War On Halal-Labelled Products: The Worst Economic Hit Man Now In Town
By W.A. Wijewardena -
W.A. Wijewardena
Dr W.A. Wijewardena
Economic hit men are feared as well as loved
Economic hit men are feared as well as loved. Feared because they hit you without you knowing from where you were hit; loved because they give you so much of excitement that you can talk about them for days without being bored. This was exactly what happened when John Perkins released ‘Confessions of an Economic Hit Man’ in 2004 alleging that the World Bank and US AID, two international agencies that provide development lending and aid to world’s poor countries, have employed economic hit men to destroy the countries which they planned to support.
Critics of Perkins were very quick to point out that he was a person infected by ‘conspiracy theory ailment’ and he had presented a dramatised story without facts or documentary evidence. Yet his book became so popular that it was on the top of the bestseller’s list for many years. Since then, it has become fashionable to label those who are disliked as ‘economic hit men’ because it tells a whole story in just three words. But, Perkins made history by coining a popular term to describe a great danger that is to befall on an economy due to orchestrations or wrong moves of men and not due to natural events. In that sense, there is an economic hit man today in town and that economic hit man is, by any comparison, the worst kind of economic hit men which Sri Lanka could have ever encountered.
The war on Halal is an economic hit man
That hit man is no one but the campaign orchestrated by some in the majority race against the economic interests of minorities, brought to surface for the time being in the form of declared war on Halal certified products, foods which are permitted by Islam for consumption by its followers. Halal is so sacred to Islamists that they would not even set their eyes on any food which is not Halal. This is not an odd behaviour because every religion has similar type of faiths deeply rooted to the minds of their followers. In a society with multiple religions, one should learn to respect the religious practices of others, however much they seem to be odd or unacceptable.
Emperor Asoka: Religious tolerance a must
The best advice in this respect has been given by a Buddhist Emperor in ancient India, Emperor Asoka, when he pronounced in Asoka Rock Edicts that people should never denigrate the other sects of religions but inform themselves of their core values. In the same Rock Edict, he went on describing his wisdom further by announcing that “other sects (of religion) should be duly honoured in every way on all occasions. By doing so, he not only promotes his own sect, but also benefits other sects”.
Towards the end of this Rock Edict, he castigated those who make disparaging utterances about other religions while upholding their own. He firmly said that a person who “disparages other sects with a view to glorifying his own sect, injures his own sect very severely”. Emperor Asoka praised those who restrain themselves in their speech and advised that “people should learn and respect the fundamentals of one another’s Dharma” (Rock Edict XII). Hence, the age old Buddhist tradition passed down by Buddhist leaders like Emperor Asoka to posterity has been to practice religious tolerance and live coherently in a multi-faith society.
Cultural police versus the State police: Who is more powerful?
The war on Halal has been declared by two organisations, one called Sinhala Ravaya or the ‘Roar of the Sinhalese’ and the other called Bodu Bala Sena or the ‘Powerful Army Protecting Buddhism’. The two combined together can be christened ‘the Rising Power of the Sinhalese Buddhists’. This rising power of the Sinhalese Buddhists has identified Sri Lanka as a Sinhalese Buddhist country and therefore, all other faiths and ethnic groups have to live in the country recognising and respecting this view.
If anyone is found to be violating the dictions, the powerful Buddhist army has vowed to function as a ‘cultural police’ and stop such wrong practices forthwith. This would mean that there would be two police forces, one operated by the State at the expense of the tax payers and the other operated by this powerful Buddhist force. The people in the country will therefore be confused to which police force they should submit themselves and to which government they should pay taxes. Naturally, people will choose not to pay taxes to the government.
An economy is made up of many
How could this war be an economic hit man set upon destroying Sri Lanka’s economy? It could be understood by identifying interrelationship, interconnectivity and interdependence of millions of segments in a vast economy.
