance, her song Rana Derane questions soldiers who fight people who call for justice. In this song, she pleads with the soldiers not to raise their weapons against these freedom fighters.

Nanda Malani sang the popular song Me Sinhala Upage Ratai (This is our Sinhala County) which was hailed by the nationalists. When the Sri Lankan society absorbed multiculturalism, she denounced her own song and refused to perform it in public. In the early eighties, her songs were critical of the Open Economy that was introduced by President J.R Jayawardana in 1977. When Premadsa regime violated human rights, she became the voice of the people. The young rebels of the South in 1980s embraced her protest songs. According to some classified reports, ultra left wing youth faced executions singing her protest songs especially the song Yadamin Banda that glorified revolutionary activities. Hence, Nanda Malini made a reflective impact on people.

However, she was unable to give leadership and make her music a powerful social force that could be a strong voice for social justice since she did not believe in what she sang. Her music was dependent on the people’s request. When they appealed for nationalism, she fulfilled the request with songs like Me Sinhala Apage Ratai. When the trend changed, she refused to perform it. When the trend was anti open economic system, her music changed accordingly despite the fact that she enjoyed the benefits of the market economy wildly selling her music albums.

In the beginning of the terrorist activities in the North, the Jayawardana regime was reluctant to take stern measures. He preached Ghandian Avihinsa concepts and condemned the war actions of King Dutugamunu. Jayawardana was criticized by the public heavily . In this disputed times Nanda Malani released her song Mugurak Avasi Thana (when a club required, take a club to your hand) that gained immense popularity. The reaction of the President Jayawardana was drastically changed. He appointed Brigadier Tissa Weeratunga “to eradicate” terrorism in the North within 6 months. But the conflict aggravated and the rest became history.

Her song Yadamin Banda speaks of bravery and self-sacrifice when fighting the social injustice. However the Journalist and the film critic Gunasiri Silva narrated the reactions of Nanda Malani and Professor Sunil Ariyaratne soon after the assassination of Wijaya Kumaratunge in the book ‘Pihatu Pena’. According to Gunasiri Silva Nanda Malani and Professor Sunil Ariyaratne avoided him when he wanted to get a newspaper comment on Wijaya’s brutal killing. As Gunasiri Silva states Nanda Malani did not even answer his calls.

Nanda Malani could have been the symbol of freedom and social justice in Sri Lanka and she could have accomplished a worthwhile mission in music like Dylan, Joan Baez and other outstanding charismatic singers who spoke against injustice with intellect, responsibility and without double standards. Unfortunately, Nanda Malani missed that excellent opportunity.

“In war, there are no unwounded soldiers.” – Jose Narosky

Palaly is a well-known area in Jaffna and it is famous for the Palaly Air Base. Most of the soldiers go to the Northern Peninsula via Palaly airbase. Therefore, Palaly is a part of them. Palaly is in their memories, sometimes in their intrusions. Palaly syndrome describes various clinical and psychosocial ailments experienced by the Sri Lankan combatants and in the final scores how it affects the society at large.

Shell shock to Palaly Syndrome was a long way for the soldiers.

In the early years of WW1 Shell Shock was believed to be the result of a physical injury to the nerves. Shell Shock term was coined by the British Pathologist Col. Fredrick Mott. He regarded Shell Shock as an organic condition produced by miniature hemorrhages of the brain. Shell Shocked soldiers exhibited symptoms of extreme fear, shaking, psychogenic blindness, psychogenic paralysis and sometimes aphonia.

The Army was less sympathetic to the ordinary soldiers with Shell Shock. Official figures said that 304 British soldiers were court-martialed and executed. Between 1914 and 1918, the British Army identified 80,000 men as suffering from Shell Shock. During the World War 2 traumatic reaction to combat was identifies as War Neurosis or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. 10% of US Servicemen developed combat exhaustion in the WW2. Nearly 1363,000 soldiers were given medical discharges and 39% had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

During the Korean War the term section 8 was widely used to describe causes of psychological combat trauma. Those who had been diagnosed with section 8 were dealt with in a very situational manner. The term PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder emerged soon after the Vietnam War. PTSD has been found in 15% of 500,000 men who were in Vietnam. There are estimated 50,000 veterans suffering from full blown symptoms of PTSD. At least half a million Vietnam veterans lead lives plagued by serious war related readjustment problems.

A new form of battle stress began in Sri Lanka mainly after 1983. Many Psychiatrists point out that number of psychiatric illnesses have been increased as a result of the Northern Conflict. For a combat soldier in World War 2 who served for 4 years the average time spent in actual combat was approximately 40 days. In Vietnam soldiers spent an average of about two thirds of their 12 or 13 month tours over 250 days in combat. But in Sri Lanka a large number of soldiers have spent 10-15 years in combat with short intervals. For nearly three decades, Sri Lanka experienced a social calamity as a result of an armed conflict and people were deeply traumatized. The echoes of the war trauma will affect Sri Lanka for generations.

Although the origin and the history of this conflict is very complicated and carries many versions and explanations, after all it is a collective trauma for the Islanders indeed. The North and South suffered from this conflict creating a large number of physically and psychologically traumatized people. War trauma is still hounding the

Sri Lankan society rising as social violence, political violence, political extremism, criminal activities, domestic violence, suicides, homicides, alcohol and drug abuse, cruelty to children and various other forms.

Combat Related PTSD in Sri Lanka

PTSD is a relatively newly defined disorder with an old history. According to the Western chronological records the first patients of PTSD were recorded in 1666. These records were based on Samuel Pepy’s diary which describes the bizarre behavior pattern of the survivors of the Great Fire of London. Samuel Pepy vividly portrayed the nightmares, intrusions and flashbacks experienced by these survivors.

In 1876 American Civil War doctor Mandez Da Costa published a paper diagnosing Civil War veterans with PTSD like symptoms which he called Irritable Heart. Although the Western World recorded PTSD in 1666 the King Seethawaka Rajasinghe the 16th century monarch of Sri Lanka believed to be suffered from combat related PTSD. King Seethawaka Rajasinghe (born in 1580 AD) was a great warrior who came to the battle field at the age of 16. He fought against the Portuguese invaders and witnessed many deaths and destructions. He was a fearless fighter who used effectual war tactics and overpowered the fully equipped and fully trained Portuguese war machine. Following the long years of combat he was exhausted and definitely suffered from battle fatigue.

In the later years the King Seethawaka Rajasinghe showed outburst of anger, irritability, deep mistrust, alienation, emotional numbing and various other PTSD related symptoms. There were clear personality changes in him. With these changes the great liberator launched a chain of terror against his own people creating a deep void in the hearts and minds. Hence the King Seethawaka Rajasinghe lost his due respect in the history. But no one can argue his courage and tactics which he demonstrated in the battle field. The invincible 16th century super power was in the verge of a defeat in front of his sward. But what went wrong? Did combat related PTSD affect him?

The history shows that the King Seethawaka Rajasinghe experienced a number of PTSD symptoms. On one occasion, he gathered 100,000 soldiers and attacked the Portuguese Fort in Colombo. The Portuguese were desperate. Fear and famine fell upon them. Despite the attacks, the Portuguese were able to get external naval support from Goa. The battle was a fiasco and the King became furious. He suspected most of his Generals and assassinated them one by one. King Seethawaka Rajasinghe poisoned his right wing man Wicramasinghe Maha Senevi then Weerasundara Bandara. These Generals helped him in numerous battles. He was under a deep suspicion and believed in a conspiracy theory. He acted as a tyrant and used brutal methods to punish people. He never felt any remorse or compassion. The King Seethawaka Rajasinghe even killed his own father Mayadunne which can be interpreted as a reaction following emotional anesthesia. Emotional anesthesia or emotional numbing is a distinctive feature of PTSD. In the later years he turned against the religion (which can be interpreted as avoidance also a cardinal symptom in PTSD). He embraced Hinduism and murdered thousands of his subjects who refused to follow Hinduism. The King Seethawaka Rajasinghe destroyed Buddhist temples and killed Buddhist monks by drowning.

His emotions were unstable. Very often, he acted with sudden rage. Gradually he made him self alienated. He had no close associates and the King became an isolated and a broken man. After many battles, he was physically and mentally worn out. Many aristocrats had left him because they could not stand his false accusations and outrageous behavior. The Great warrior had become another victim of combat stress.

Shell Shocked Sri Lankan Combatants

During the World War 2 a small contingent of Sri Lankan soldiers attached to the British Army served in Italy , Singapore , Egypt and Burma. Some were exposed to active combat or witnessed the horrors of the WW2. Some historical data suggest that a few Sri Lankan veterans suffered from Shell Shock during the WW2. The renowned Sri Lankan novelist Mr. W.A Silva in one of his short stories described the plight of a local soldier who had Shell Shock features.

Is PTSD an American Illness?

Some have expressed the view that PTSD as developed in the West should not be imposed on countries with different cultures. Even though the concept of PTSD came from the West, it was common and could be seen in many countries irrespective of cultural differences. Psychological stress reactions to traumatic events occur in diverse societies and cultures. (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Cross-Cultural Aspects -Padmal De Silva Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry UK). Human response to trauma is universal but the cultural context of the trauma is an imperative dimension. The meaning of trauma is often culturally specific. Cultural factors may also influence the manner in which PTSD symptoms are manifested. Therefore culture based assessment had to be introduced. In addition, the specifications of the Sri Lankan conflict should be taken in to considerations. These specifications were prolonged combat exposure, lack of psychological first aid soon after the combat, lack of social support system and on the other hand as the positive specifications-the usage of traditional healing methods, the impact of religion must not be forgotten.

The US Veteran Administration found 50,000 US servicemen soon after the Vietnam War. For many years, Sri Lankan authorities considered PTSD was an American illness, which could never affect Sri Lankan soldiers. Some expressed the view that we should not dig in to unnecessary issues like combat related PTSD which can lead to litigation and compensation. Therefore deaf and blind policy was adopted for the official convenience. But during this period combat stress increased in large numbers. Most of them were undiagnosed and untreated.

The Echoes of Palaly Syndrome

War is a multi-layered, multi-factorial phenomenon, which is filled with gruesome acts of violence. In a war not only the combatants even the civilians undergo a tremendous amount of combat stress. Stresses are unavoidable in a situation like war. Therefore people who lived in war zones become vulnerable. Their psychological makeup change rapidly. War is a wholly human-made catastrophe, which is a gigantic process of social and self-destruction. As Plato once said “only dead have seen the end of the war. This means the psychological scars following combat can stay behind for many years. It can change the psychological markup of a person making him more dysfunctional. As the Salvadorian psychologist Martin-Baro(1990) wrote of his own country, what was left traumatized were not just Salvadorian individuals , but Salvadorian society. This expression is totally applicable to Sri Lanka.

Many combatants, civilians as well as members of the rebel group have become the victims of Palaly Syndrome. The Country was in an armed conflict for thirty years and during that period the society was severely traumatized and if necessary psychosocial rehabilitation is not provided the war trauma would harm the spirit of the Nation. During the past years, psychological needs of the combatants were not properly addressed. Much attention was paid to the physical injuries rater than psychological damages. Effective rehabilitation was not conducted and the repercussions of the mismanagement of combat trauma are visible even today. Following the Sri Lankan conflict a large number of civilians, members of the Armed Forces and the LTTE carders have been killed. Total deaths estimate over 70,000 lives. Many have become permanently disabled. A large numbers carry psychological scars of the war with them and suffer silently. Some have sublimated their anxiety and stress to the family members and to the society. Hence, war trauma has become a vicious cycle.

The Sri Lankan society has experienced and still experiencing the echoes of the Palaly Syndrome. Many distressing and heartbreaking stores reveal the magnitude of combat trauma in the country.

A Distinguished Officer Turned in to a Serial Murder

Major Anuruddha Wijebahus’s story could be described as one of the horrifying stories of Palaly Syndrome. Anuruddha Wijebahu was a bright student from a leading school in Kandy. After completing his school education, he joined the Kothalawala Military Academy and passed out as an infantry officer. He was attached to the VIR or Vijayaba

Infantry Regiment. Anuruddha Wijebahu served in the operational areas experiencing numerous combat related stresses. Gradually his psychological make up changed and there were clear personality changes in him. Major Anuruddha Wijebahus’s became cold-blooded serial killer and murdered a number of innocent men. His last victim he took to the Manthottam camp and drugged him. Then he chopped off the victim’s body, put the remains in to a barrel, and set fire. Later he was caught and while in the custody, Major Anuruddha Wijebahu committed suicide.

The Story of Army Jine

Army Jine was brave soldier from the Sri Lanka Commando unit who had exceptional combat skills. Affected by the combat stress his conduct became intolerable. Hence, Jine became AWOL. While in AWOL Jine committed highway robberies, murders and rapes. He lived in the jungle and with the survival tactics, which mastered, Jine evaded the law and enforcement authorities for a long time. According to some reports, Jine had committed nearly 27 rapes. Eventually he was gun downed by the Police.

Kadawatha Madura

Madura was a top sportsman in the Army who was mishandled by hissuperiors. Many occasions he was harassed and Madura underwent harshwork related stress. Following unbearable work related atmosphere hebecame AWOL and joined the underworld. Madura organized several armedrobberies and he was engaged in extortions mainly in Kadawatha. Madurawas shot dead in Kadawatha town while he was confronted by the Police.

Wambotta the ex Army Soldier

Kitulgamaralalage Ajit Wasantha alias Wambotta was born inEmbilipitiya. In 1993, he joined the Army, enlisting as a member ofthe 3rd Sinha Regiment. After sometime, he left the Army and formed acriminal, gang, which consisted of over 50 heavily armed militarydeserters. Since Vambotta had the powerful political backing andpolitical patronage, the Police found it extremely difficult to makeany arrests. The gang led by Wambotta had done over ten murders and anumber of extortions. The notorious gangster Wambotta was ambushed andkilled by another underworld gang at Aswatte in Kosgama

A Lady Accountant killed by a Deserter

At Mutwal a lady accountant from a private firm was murdered and her12 year daughter was raped by an army soldier in 2008.

The perpetratorbecame AWOL several months before the crime. He waited near her housethen entered and committed the crime. The victim was assaulted with ablunt weapon to her head and she succumbed to the injuries.

A Lady Doctor was shot by a Disabled Soldier

A lady doctor named Dr Miss Indunil from Bandagiriya CentralDispensary was shot by a disabled soldier from the Commando Regiment.According to the internal sources, the disabled soldier who waswounded in the battle had not received appropriate rehabilitation andpsychological mode of management was affected by posttraumatic stress.Following an argument with the lady doctor he went in to a sudden rageand shot her.

A Brigadier was charged with shooting of his wife

A Brigadier who had served in the North and participated in numerousmilitary operations was arrested by the Police for murdering his wife.According to the investigations, the suspect had used his servicepistol to commit the murder.

The SF Rider who became a Criminal

Lance Corporal Harshana Nuwan was an expert motor cycle rider in theSpecial Forces who participated in SF operations in the North. Heencountered copious battle stress, which he could not cope with. Oftenhe was charged with disciplinary infractions and to evade thepunishments he became an absentee. While hiding from the militarypolice Lance Corporal Harshana Nuwan organized several bank robberiesin which he used his riding skills. He was nick named as Son Baba bythe underworld. He masterminded several contact killings andabductions. The Police took an immense effort to track him down.

An Army Sergeant Plants a Bomb in a School Van

An army explosives expert was arrested for alleged involvement in theKurunegala school van explosion which left one 12-year-old school girldead and 11 injured in 2009. According to the initial investigationsindicated that the army sergeant had smuggled two kilos of C-4explosives out of the Minneriya camp and planted them on the vanaround midnight in an apparent bid to kill the owner-driver, whom hesuspected of having an illicit affair with his wife.

War Trauma and Social Violence

The 30 year armed conflict in Sri Lanka has produced a new generationof veterans at risk for the battle stress.