An economy is a wonderful creature made up of a large number of people belonging to many different religions, ethnic groups, races, castes or classes. All these people are interconnected and interdependent and organised to fulfil one objective: That is, to provide the maximum wellbeing to everyone. Each person is a cog in a massive cogwheel that turns constantly to produce goods and services needed by people in an economy. Each cog is important and needed for this production process. One cannot give undue importance to one particular cog and downplay the role played by others; they all are equally important and needed for the massive cogwheel to turn smoothly.
Every organ in the human body is important
This process can be equated to the functioning of a human body consisting of many different parts and organs. Nature has seen to it that all those parts and organs are needed for the perfect working of the body. There is no a single organ or a single part that does not provide a useful service to the overall working of the body.
For instance, till recently, many believed that the appendix in the human body does not provide any service and therefore could be excised without any loss to the body’s functions. But the scientists at Duke University in USA have now found that the appendix is a depository of beneficial bacteria that are needed for the proper digestion of foods in the stomach and whenever those bacteria are depleted due to illness or medication, the appendix releases such bacteria from its stocks. Thus, removing or constraining the working of a single organ or a part of a body makes it imperfect and the person owning the body will feel its adverse effects forthwith.
Hand cannot fight with leg without destroying itself
Then, what happens if one part, say the hand, declares war on another part, say the leg, alleging that the leg is trying to take over the body making the hand unimportant? Surely, this war will not be beneficial to the overall functioning of the body because the war will make it impotent and imperfect. Both the hand and the leg are interconnected and interdependent; one cannot function without the other.
If the hand is successful in paralysing the leg, then, the hand too gets paralysed and the body becomes dysfunctional. Fortunately, in such a disastrous conflict, there is a supreme arbiter who will discipline the wrongly moving hand. That arbiter is the brain which does not take sides and functions only with the objective of maintaining the stability and sustenance of the overall body. In other words, the brain views the overall picture and sees beyond the narrow vision of the hand.
Adam Smith: Conflicts to be settled by an impartial spectator
Similarly, in an economy, when one segment declares war on another segment for whatever the reason, the overall economy takes the beat and becomes malfunctioning. The segment that declares the war will look at only from its point of view which according to that segment is perfectly justifiable. It may not see the harm it may inflict on the overall working of the economy and thereby the danger it will bring to itself. To understand, one has to see beyond the narrow view of the segment that has declared the war on the other segment.
Adam Smith, the founding father of modern economics, in his Theory of Moral Sentiments published in 1759, assigned this function to a natural force in a free market economy called “an impartial spectator” whose job is to observe everything objectively from the above and pass judgments, favourable or unfavourable, depending on the case in hand. But it would give rise to a series of causes and effects that would bring about a beneficial or a vicious cycle within the economy depending on the nature of the initial impact. When one segment of the economy declares war on another segment, it will certainly be a vicious cycle that would be generated and the economy will start shrinking due to the removal of the segment which is being fought by the other segment.
Kautilya: A king who promotes conflicts will end losing revenue
Prior to Adam Smith, more than 2,000 years ago, Indian economist and statesman, Kautilya did not want to rely on such a fictitious force to bring stability to an economy because the final outcome of such natural forces would be disastrous to the smooth functioning of a state. Hence, he assigned that job to the king. If there is a calamity arising from conflicts among different segments in a state, Kautilya advised his king in The Arthashastra that “in the interest of the prosperity of the country, a king should be diligent in foreseeing the possibility of calamities, try to avert them before they arise, overcome those which happen, remove all obstructions to economic activity and prevent loss of revenue to the state”.
Kautilya’s advice is equally relevant to a modern economy and accordingly the arbiter of conflicts among different segments in an economy should be the state. If the state shirks its responsibility or fails to foresee the ill effects of the calamity, it will be the ultimate loser because as Kautilya has pointed out, it will lose its revenue sources.