Over 150, 000 members ofthe armed forces had been directly or indirectly exposed to traumaticcombat stress. There had been nearly 18 major military operationsconducted by the Armed Forces from 1987 to 2001 and when the conflictaggravated in 2006 new military operations were launched. A largenumber of combatants were exposed to hostile conditions. Following thetraumatic combat stress, many combatants suffered from anxietyreactions that could be manifested as social aggression.

Psychosocial Rehabilitation of the Affected Veterans

The magnitude of combat trauma in Sri Lanka cannot be ignored. Most ofthe psychological scars are unhealed and it can affect the person aswell as society. These psychological and emotional traumas wereresulted from witnessed killings, handling human remains, exposing tolife and death situations, and numerous other battle stresses. This isa form of invisible trauma in the military. But it has directimplications on the mental health of the soldiers as well as theirfamily members and the society at large.The combatants gave an enormous contribution to end the war in SriLanka.

Their blood and sweat were used by the politicians for theirglory and at the end of the day the combatants received nothing exceptso called the Ranaviru Upahara which consisted of empty words. Thereshould be an effective rehabilitation for the combatants affected bythe Palay Syndrome. For long years, the veterans did not gain adequaterehabilitation and their battle stresses increased risking not onlythe combatants also their family members. In the final account, thesestresses affect the entire society.

Combat Trauma in the Post War Era

There were many examples from other countries that reveal how combattrauma affected in the post war era. For example soon after theAmerican Civil War, traumatized solders formed an extremist movementthat called KKK which engaged in racial violence. Many Americanvolunteers who participated in the Spanish Civil War engaged in socialviolence and some Lincoln Brigade soldiers became top criminals.

PostVietnam War caused a vast social chaos in USA. Similarly, manyAfghanistan veterans of the Red Army engaged in organized crimesduring the Perestroika era in the former USSR.Soon after a mass conflict like war, there is a tendency of politicalextremism and sometimes fundamentalism to emerge. In a post conflict,society social fabric is fragile, people are traumatized and theybecome easy targets to these extreme and damaging forces. Soon afterthe WW 1, Germany faced such a situation and NAZIS could exploit thecollective trauma experienced by the German people. The Talibanfundamentalists grabbed the power at the end of the Afghan conflict.Hence, there is an impending risk that we face today and theDemocratic forces have an absolute responsibility to restore peace andjustice system in the CountryThe major impact of war includes disintegration of the psychologicalwell-being. Therefore, major psychosocial interventions are requiredto restore the damages caused by the war. Promotion of human rightsand justice are the key way to reinstate the social equilibrium.

Thevictims of war need psychosocial support and rehabilitation.Rehabilitation programs include education, vocational training, incomegenerating projects, loans and housing that is tailored to the needsof the survivors and post disaster situation.Wars represent mental health emergencies. It can affect the mentalwell-being of individuals. Mental health is indispensable to personalwell-being, family and interpersonal relationships, and contributionto community or society. The discovery of delayed reactions of battlestress by Dr Michael Robertson of the Mayo Clinic reveals anotherthreat of combat trauma. Those who are free of any type of combatstress signs today could be a future vulnerable group. Therefore,psycho education and effective combat trauma treatment measures shouldbe introduced to our health system.

Ranil Shriyan Wickremesinghe, MP (born March 24, 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician and current Leader of the Opposition. He was Prime Minister of Sri Lanka twice, from May 7, 1993 to August 19, 1994 and from December 9, 2001 to April 6, 2004. A member of the United National Party he was appointed as party leader in November 1994. He is also the leader of the United National Front, been appointed as the head of the alliance in October 2009.

Antecedents

Ranil Shriyan Wickremasinghe is the second son of Esmond and Nalini Wickremasinghe. Esmond Wickremasinghe was a press baron, an ex-Samasamajist and supremo of the Lake House group of newspapers. His paternal uncle Lakshman Wickremasinghe was a Bishop of the Church of Sri Lanka. His maternal line consisted of newspaper barons and landowners, the Wijewardenas, who were Sinhala Buddhists. His maternal grandfather was D. R. Wijewardena, the founder of the Lake House publishing empire a pro-independence activist and a financier of the independence movement. He was a nephew of J.R. Jayewardene, later President of Sri Lanka.

Education

Wickremesinghe was educated at Royal College, Colombo where he was a classmate and a good friend of Anura Bandaranaike, son of then Prime Minister Solomon Bandaranaike and Dinesh Gunawardena, son of socialist leader Philip Gunawardena. Wickremasinghe entered the Faculty of Law at the University of Ceylon, Colombo campus (now University of Colombo). After graduation he completed the law exams at the Sri Lanka Law College and took oaths as an advocate in 1972. Of all the Presidents and Prime Ministers of Sri Lanka, Wickremesinghe is the only person to graduate from a local university, the remainder either not attending university or having degrees from foreign universities.

Early Political career

Wickremasinghe joined the United National Party (UNP) and progressed through its ranks. He was appointed as the chief organizer of the Kelaniya Parliamentary seat in the mid 1970s but was later appointed as the chief organizer of the Biyagama seat, which he won in the 1977 parliamentary elections.

Youngest cabinet minister

He was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in the new government of J. R. Jayawardene, and was soon promoted to the post of Minister of Youth Affairs and Employment, which made him the youngest cabinet minister of Sri Lanka[3]. During his term as deputy minister, he initiated the Sri Lanka National Guard and the National Youth Services Council (NYSCO), which provides vocational and career training to school leavers. Wickramasinghe was later made the Minister of Education.

Prime minister (1993–1994)

Under the Presidency of Ranasinghe Premadasa, Wickremasinghe was appointed as the Minister of Industry, under which he initiated industrial reforms and established the Biyagama Special Economic Zone. Wickramasinghe had competition from his senoir colleagues in the UNP, Lalith Athulathmudali and Gamini Dissanayake, who had been rivals of President Premadasa. He was appointed the Leader of the House in 1989. On May 7, 1993 Wickramasinghe was sworn in as Prime Minister after President Ranasinghe Premadasa was assassinated by the Tamil Tigers, and Prime Minister D. B. Wijethunge was appointed acting president.

During his term he was credited for pushing the country through an impressive economic transformation and was generally backed by the business community.

Opposition (1994–2001)

In the 1994 parliamentary elections, the UNP lost to Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga’s People’s Alliance (PA), and Kumaratunga was appointed Prime Minister of the country. Wickremasinghe was defeated in the race for Opposition Leader by two votes by fellow UNP member Gamini Dissanayake, who had re-joined the party. This gave Gamini Dissanayake the default leadership of the party and made him the presidential nominee of the UNP. The UNP was progressing well under Gamini Dissanayake’s leadership, when he too was assassinated by the Tamil Tigers. Gamini Dissanayake’s widow, Srima replaced him as the candidate of the UNP in the 1994 election. Securing just 35% of the vote, she lost to Chandrika Kumaratunga in all electorates except Mahiyangana. Afterwards, Wickramasinghe was appointed as the opposition leader as well as the UNP leader.

Wickremasinghe was seen as a co-operative opposition leader who gave the government a chance to carry out its agenda in its early days.

In the 1999 election, Wickramasinghe was nominated as UNP’s Presidential candidate. After a tense election campaign in the wake of the violent North Western Provincial Council election, the Tamil Tigers blasted a suicide bomb in an election campaign rally, in which President Kumaratunga lost her right eye. In the election held two days later December 21, 1999, amidst a wave of sympathy, Kumaratunga received 51% of the popular vote to be re-elected for another term as Executive President. The gap between Wickramasinghe and Kumaratunga was approximately 700,000 votes (6% of the valid votes). Kumaratunga was sworn in for her second term as President on December 22, 1999.

After the loss of the 1999 presidential elections, Wickremasinghe unsuccessfully led his party in the 2000 parliamentary elections, again losing out to the PA.

Prime minister (2001–2004)

In the parliamentary general election 2001 UNF, leaded by Ranil Wickremesinghe, won 109 seats and PA was able to obtain only 77 seats. Consequently he was able to form a new UNF government and sworn as the 17th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka on 9 December 2001.