The state should have an overall vision
Hence, the arbiter, in the present case the state, has to take an overall view of an economy in order to avert harmful conflicts that arise among different segments. The brain in a human body and the impartial spectator as pronounced by Adam Smith do so, because in each case, it is hard-wired to gathering information and capable of evaluating the same taking an overall view of the system it deals with.
But the king and the state have to learn it in the hard way by gaining capability of seeing beyond what they see with their naked eyes which give them only a very narrow vision. They have to understand and appreciate the useful roles played by different economic agents and the millions of economic transactions that have taken place in order to produce a given economic outcome. You remove one transaction from the chain and the whole process gets paralysed and you are the loser at the end.
Buddha could see beyond the naked eye
The Buddha has been such a personality who had cultivated the capability of seeing beyond what the naked eyes would present to him. In the Aavaasa Sobana Sutra in the Anguttara Nikaya, he advised the Bhikkus to learn many Dharmas and gain capability of seeing beyond those Dharmas.
In the Dhajagga Sutra in the Samyuttha Nikaya, his advice to Bhikkus who are fled in fear of presumed evil forces present when they practiced meditation in forests was not to seek refuge from God Shakra because the God, not having rid himself of greed, hatred and delusion, was inflicted with fear himself; instead, they should reflect on the Buddha who had rid himself of these defilements. Ridding oneself of these defilements actually means seeing the reality from its overall perspective.
Prince Siddhartha: Producing rice involves millions of people
The Buddha had this capacity even before he attained the Buddha-hood. According to a story relating to Prince Siddhartha, his father, King Suddhodhana, had once asked the Sakya Princes whether they knew how cooked rice comes. One prince had said that when he sits at the table, rice is served to his silver plate with a golden spoon from which rice comes. Another had disputed him saying that rice comes to the golden spoon from a silver bowl. A third had explained that rice comes to the silver bowl from a copper pot in the kitchen. None of the Sakya princes could give a proper answer to the question raised by the king.
It was only Prince Siddhartha who had explained it fully: He had said that people in such and such village bring uncooked rice to the Palace kitchen in carts drawn by bullocks. Those bullocks had been trained by people in another village and carts had been manufactured by people in yet a different village. Then, people in another village had de-husked paddy into rice for those carters to transport to the Palace. Those people had got paddy from farmers from a village further down by preparing fields for its cultivation. The implements which the farmers had used for preparing the fields had been manufactured by blacksmiths in another village. The iron for the blacksmiths had been supplied by miners in another village. Thus, it was not a simple exercise of cooked rice serving with a golden spoon. There were millions of pre-activities that had enabled rice to be served in that manner.
Think of declaring war on blacksmiths and eliminating them because there is a fear that they would take over the farmers. First, the blacksmiths will disappear and then the farmers will disappear because farmers do not have the skills which the blacksmiths have cultivated in manufacturing those implements. Any attempt by farmers to manufacture these implements by themselves will result in less output in the field as well as at the smithy.
Mugabe doctrine: Promote conflicts and destroy yourself
This was shown amply in Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe. In order to remain in power forever, Mugabe pampered the nation’s nationalistic sentiments and promoted the taking over the farms of white planters by the native black people. But they did not have the skills to run commercial farms and pretty soon they ended in destroying the commercial viability of those farms.
The result was catastrophic: A country which had supplied beef to the UK and Europe prior to that ended as a nation that begs foods from others. The subsequent wrong measures of Mugabe to correct his initial mistake had earned Zimbabwe a historical record: That is, as the nation that had had the highest ever hyperinflation recorded in the recent history. Economists call such leadership “destructive leadership” because such leaders, blinded by narrow objectives, drive their nations to complete destruction.
The silence of those who know is the strangest in a Buddhist land
It is strange that a nation with a majority of Buddhists has not understood properly what the Master has preached. It is stranger when some in that nation commit unwholesome acts in the name of the Buddha for the protection of the esteemed Dharma he has left behind for the posterity to follow for their own good irrespective of whether they are his followers or not. But it is not the strangest thing to observe here in this Buddha’s land. That is the silence of those erudite Buddhists who know of the Master’s Dharma properly and failure to speak up when they see the worst type of economic hit man being armed and released to prowl freely.
*W.A. Wijewardena can be reached at waw1949@gmail.com.
Read the Sinhala translation here
Translated by Yahapalanaya Lanka.
What a refreshing analysis.
However,I am afraid your essay will be lost on the extremists and the powers that be!
The regime loves these dramas, because they need regular diversion from the misery of the common man.
The politicians and their offspring provide that diversion in no small measure, but it is sad that renegade clergy have now joined that band-wagon too.
It is a shame and pity that the Mahanayakes continue to be silent.
Do they give tacit approval to these lawless elements?
MNZ - February 26, 2013
9:42 am
Excellent article! Mahinda Rajapakse and Gota the White Van goon, both war criminals and racists, are THE REAL ECONOMIC HIT MEN – the Dictator and brother who fronts the Balu Sena! The tourists from the middle east and south east asia like Malaysia will stop going to Lanka..
Europe’s GSP was lost because of Rajapassa’s war crimes.
The Rajapass Bros Inc. are playing the game of “economic development” to enrich themselves while actually DIVIDING and RULING Lanka, destroying society and growing inequality massively! They are also “ETHNIC ENTREPRENEURS”, promoting ethic conflict for personal gain and to legitimize militarizing the country while destroying the education sector.. they are uneducated thugs, the worst kind of economic hit men and war criminals..
Dodo - February 26, 2013
4:48 pm
Wonderful story about Prince Siddhartha. I hope this simple story from the past, will explain how modern economies operate and are interlinked on a global scale, to the simple Simons who rule other simple Simons, here. The Mugabe story is also apt. What we have do is to start eating more and more Bala Maalu, to develop our brains enough to understand what awaits us in the future, if we follow the present trajectory.
Dr.Rajasingham Narendran
Dr.Rajasingham Narendran - February 26, 2013
10:18 am
The current halal issue also has an economic basis, the economic backwardness of the majority rural population. The sinhalese are being portrayed as a people who have no where else to go and dominated by the crafty muslims, tamils and christians. The sinhalese leaders and clergy tell the poor rural folk that they are down because they are being exploited. In other words if you bring them down then you will be up.
Their outlook is rather confused. On one hand they preach religon as a means of wordly progress. This is a deviation from the life of Gautama Siddharta who gave up a life of royalty to achieve enlightment. It is the spiritual vs the material. The priesthood has deviated from these teachings and is now involved in the worldly life. They are preoccupied with lands, wealth and power. So what can they preach to the followers. We hear and see sermons advising on worldly progress. Religon is linked with achievement of worldly riches.
It is a complex situation. Does following religon make us rich? For instance is our religon being undermined by the presence of other irreligous people who pollute our country, thereby bringing on us the wrath of the gods? By removing these people will the gods be appeased. Such primitive reasoning seems to be behind the anti minority surge in the country.
Suffice to say that the thinking and sentiments being aroused are not going to bring success to anyone nor develop the country. Religon and the gods are not there to fill our pockets with gold. If we follow a religon it should be to become a better and more compassionate person. Mixing material wealth and religon is the death of the latter.
Safa - February 26, 2013
11:09 am
The Fourth Noble Truth Buddha taught that “the eight fold path (
Park - February 26, 2013
12:08 pm
The Fourth Noble Truth of Buddha – “the eight fold path (right understanding, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration), which leads to liberation and enlightenment.
If the monks who are agitating against the Halal are true Buddhists then they should follow this teaching. Since they do not follow these teaching, it is the duty of the Mahanayakes to bring them in line to the teaching. This is also not happening.
Hence it is the duty of every Buddhist to force the Mahanayakes to take action against the rouge Monks or the Mahanayakes should be forced to resign and follow the path shown by the Pope.