However Chandrika Kumaratunga still remained as the President of the country. This lead to a confusing situation where the President and the Prime Minister were from two opposite parties. Although, according to the constitution, both head of state and head of government was the President, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was able to appoint his own cabinet and he had the actual control over the government. President Chandrika Kumaratunga also chaired cabinet meetings as de facto head, but her influence over decision making was strictly limited.

Economic Policy

Ranil Wickremesinghe is well known for his right wing, liberal economic policies. He relied on the support of Western governments and foreign investors. During his term as Prime Minister, he made some significant reforms in order to ear n this. He emphasized in privatising government ventures and in cutting down the high public sector workforce. Ranil Wickremesinghe also stopped all recruitments to the public sector during his tenant.

However, his policies set off a considerable recovery in the down falling country’s economy. In 2002 he was able to secure a GDP growth rate of 4.0% which was -1.5% in the previous year. During the next two years of his tenant he attained the figures 5.9% and 5.4% respectively. Also he was able to keep the inflation (annul percent increase) below 10%. In December 2002 Ranil Wickremesinghe brought forward a solution package called Regaining Sri Lanka as a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) in order to reduce the poverty of the country and to gain debt reliefs.

Foreign Policy

Ranil Wickremesinghe’s foreign policy during his tenant as the Prime Minister was predominantly Pro-Western. He allied with countries like United States, Great Britain, Norway and Japan. He expected their economical backing to overcome the economical crisis. He also largely depended on their guidance, especially from Norway, to resolve the ongoing Ethnic Problem in Sri Lanka.

During his relatively short tenant as the Prime Minister he was able to meet a few of the world’s top leaders. He met President George W. Bush on July 2002, for the first time after 18 years a Sri Lankan leader met the US leader in the White House. This visit was primarily focused on building new relationships based on economical links between United States and Sri Lanka. Furthermore, US government pledged to support his peace efforts with LTTE. He also met the Prime Minister of Great Britain Tony Blair , the Prime Minister of Japan Junichiro Koizumi and the Prime Minister of India Atal Behari Vajpayee. Many of these visits were focused on the issues regarding resolving the Ethnic Problem in Sri Lanka.

Peace Process

Ranil Wickremesinghe’s believed a political solution based on a United Sri Lanka was the permanent solution to the Ethnic Problem in Sri Lanka. He also believed that such an solution could be reached through a peaceful negotiation process with LTTE.

Ceasefire Agreement (CFA)

Three months after the election Ranil Wickremesinghe’s government entered into a ceasefire agreement (CFA) with LTTE. The agreement was signed on 22 February 2002 at different locations in the war zone by both parties and Norwegian Ambassador to Sri Lanka Jon Westborg acted as the facilitator. It was said that the main objective of this agreement was to find a negotiated solution to the ongoing ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. Both parties agreed to halt all offensive military operations. An international monitoring mission called Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) was formed to enquire into any instance of violation of the terms and conditions of this agreement.

In the aftermath of signing CFA the island was deemed as a safe place once again, after decades of war. Specially tourism industry experienced a significant escalation where the number of tourists arrived to the country was suddenly increased. The A9 Highway was reopened up to Kilinochchi on 15 February 2002 after 18 years. Many checkpoints and road blocks were removed in government controlled areas.

Peace Talks

After signing CFA Ranil Wickremesinghe held a few rounds of peace talks with LTTE between 2002-2003. Prof. G. L. Peiris, minister Milinda Moragoda and minister Rauff Hakeem led the government delegation and LTTE theoretician Anton Balasingham, LTTE political wing leader S.P. Thamilselvan and military leader Karuna Amman led the LTTE faction during the peace talks. The Royal Norwegian government acted as the chief facilitator during the peace talks. There were six rounds of peace talks which were held at different locations around the world:

1. 16-18 September 2002, Bangkok [21]

2. 31 October-3 November 2002, Bangkok [22]

3. 2-5 December 2002, Oslo [23]

4. 6-9 January 2003, Bangkok [24]

5. 7-8 February 2003, Berlin [25]

6. 18-21 March 2003, Tokyo [26]

After the Oslo round of peace talks in December 2003, a concluding statement was declared by the Norwegian facilitators which later became known as Oslo Declaration. In this statement it was stated that “both parties have decided to explore a political solution founded on internal self-determination based on a federal structure within a united Sri Lanka”. This was considered as one of the most significant incidents in the history of finding a political solution to the Ethnic Problem in Sri Lanka.

After the 6th round of peace talks in March 2003 LTTE abruptly withdrew from the peace talks. However in October 2003 LTTE again showed some intensions of entering into the peace process, calling for an Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA). The proposal was handed over to the government through Norwegian Ambassador Hans Brattskar.

Criticism on Peace Process

The opposition and the nationalistic movements of the country strongly opposed CFA and the overall peace process of Ranil Wickremesinghe’s regime. They continuously criticized and protested against CFA claiming it as a threat to the sovereignty of the country which ultimately leads the way to a separate state for LTTE, so called Ealam. It was later claimed by Karuna Amman who defected from the LTTE during Ranil Wickremesinghe’s regime that the LTTE dragged the peace talks in order to smuggle weapons and ammunition including aircraft.

LTTE continuously violated CFA in great many occasions. In August 2007 SLMM agreed that LTTE had violated CFA in total 3830 occasions while government of Sri Lanka had violated CFA in only 351 occasions. Several Sri Lankan Army intelligence operatives were allegedly killed by LTTE during this period.

Nationalistic movements of the country also widely criticized the proposal for an Interim Self Governing Authority by LTTE arguing that would divide the country. They claimed it had all the pre-requirements for a separate state for LTTE. Ultimately CFA and its consequences became the main topic of debate during Presidential Election. It was evident from the results of the election that the Sinhalese majority of the country disapproved of CFA.

End of the Regime

Few days after LTTE proposed of the Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA), President Chandrika Kumaratunga sacked three ministers of the cabinet and took over the ministries using her constitutional powers ending the uneasy coalition between her and the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe while he was out of the country. Addressing the nation she claimed that this decision was taken in the interest of national security.

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna also decided to ally with PA in order to defeat the Ranil Wickremesinghe’s government which they claimed as a threat to the sovereignty of the country. Consequently President Chandrika Kumaratunga dissolved the parliament on 7 February 2004 which effectively ended Ranil Wickremesinghe’s regime.

Opposition (2004-present)

In the 2004 Parliamentary Elections held on April 2 Ranil Wickremesinghe’s UNF lost governmental office. Despite the expectation of a full six year term, and planned projects cut short by the defeat, the UNP was optimistic that it could regain power in a future election. Within 14 months of UPFA”s victory, the radical JVP wing’s (composed of over 30 members) parting of ways with the government, left the UPFA’s parliamentary composition well short of the required majority.

Presidential Election 2005

In December 2004, Wickremesinghe was chosen by the United National Party as its Presidential candidate for Presidential Elections due in late 2005. The Supreme Court decided in August 2005 that the elections should be held that year despite the President’s argument that her term would end in 2006. Mahinda Rajapaksa, then Prime Minister, was nominated as the Presidential candidate of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party.

In the Presidential Election held on November 17, 2005, Wickremesinghe was defeated narrowly by Mahinda Rajapaksa, who gained 50.29% of the vote to Wickramasinghe’s 48.43%. A large number of the minority Tamil population in the Northern and Eastern parts of the country, who were largely expected to back Wickramasinghe were prevented from voting by the extremist LTTE, which had enforced a boycott of the polls.

Dissent within the Party

Dr. Sarath Amunugama and Nanda Mathew were the first UNP members of parliament to crossover and joined the government in 1999 during Ranil Wickremesinghe’s tenant as the leader of UNP. This was followed by Wijayapala Mendis, a veteran UNPer and a member of parliament since 1965, who joined the government in 2000.