Park - February 26, 2013
12:14 pm
Monks resigning!? Unheard of. Too much to loose. Everything comes free thru State patronage, status, respect, worshipped like deities, luxurious comforts, drinks (soft and hard), vehicles, you name it they have it. Possibly even sidekicks for their romp and frolic. The only other possibility is if they get converted and go underground, but that too will happen with major sacrifices on their part. They get thoroughly convinced of the true religion, and they insist that it is what they want, and prepared to forego all the comforts, status and strappings for their own good. There are many who have come that way, and are looked after by Muslim community, get married to Muslim women, turn their ‘bana talking’ to give Islamic discourses in Mosques, which I have had priviledge to listen.
Marwan - February 26, 2013
4:11 pm
Very interesting and enlightening.
OVER TO THE MAHANAYAKES!!!!
AYMAN - February 26, 2013
12:35 pm
Why do we call them Mahanayakes? The are not leaders – they lead no body.
Rohan - February 26, 2013
10:49 pm
Mahanayakwa sleeping on the job, whilst their apprentices have a field day. Even they too were castigated by the BBS for maladministration of Temple properties, including instances of abuse by Diyawada Nilame. They too are afraid to talk to these zealots having lost some respect thru on BBS exposure. I watched it on Youtube. It looks like everything is being setup to become the second force after government.
I was informed that 3 ship (or container) loads of cargo sent to Pakistan by a certain company which had withdrawn Halal certification to support BBS (I wont mention name since I am not certain if it is certain) was rejected and returned due to absence of accepted Halal label on packaging. This may be the first death knell.
Also ACJU has requested government to take over and issur Halal certification through Ministry of Muslim Cultural Affairs. But Halal cerification will remain for all Muslims in this country. All manufacturers of Halal Products have refused to forego certification and will hold on since they consider the charges ‘peanuts’ compared to profits they earn by this certification. In short, Halal certification has done them good in terms of business revenue, and nothing bad has come out of it. Lets wait and see what new developments we can expect.
Marwan - February 26, 2013
1:16 pm
This is profound stuff, and Dr W.A. Wijewardena is to be lauded for presenting this message of respect and tolerance as well as the epic unfolding ’cause and effect’ scenario in language that even a simpleton will understand.
As commentary from others also depicts in no uncertain terms, why are the erudite Buddhists, the other right-thinking citizenry in high office and the seniors of the clergy so striking by their silence and lack of action to nip this terrible cancer in the bud?
Are the people of Sri Lanka destined to go the way of Zimbabwe? PLEASE do something!
Simple Simon - February 26, 2013
7:20 pm
Dear Mr. Wijewardene,
I do not agree with your ideas at all. I live in Australia and there are 22 million people living in Australia. In this total amount, there are about 1 million muslims live in Australia.
However, the Australian are requesting to the muslim community to be in harmony with the cultural practices and life style of Australia while maintaining their own culture.
However, there is no halal certification process for all comsumer goods similar to Sri Lanka. E.g. Milk Powder, Tea etc.
Sunil Dahanayake - February 27, 2013
12:58 am
I live in Australia for 17 years, Halal labled products are all over all main supper markets live Coles, WW. Look around when you go next time Mate
Umesh - February 27, 2013
11:05 am
THANK YOU UMESH.
HERE IS THE PROOF;
Halal Australiahttp://www.halal-australia.com.au/ Halal Australia is the company to approach when you are looking for quality Halal certification that you can trust at a competitive price. Halal Australia is accredited by A.Q.I.S and is one of the leading professional trained certification bodies in the industry.
CHAMPIKA. ATURELIYA AND B.B.S. NOTE
AYMAN - February 27, 2013
5:40 pm
I thought of adding related news about Germany, France and UK
http://www.study-in.de/en/life/culture-travel/tandem-reporter/–19052/
Who certifies halal products?
Halal certification is an assurance that a product has been thoroughly vetted and found to conform with Islamic Dietary Laws. Like all major accreditation processes, it’s not a decision to be taken lightly and producers must develop a sound understanding of halal and what it means to Muslims before progressing.
In Europe’s top Muslim-populated countries, various institutes issue halal certificates. Regulatory bodies in the UK are the halal Food Authority (HFA), The Muslim Food Board (UK) and the halal Monitoring Committee. All are non-profit making organisations that monitor, inspect and certify halal products. France’s main halal certifying agency, The Grande Mosque of Paris, certifies approximately 70% of the country’s halal products while, within Germany, the main halal certifier appears to be halal Control of Russenheim.
Having cleared doubts of what halal is and how it is certified, let us now introduce you some of the latest halal products we came across at Anuga 2011.
Samuel - March 5, 2013
9:17 am
YOU ARE NOT AWARE, THAT THERE HALAL CERTIFICATION ORGANIZATIONS, FOR CERTIFYING FOOD PRODUCTS EXPORTED TO MUSLIM COUNTRIES.
I HAVE SEEN MAC DONALDS IN SRI LANKA WHO PRODUCED HALAL CERTIFICATES FOR
IMPORTS FROM AUSTRALIA AS THEY BEGAN BUSINESS IN SRI LANKA.
THIS WAS LONG BEFORE THIS “ACJU HALAL BUSINESS” CAME INTO BEING.
PLEASE DO NOT MAKE RASH STATEMENTS.
AYMAN - February 27, 2013
5:31 pm
Muslims in australia are recent immigrants. Muslilms in SL are part of native people. So muslim culture is a part of a much larger SLn culture. Got it?
sach - February 28, 2013
8:59 am
The war on the Muslim minority by the Budhist monks is mainly the result of their uncontrollable basic human instinct, envy on Muslim economy worldwide. This causes alarm of extinction of Sinhala Budhism in the country.
If the Sinhala Budhist monks are taught some awareness of their animal feelings before them being ordained as monks they will become aware of the consequence of their behaviour.
Does the Mahanayake Know this fact.
Psychologist - February 27, 2013
2:17 am
This is your view only and you have screwed the truth. No one has ever said anywhere that Halal food should not be available to Muslims and others who wants to eat it. The issue here is the was it is been done by the Muslims. I live in Australia and there are McDonalds and other eateries who cater for Muslims and others. They give you the choice to have either. When I went to McDonalds at Rajagiriya in March 2011 they had only the Halal trade mark on the Main board and inside board but no other indications. When I asked the kids working there they didn’t know neither the Manager what that sign was. That is how secretive the were. I reported this to the Head Office as it violated my BASIC HUMAN RIGHT of choice and the openness. We all should have the right to choose what we what not what anyone wants. I am against that because no one secretly forced me to consume what they believe is right. For Muslims it may be correct but for others not only Buddhists but Hindus also it is not right. IN Buddhism it teaches killing of animals is a bad Karma and not to do it, and can we force that on Muslims who kill animals for consumption? How would Muslim feel if they were discreetly given Pork as some other meat? First thing Muslims must understand is that they have to respect other religions and other faiths. I challenge anyone to go to Gampola Bibile Road and see hoe a Mosque was built illegally. This is where the trust has been lost. They have to stop doing illegal and crafty things first. This is exactly why Prabhakaran chased all the Muslims out of that area as he repeatedly said they are very dangerous. We Sinhalese tolerate but must remember there is a limit to that otherwise they will walk all over you.
Rohana NA - February 27, 2013
7:12 am
Prabakharan did you a favour?
Safa - February 28, 2013
12:36 am
Rohana. You are very correct in only one aspect of your post. We all have a basic human right of choice. No one has forced you to eat the food produced by MacDonalds. If you don’t like the halal certification, please exercise your basic human right of CHOICE and choose to eat something else! What you don’t have a right to is to prevent the exercise of the rights of others – this includes the right of MacDonalds to produce Halal food! MacDonalds is a private company and it has all rights to produce whatever food it wants to with whatever certification it deems fit. If one has a problem with it, go buy food from somewhere else! Simple! Forcing your values and beliefs on to someone else is a breach of these basic human rights you speak of.
aritha - March 5, 2013
12:32 am
COULD YOU LET ME KNOW WHICH THE GAMPOLA BIBILE ROAD IS? WELL IF WHAT YOU SAY IS TRUE IT IS WRONG.WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY “BUILT ILLEGALLY”?