In 2004 after the defeat in 2004 parliamentary election a senior member of UNP and a former minister of Ranil Wickramasinghe’s 2001-2004 government, Rohitha Bogollagama switched sides and allied with government. Soon after the defeat in the presidential election in 2005 Mahinda Samarasinghe and Keheliya Rambukwella defected to the government. Both were former ministers of Ranil Wickramasinghe’s 2001-2004 government and senior members of the party. Mahinda Samarasinghe was the government chief whip (2001-2004) and the opposition chief whip(2004-2006). Keheliya Rambukwella had gained the highest number of votes in 2004 parliamentary election from Kandy district.

Following the controversy that resulted in the rejection of the UNP list of candidates for the Colombo Municipal Council election in 2006 that lead to the UNP losing control over the Council after 50 years, prompted several senior members in the party to challenge Wickremesinghe’s leadership and demanded his resignation as party leader. This group pushed to have Wickremesinghe replaced by the deputy party leader Karu Jayasuriya. However this bid fell thought due to the lack of support from the majority of the party seniors.

In 2007, Wickremesinghe established a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Mahinda Rajapaksa government agreeing to UNP’s collaboration with the government on issues of national interest. However, shortly afterwards, 17 of the UNP’s 60 members in parliament, including the group who had challenged Wickremesinghe’s leadership, lead by deputy leader Karu Jayasuriya crossed over to the governing UPFA ranks in parliament and were given ministerial appointments. The group consisted of senior members of UNP and many of them were former ministers of Ranil Wickremesinghe’s 2001-2004 government: Karu Jayasuriya (Deputy Leader of UNP), M. H. Mohamed (former speaker of the parliament), Milinda Moragoda, G. L. Peiris, Bandula Gunawardane, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, Gamini Lokuge, P. Dayaratna, Mano Wijeyeratne, Rajitha Senaratne, R.D. Sirisena, Mahinda Wijesekara, Naween Dissanayake, Hemakumara Nanayakkara, R. M. Dharmadasa Banda, Neomal Perera and Chandrasiri Sooriyaarachchi. However in late 2008, Jayasuriya crossed over once again to the opposition and was given back the deputy leader post.

In February 2008, Wickremasinghe was once again under pressure to step down from the party leadership to accept an advisory position, from a majority of the UNP’s parliamentary group. In March, the UNP working committee decided to create a new post called Senior Leader of the party and appointed Wickremasinghe to the post. This was amid discussion with the UNP’s parliamentary group about the need for the Wickremasinghe to relinquish his post (of party leader) so that a new leader could be appointed. However, late March the party working committee decided that he should remain as the party leader.

The defection of the party stalwarts to join the government continued thereafter: Susantha Punchinilame, Mahinda Rathnathilaka and Nandimithra Ekanayake who were members of parliament,a famous business tycoon and UNP Anuradhapura district leaderThilanga Sumathipala, a promient UNP youth leader and a member of Western Provincial Council R. Duminda Silva, a former UNP member of parliament and a veteran actor Ravindra Randeniya, opposition leader in North Western Provincial Council Ashoka Wadigamangawa all allied with the government in different occasions.

S.B. Dissanayake, a senior UNP leader, joined the government in December 2009. He was the national organizer of the party,and the opposition leader in Central Provincial Council. S.B. Dissanayake obtained the highest number of votes in Kandy District in 2009 Provincial Council Elections.

The most recent defection was the members of Parliament Johnston Fernando and Indika Bandaranayake joining the government.

Provincial Elections (2008 – 2009)

With the success in defeating LTTE in war, government held a series of provincial elections in 2008 and 2009 for 8 provincial councils (Eastern, North Central, Sabaragamuwa, North Western, Central, Western, Uva and Southern). In all occasions UNP was soundly defeated by a large margin by UPFA. Of all the elections UNP obtained only 30% of the total polled and UPFA was able to gain 59% of the total polled. The magin was 2,527,783 compared to 180,786 in Presidential Election in 2005.

Presidential Election 2010

Ranil Wickramasinghe, signed an Alliance Agreement with twelve other opposition parties in November 2009 and he announced that, a Common Candidate would be fielded for the Presidential Election which will be held in 2010. Later he announced that the former Army Commander, Sarath Fonseka has been selected as the common candidate and pledged to support him.

Family

In 1994, he married Dr Maitree Wickramasinghe,a Senior Lecturer of the Department of English at the University of Kelaniya. She is the only daughter of the late Senevi B. Wickremasinghe and Shiranee Wickremasinghe (née Bandaratilaka) of Nawala, Koswatte.

International Affiliations

He is a member of Mont Pelerin Society. The society held a special meeting in Sri Lanka in year 2004 under his influence, when he was Prime Minister.

Source: Wikipedia

Up and coming star Upeksha Swarnamali better known by the masses as Chanchala, will play the title role in Paba together with young star Amila Abeysekara and other seasoned stars.

Upeksha is the best Dancer in Sirasa Dancing Star Season 1, unfortunately lost that crown. She is the most good looking actress of Sri Lankan Tele Dramas.Upeksha will be seen in more powerful role in the movie ‘Bombs and Roses’(Bombs and Roses) directed by Anurudda Jayasinghe.

Source: Wikipedia

The word “deterrence” comes from the Latin root meaning “fear.” In theory, war is deterred by instilling fear in potential enemies. To this end, Israel is said to have amassed tremendous destructive potential – allegedly 200 nuclear warheads. While this arsenal may incite fear in potential foes, the same fear encourages other countries like Iran to acquire nuclear weapons as well, further inflaming regional tensions and hatred. For this reason, no country committed to defense solely through destructive power is likely to generate a trust-based, peaceful atmosphere.

Diplomacy and economic sanctions likewise have not been sufficient to resolve the fear crisis – which is driven by human behavioral dynamics that cannot be controlled by such methods alone.

War and conflict are human problems requiring human solutions. The underlying cause of conflict is accumulated social stress. Therefore, neutralizing this collective stress would reduce the probability of hostilities by easing tensions between competing factions. A technology that accomplished such an outcome would have historic importance.

Today the military of Israel has an opportunity to address this fundamental cause of war by deploying a new, scientifically verified technology of defense beyond nuclear weapons.

A New, Safe Solution: Invincible Defense Technology

A proven new technology of defense is now available, called Invincible Defense Technology (IDT). This is a technology of national security, fully capable of defending Israel from any destructive technology, including nuclear weapons. The militaries of Mozambique and Ecuador have already applied IDT in order to defuse and eliminate conflict. It was applied by a civilian group in Israel to reduce warfare in Lebanon. Extensive research has confirmed its effectiveness. This new technology is easily implemented, highly cost-effective, and can prevent disruption and attack from outside or from within the country.

This new technology of defense is based upon the latest discoveries in the fields of physics, neuroscience, and physiology. Ultimately, IDT is based on the discovery of the unified field of all the laws of nature – the most fundamental and powerful level of nature’s dynamics. Technologies based upon this unified field of natural law have such concentrated power that they can render obsolete and irrelevant every objective technology and destructive means of defense.

Modern science has probed deeper levels of nature’s functioning, from the macroscopic world of classical physics to the world of the atom, then to the underlying field of the atomic nucleus, and then to the subnuclear levels. This exploration has culminated in the description of the unified field, the unified source of the diversified laws of nature governing the universe. From its purely self-interacting dynamics, the unified field creates from within itself all the particles and forces that compose the universe, and all the diversified streams of natural law governing the nuclear, atomic, molecular, and macroscopic levels. Because the unified field is vastly more powerful concentrated energy than any other level of nature’s dynamics, any technology of defense based upon the unified field is of historic importance.

Some might worry that IDT could be unsafe. The development of nuclear power has threatened humankind with nuclear conflagration and has cast a shadow over the safety and security of the whole world. Fortunately, there is no danger to humankind from IDT, which is a technology of the unified field. A technology of the unified field operates at the basis of the laws of nature governing the universe – a completely unified and holistic level of nature’s functioning. Because this level of natural law is holistic, it is naturally free of the negative, unanticipated side effects that accompany technologies based upon fragmented levels of natural law, such as nuclear weaponry.