AYMAN - February 27, 2013
5:45 pm
What the writer has tried to say in this article is that all should cooperate and collaborate in an economic system to benefit from each other’s speciality. If a conflict is created at the macro level, it is certainly disastrous to the smooth functioning of an econoc system. Who should be careful about that? The government because it is the Goverment which stands to lose the most. That is why the writer has brought Kautilya to focus and it makes sense because he was an erudite political analyst from this region and not from the West. How should the government acquire that capability? By going by the Buddha who has taught that one should learn to see beyond and the whole picture rather than a narrow personal picture.
In this sense, this should be an eye opener to MR and his government. Without practising Buddhism just for the TV camera and the gallery, he should learn the true teaching of the Buddha, a must for a ruler of a Buddhist country.
Then only he can extend the hand of magnanimity to Tamils, Muslims, Burghers or from a religious point, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus and Muslims.
I commend the writer for bringing this message to focus clearly.
Justice Lover - February 28, 2013
2:20 am
MY DEAR SRI LANKAN BUDHSHISTS………FIRST OF ALL COMPELL THESE BUDHIST BIKKU TO BE AS TRUE BIKKU AS BUDHSA TAUGHT…… BIKKU ( pali ) menas BEGGER…Budhsa taught these Bikku to door to door to beg for food…but our BIKKU – BEGGERS , not live as budha beggers but live in a luxurious life styel… first of all STOP giving food alsm to these BIKKus instead COMPELL THEM TO COME HOME TO HOME TO BEG FOR THE FOOD….Then these FREE FOOD EATERS WILL REALIZE HOW DIFFICULT TO EARN TO HAVA ONE TIME FOOD IN OUR COUNTRY WHICH IS UNDER FAMILY RULE……..BODU BAUL SENA MUST BE THE FIRST BEGGER BIKKU TO START THIS …
easterguy - February 28, 2013
7:59 am
I enjoyed reading your article Dr. Wijewardena. The government is practicing the Mugabe doctrine. I really don’t know what doctrine the members of the Balu Sena are practicing. I know for sure, however, it is not the Buddha’s doctrine!
Saman Wijesiri - March 1, 2013
6:12 am
APITA PROBLEMS NATHIWATA ME HALAL PROBLEM EKA HYPE up KORANAWA..
We the nation have enough problems, why to bother with the simple issue like halal. As it is case for every country, there should be halal and non halal foods available in markets. I wonder why YOU TOO say- BBS is trying to make an issue out of this.
Those who support those BBS or any begoted segments should officially be banned in our society to feel respectful gentle sort of buddhist finally feel calm and quiet as had been in the past of the country. Sure, we are a war torn nation, that try their best to achieve their goals towards the development. But so long the numbers of fanatic minded of all religions are on a rise – nothing remarkable we will be able to achieve. All these pseudo monks should be punished equally according to prevailing laws, if laws lack the provisions, lanken ministry of buddhasasana ro any respective bodies should work on bringing new amds to the prevailing laws. If the law is rigorously being implemented in a country – as it is the case in Germany, Switzerland and several other European countries, nothing can go wrong. People will obey and respect the laws and behave accordingly. Ours have been been becoming a lawless country – this has been becoming clearer day to another.
Samuel - March 5, 2013
9:27 am
Watch the proceedings of meeting 11/Mar. on removal of Halal logo. Google for ‘Youtube ACJU knowledgebox’, and watch all clips Q&A, and the presentations made by all
Marwan - March 11, 2013
5:36 pm