The discovery of the unified field is a scientific development of the foremost order – a rigorous mathematical development based upon the Lagrangian of Superstring Field Theory, a highly compact mathematical formula that describes the self-interacting dynamics of unity at the basis of all the diverse laws of nature governing the universe. A technology based upon this complete, most comprehensive level of nature’s functioning is completely different from and vastly more powerful than defensive technologies based upon diversified levels of natural law – nuclear technologies, chemical technologies, biological technologies, electronic technologies – because these all utilize specific laws of nature in isolation. The nature of the unified field and it technologies reveals that invincibility in nature is available only at this superunified level.

The more fundamental levels of nature’s functioning offer technologies that are increasingly powerful. For example, a country armed only with conventional weaponry, such as explosives, cannot deter a nation equipped with nuclear weaponry. The principle here is that an invincible structure at one level of technology can be overwhelmed by a more fundamental level of technology. The ultimate application of this basic principle is that the unified field, at the superunified scale – the Planck scale of nature’s functioning – yields complete invincibility. Any less fundamental level of technology, including all current technologies of defense, is rendered obsolete through a technology of the unified field. And it is just such a technology that Israel needs to deploy today.

Accessing the Unified Field Within: The Transcendental Meditation Program

Since the unified field is the source of the objective world, its power cannot be harnessed through objective technologies. A new approach is needed – one that draws upon the world’s subjective traditions of meditation. Properly understood and properly practiced, meditation throughout the ages has been a systematic technology to turn human awareness within to experience and explore finer levels of thought. The experience of these deeper levels of human intelligence corresponds to the experience of deeper levels of intelligence in nature. This inward exploration of consciousness culminates in the direct experience of the deepest level of consciousness – the simplest, silent, settled state of human awareness, sometimes called the state of pure consciousness – in which the human mind identifies with the unified field. By turning the attention systematically within, human awareness experiences and explores deeper levels of nature’s functioning and directly experiences the unified field at the source of thought – the field of unity at the basis of mind and matter.

This approach of direct experience of the unified field is both ancient and modern. The Vedic tradition of knowledge, from ancient India, is the most complete and highly developed tradition of meditation in the world. This ancient approach of gaining knowledge and experience of natural law, the unified field, has become the focus of intense scientific research over the past 50 years. The late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi revived, from the ancient Vedic science of consciousness, systematic technologies for experiencing the unified field, including the Transcendental Meditation program and its advanced techniques. The military application of these meditation practices is known as IDT. They have been successfully used by members of many faiths to eliminate conflict in the recent past. If Israel were to apply this human resource-based technology, which is non-lethal and non-destructive, it could reduce the collective societal stress that is fueling the rising tensions between Iran and Israel.

Transcendental Meditation Is Not a Religion

People from all religious backgrounds practice the Transcendental Meditation program and appreciate how it has enhanced their faith.

Rabbi Michael Shevack of the Bucks County Free Synagogue in Point Pleasant, Pennsylvania, commented on his experience of the TM program with reference to his practice of Judaism:

“There is a common misconception amongst many different ‘western’ religions, mainly Judaism, Christianity and Islam, that Transcendental Meditation is a form of some kind of Hindu worship and is therefore pagan. Based on my direct experience with the TM technique, I can clearly say that this idea is a misunderstanding and is simply not true.

“In fact, my experience as a TM practitioner, since the age of 17 (I am now 55) has proven just the opposite. At first I was attracted to TM as a way to reduce stress, and was very excited by the hundreds of studies that demonstrated it having a positive effect on lowering stress, blood pressure and improving generally well-being, both mental and physical. However, as I practiced TM, I found that these benefits were actually mere ‘byproducts’ of the experience.

“I found that I was opening, day after day, meditation after meditation, to what I considered to be a deep spiritual experience. Such an experience was not ‘other worldly,’ nor did it belong to ‘another religion.’ Such an experience was deeply rooted in the practical day to day experiences of life, and as such, became deeply integrated with the practice of my day to day Judaism. I found that TM opened me up to intuitive insights and understandings which helped ‘make sense’ of my Jewish practice; it made the observance of my own faith increasingly alive and spiritually vibrant…Based on my experience, I can say that there is nothing to fear about TM. If you are Christian, it will make you more Christian. If you are Jewish, it will make you more Jewish. If you are Muslim, it will make you more Muslim. Due to the growing appreciation of one’s own faith through TM, one does not seek out other religions; one becomes fulfilled in one’s own.

“Lastly, as a leader in inter-religious dialogue, who has worked with many of the world’s noble religions, I believe that TM can provide a doorway to a common spiritual understanding and experience that can help bring about, and speed, the development of mutual respect and understanding of the world’s religions, by deepening and enlivening the universal spiritual foundation upon which they are all based.

“In short, it is a fast, effective, universal approach to peace.

The Maharishi Effect

According to extensive scientific research, the size of the group of IDT experts needed to reduce social stress and create peace in a given population must be at least the square root of one percent of the population. To calculate this number, multiply the population size by 0.01, and then take the square root of this number. For instance, Israel has a population of approximately 7.5 million, and 7,500,000 x 0.01 = 75,000. The square root of 75,000 is approximately 274, so a group of at least 274 IDT experts is needed.

Studies show that when the required threshold of IDT experts is crossed, crime goes down in the affected population, quality of life indices go up, and war and terrorism decrease. Scientists have named this phenomenon the Maharishi Effect in honor of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who first predicted it over 30 years ago.

For instance, in 1993, a two-month Maharishi Effect intervention was implemented and studied in Washington, DC. Predictions of specific drops in crime and other indices were lodged in advance with government leaders and newspapers. The research protocol was approved by an independent Project Review Board. The findings showed that crime fell 24 percent below the predicted level when the peace-creating group reached its maximum size. Temperature, weekend effects, or previous trends in the data failed to account for changes. This research was published in the peer-reviewed Social Indicators Research (1999, vol. 47, 153-201).

Over 50 studies have shown that IDT works. The causal mechanism has been postulated to be a field effect of consciousness-a spillover effect on the level of the unified field from the peace-creating group into the larger population. On this basis, a study published in the Journal of Social Behavior and Personality (2005, vol. 17, 285-338) offers an explanation of a proposed causality of IDT in biological terms. The neurotransmitter serotonin produces feelings of contentment, happiness and even euphoria. Low levels of serotonin, according to research, correlate with violence, aggression, and poor emotional moods. The IDT study showed that higher numbers of IDT experts practicing in groups correlated with a marked increase in serotonin production among other community members who were neither participating in the IDT group nor aware of the study. These results were statistically significant and followed the attendance figures in the IDT group. This finding offers a plausible neurophysiologic mechanism to explain reduced hostility and aggression in society at large.

IDT Group Size and Quality of Life in Israel

Quality of life in Israel improved and intensity of the conflict in Lebanon decreased in direct proportion to the number of Invincible Defense Technology experts in the coherence-creating group (Journal of Conflict Resolution, 1988, vol. 32, #4, pp. 776-812). A short online video (5:38) featuring Dr. John Hagelin explains this finding.

The Maharishi Effect has also been documented on a global scale in a study published in the Journal of Offender Rehabilitation (2003, vol. 36, 283-302). When large assemblies of IDT experts exceeded the Maharishi Effect threshold for the world (about 7,000 at that time) during the years 1983–1985, terrorism globally decreased 72%, international conflict decreased 32%, and violence was reduced in other nations without intrusion by other governments. This study used data provided by the Rand Corporation.

This approach utilizes large groups of peace-creating experts practicing ancient technologies of consciousness that harness the most powerful level of nature’s functioning – the unified field described by superstring theory. Research published in peer-reviewed journals indicates that such groups can effectively defuse and prevent social problems like crime, war and terrorism.

No Enemies Means No War

Today, the only way to assure national security and invincibility is to be a nation without enemies. Conventional means of defense cannot fully protect a nation against modern destructive technologies: weapons of mass destruction, nuclear weapons, biological weapons, chemical weapons, long-range push-button electronic missile technologies, or terrorism. The most effective defense is to prevent the birth of an enemy. This can be achieved, in a scientific way, by targeting and neutralizing the enmity in a potential adversary so that no enemies arise.

On the left, an external magnetic field penetrates an ordinary conductor whose electrons behave in a chaotic or disorderly way.	On the right, the external magnetic field is excluded from the interior of a super-conductor whose electrons function in a coherent collective manner – invincibility.	The Maharishi Effect creates invincible “national armor” that cannot be penetrated by the collective negativity of other countries.

Through this revitalization of the technology of the unified field and through intense scientific scrutiny of its deep principles, Maharishi has revived a technology of invincibility at a time of enormous global vulnerability. Now it is possible, through this most advanced technology of defense – IDT – to prevent war on a scientific basis, and to safeguard the youth of the country who, if they simply utilize this technology, will never have to face the devastation of war. This technology can prevent the birth of an enemy, and can create a family of nations that is harmonious and peaceful, each nation invincibly strong within itself.

The Opportunity for Permanent Peace in the Middle East

The military of Israel is charged with the responsibility to defend the country. It can now succeed in this mission simply by creating a Prevention Wing of the Military – a coherence-creating group of IDT experts equaling or exceeding the square root of 1% of the population of Israel. The rest of the military can continue to do exactly what they already do and can continue to receive exactly the same training that they conventionally receive. Only a Prevention Wing of the Military needs to be trained in these additional technologies for invincibility – the science and technology of consciousness, the technology of the unified field. That small group can prevent war on a scientific basis and produce such indomitable coherence and invincibility that none of the other soldiers will ever have to face the devastation of war. In addition, these technologies powerfully improve and benefit the lives of the soldiers themselves, developing their full brain potential, robust health, dynamism, imperviousness to the stress of the battlefield, and many other benefits, as scientific research has confirmed.

Application of this technology is extremely easy and cost-effective because no expensive equipment or machinery or weaponry is required. All that is needed is the human nervous system – an extraordinarily sophisticated and refined machinery – which can be trained and put immediately to this purpose of accessing and harnessing the almost limitless power of the unified field. A small group of soldiers can achieve true national security and invincibility, whereas previously thousands of soldiers could not.

Only a small percent of the military is needed. There is no risk to the military – nothing to lose and everything to gain. In addition to national security and invincibility – which are, of course, the foremost goal – this approach also generates side benefits, such as economic growth, improvement of health throughout Israel, and improvement of educational standards in the country. When the national mood is bolstered and buoyed by growing positivity and coherence in collective consciousness, as generated by the IDT group, then the confidence of the nation’s citizens increases and the economy improves.

All areas of society are simultaneously enriched by this holistically life-supporting, life-benefiting technology. It is effective and cost-effective, and the results are immediate. All that is necessary is to provide the proper training for a group of military personnel – or indeed, any large group within the country. Israel has the opportunity today through IDT to create true national security and invincibility.

cartoon Invincible Defense Technology

“Very impressive, General. But what I really want to know is how many Invincible Defense Technology Experts you have in your military!”

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About the Authors:

Dr. John HagelinJohn Hagelin, Ph.D. is the Director of the Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy (ISTPP), an organization in the United States that advocates scientifically proven, prevention-oriented solutions to critical global problems. He is a Harvard-trained quantum physicist who won the prestigious Kilby Award, which recognizes scientists who have made “major contributions to society through their applied research in the fields of science and technology.” Dr. Hagelin also serves as the Executive Director of the International Center for Invincible Defense and as International Director of the Global Union of Scientists for Peace.

Dr. David LefflerDavid Leffler, Ph.D. a United States Air Force veteran, is the Executive Director of the Center for Advanced Military Science (CAMS) at ISTPP. Dr. Leffler received his Ph.D. from The Union Institute & University in Cincinnati, Ohio where he did his doctoral research on the topic of IDT. He serves on the Board of Editors for the Journal of Management & Social Sciences (JMSS) Institute of Business & Technology BIZTEK in Pakistan. David served as an Associate of the Proteus Management Group at the Center for Strategic Leadership, US Army War College and is a member of the U.S. Naval Institute.

Widely known among his peers in Sri Lanka and globally as a man of integrity, General Fonseka has an unblemished track record as a leader who stood up against corruption, special interests and lobbyists, within and outside the military. In the army he introduced merit over seniority, a first for the nation.

Sarath Fonseka does not hesitate to speak the truth, and throughout his career he has often challenged his friends and foes alike, whether it be his fellow officers or his superiors, and has gained a reputation as a man of honesty and humility.

More importantly, General Foneska is a man who has devoted his entire life to the service of his fellow citizens. Leaving aside his personal comfort and perks, General Foneska has demonstrated that he can, and will achieve what is good for his county and for his fellow citizens.

General Foneska’s experience in military matters made him a very popular figure among all Sri Lankan citizens. Many statesmen admired his courage, stance on military matters, and his astute policy insights into governance and strengthening democracy. As a moderate he has been able to achieve the unthinkable in Sri Lanka’s political history. Due to his determination to put his country before himself, he has been able to unite major political parties and ethnic communities to work with him to guide our beloved motherland to a prosperous future; a place where every citizen regardless of their ethnicity, religion and identity can live freely with pride and dignity.

Source: www.sarathfonseka.com

The mental health of children is severely compromised by war and
consequent displacement. Nations have a duty under various UN
agreements to alleviate the effects of war on children’s mental health.

Professor William Yule

UNICEF recently estimated that over 80% of the victims of todays Warfare is women and children. Children who are a vulnerable group have suffered severe traumatic events during the Eelam War. Children of the North as well as of the South have experienced many anxiety related conditions as a result of the 25 year armed conflict in Sr Lanka. They are traumatized children and have various behavioral problems. They are at a high risk of developing numerous psychological ailments. As Ana Freud & Burlingham stated in 1943 Children are always the most vulnerable and generally more exposed citizens in countries where declared and undeclared wars rage.

There has been many research world wide that indicate children of the war zones undergo severe psychological trauma. The research in Gaza, Rwanda, Mozambique and Cambodia reveal children who were exposed to war and atrocities are at a high risk of developing PTSD. Abdel Aziz Mousa Thabet of Gaza Community Mental Health Programme and a Senior Lecturer in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Birmingham did a study to estimate the rate of Posttraumatic stress reactions in Palestinian children who experienced war traumas, and to investigate the relationship between trauma-related factors and PTSD reactions. The sample consisted of 239 children of 6 to 11 years of age. 174 children (72.8%) reported PTSD reactions of at least mild intensity, while 98 (41%) reported moderate/severe PTSD reactions.

Organized and institutionalized violence like war can affect children in many ways. The effects of traumatic events on children are even greater when that trauma is due to modern warfare. In Sri Lanka a large number of children have been exposed to war trauma. There are numerous case examples which show the occurrence of anxiety reactions among the affected children.

Little K was nine years old when she became a victim of a cross fire between the armed forces and Tamil militants in the North. She sustained a gun shot injury to her left arm. She underwent a traumatic amputation of the left hand. The doctors were compelled to perform this operation in order to save her life. After the operation she was taken to an orphanage in Mulangavil in Killinochi district. She has fear feelings, night terror, bed wetting, hyperarousal and alienation. Traumatized war- zone children like little K carry the psychological scars throughout their lives.

Children who have experienced or been exposed to war trauma may have numerous symptoms including trauma based behavior. They often have anxieties and insecurities that can cause them to perceive every aspect of the world as being unsafe and frightening. The grow up with a generalized fear and hostility which affects their future lives. Trauma is often associated with intense feelings of humiliation, self-blame, shame and guilt, which result from the sense of powerlessness and may lead to a sense of alienation and avoidance. Therefore the initial trauma could become a vicious cycle.

Following case study gives a crude assumption of the longitudinal effects of psychological trauma on children which can affect their later lives.

Master S was 12 years old when 1983 communal riots erupted. His family was hiding in a nebhouring house to evade the mob attack. The attackers burnt their house while Master S and his kid sister hiding under a bed in their Sinhalese nebhour s house. He could hear the shoutings of the mob and the schreemings of the victims. Master S had fear feelings and he thought that the mob would kill him. These fears lasted for many years as he grew older.

Following day their kind nebhour with the help of the Police took them to the refugee camp at Bambalapitiya Kadirashan Kovil . Before going to the camp Master S had a quick glance at their house which was completely destroyed by the fire. He felt sorry for loosing his books and toys.

After spending several months in the refugee camp his father was managed to get asylum in West Germany. For many years S had a nostalgic feelings of his lost books and toys also fear that a group of people would come and attack him unexpectedly.

After coming to West Germany S underwent a prolonged cultural shock and frequently felt a misfit in the Western society. He became more isolated and neglected his studies. As a teenager he became more and more hostile and frequently had conflicts with the parents. After spending 12 years in West Germany S moved to Canada and got married. But he always felt the empty space and became emotionally numbed. On some occasions he could not control his temper and engaged in domestic violence. His violent outburst resulted an injury to his wife and S was charged by the Canadian Authorities. Today he is serving a prison term.

Children who had witnessed the war trauma and atrocities can have diminished cognitive abilities. They frequently have learning difficulties at school. Some have behavioral disorders. Most of them do not receive proper psychological therapies and rehabilitation. Jensen and Shaw (Jensen PS, Shaw J: Children as victims of war) indicated that there is conflicting and controversial literature on children’s reactions to war-related stress. They suggested that children’s cognitive immaturity and adaptive flexibility may mitigate the anticipated stressful effects.

As the researcher Osofsky, 1995 indicates the differential response to trauma depends, in part, on the child’s age and level of psychological maturity. Children vary in their reactions to traumatic events. Some suffer from fears and memories immediately after the event, which dissolve with time and emotional support. Other children are more severely affected by trauma and experience long-term problems.

Children of the war zone may exhibit regressive behaviors such as bed-wetting, thumb-sucking or fear of the dark. They may have increased difficulties separating from their parents. Also they can have attention problems and learning difficulties at school. Many of these affected children can have somatic complaints, irrational fears, sleep problems, nightmares, irritability and angry outbursts. They may appear to be depressed and more withdrawn.

Adolescent (ages 12 to 18) responses are more similar to adults and they are at increased risk for problems with substance abuse, peer problems and depression.

Child soldiers have been exposed to events beyond the normal boundaries of human experiences. This is a story of a child solder whose pseudonym is SE .

SE was 11 years old when he was forcefully recruited as a child soldier by the LTTE. During the training period he was beaten and threatened to be killed if he did not obey the orders. Once he saw a killing of a rival member by the LTTE. Along with other children he had to take part in a number of attacks against the Sri Lankan Army. They were called the members of the Baby Brigade. The Baby Brigade was a support team for the adult fighters. They never had the opportunity of going to school after they became child soldiers. Instead of books they carried AK 47 and grenades. Their childhood had been stolen.

Little SE witnessed a number of horrific events which changed his psychological makeup drastically. He was forced to observe torture, then forced to induce it on victims. Today SE is in a rehabilitation center but his horrendous psychological scars have not left him completely. He has intense rage , suicidal urge and alienation. Once a bright and innocent student now has become a victim of the Eelam War.

Exposure to war traumas can deleteriously affect children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development and pose significant problems into adulthood if left untreated. Exposure to war situations children lose predictability in their lives. They become far a way from daily routine and daily habits which provide security for them. It affects their psychosocial development negatively.

Master P was terrified when air attacks took place in Jaffna. During this attack his neighbor’s house was destroyed and some were critically injured. They were taken to the Jaffna hospital. Master P becomes anxious when he hears aircraft sounds. He has startling reactions, intrusive memories of the air attacks and sometimes nightmares.

Children’s well-being and development depend very much on the security of family relationships and a predictable environment. Miss L was 13 when the LTTE attacked their village in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka. The attackers shot the adults and killed the children and women with knives. She was lucky to be alive. When the village was attacked she managed to escape with her uncle. But her parents and the younger brother got killed. Miss L couldn’t continue her education after the tragedy. She became more depressed and had constant feelings of being threatened, nightmares of the attack, and psycho somatic ailments.

During the Eelam war some of the Sinhalese and Tamil children witnessed the deaths of their parents or other family members. They have experienced loss of loved ones, loss of property etc. These children have undergone severe grief and some have developed pathological grief reactions. These children carry the psychological scars of these past traumatic events. Obviously the majority of them have not received adequate treatment and rehabilitation; they will become adults with the unhealed trauma. Their anger will be sublimated to the society and this is going to be a vicious cycle.

Master D (10 Y) was a bright student who suddenly showed learning difficulties and behavioral problems when his father died in the Rivirasa operation. He became aggressive and started bed wetting. He lost the interest in social activities showed positive features of Paternal Deprivation Syndrome. He was not a happy child after his fathers death.

Living with a father who is affected by the combat trauma is another predicament faced by some children. Little B was an eight year old boy who was beaten by his PTSD father an ex combatant with sudden rage. The boy was hospitalized and received treatment for his physical injuries.

Miss M (15Y) and master L (12Y) are sister and brother of the same family. Many days they had to spend the nights at neighbor’s house when their father became aggressive and went into tantrums. He is a combatant suffering from PTSD. When he experienced combat related flashbacks he became extremely violent. Their mother left the house following continuous physical aggression by the father.

In recent years, since 1990, nearly 49 wars have been waged, and 46 have been fought with small weapons. Over 40 million men, women, and children have been forced into refugee status due to war violence.A situation of war, frequently experienced by refugees, has a disorganizing and traumatizing effect on the entire family. The Eelam war caused displacements of civilians at large. Many are still living in refugee camps. Master M (9Y) and his family had to flee from his village with the other neighbors when the LTTE ordered the Muslim people to leave the North. Their family came to Puttlam and lived in a small hut without basic facilities in Alankuda- Kalpitiya. Master M became more isolated and showed positive features of anxiety and depression. He was nostalgic about his native village in Mannar. His education was disrupted and today M works as Three Wheel driver in Puttalam town. M feels himself as an alien in Kalpitiya .He is addicted to cannabis and has no long term life plans.

During the Eelam War the LTTE launched a number of suicide bombings sometimes targeting civilians. Master N (15Y) was a psychological victim of the dreaded Central Bank Bombing by the LTTE. When the blast occurred they were in a motor car. They sustained minor injuries, but master L was psychologically shattered. He had fear feelings, startling reactions, intrusions, nightmares for nearly a year.

How to heal the wounds occurred due to the armed conflict ? These children need medication, psychotherapy, psycho social rehabilitation and long term monitoring. In Sri Lanka there is a big scarcity of experts in this area. Very often traumatized children grow without psychosocial support. Unhealed traumas affect their cognitive and personality development.

Time does not heal the trauma. Therefore active measures are highly needed. Social support should be given to the children who were exposed to war trauma. Children’s resiliency to traumatic events is influenced by the degree of social support and positive community influences (Garbarino et al., 1992).

To minimize the psychological damage the children need effective care. Parental support is highly essential to heal the emotional scars experienced by the war-zone children. As the experts point out children with adequate family cohesion manifest less stress in reaction to trauma and are better able to recover from the initial impact of the trauma.

Cultural factors and traditional healing systems play a vital role. Community ideology, beliefs and value systems contribute to resiliency by giving meaning to dangerous events, allowing children to identify with cultural values, and enabling children and adults to function under extreme conditions (Melville and Lykes, 1992). In treating war zone children family therapy, group therapy, Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) , art therapy, music therapy, EMDR and school and community interventions have been used. Also they are helped with coping skills.

War trauma in Sri Lanka has created a dilemma situation. A large number of children have been affected by the prolonged armed conflict in Sri Lanka. This has become one of the crucial problems that would affect our future. Consider a significant numbers our next generation are traumatized and unhealed. The vicious cycle of war will deal with them once they become adults. Therefore this fierce cycle has to be dealt with effectively and professinally.

(the author who was the Focal Point — Mental Health in Puttalam District at the Health Ministry now offering his services to a Canadian Community Services Association in Ontario gives a balanced and unbias view of War Trauma and how it affected Sri Lanka Children )