Guinness World Records Senior PR Manager Doug Male confirmed that they would not approve a record where local laws have been broken.
“We take this matter very seriously,” he told Colombo Telegraph.
The wedding of Ruwan Pushpakumara and Sajini Priyangika Suraweera held on the 21st of September in Kandy received negative global publicity when they attempted to break an existing Guinness World Record for wearing the longest saree. In their quest to break the existing world record , 250 school children were forced to report to school at 2:30 am and line up the Gannoruwa – Kandy road in order to assist holding the 3.5 kilometer long saree, at setting a Guinness World Record.
“We did receive an application, however I am unable to discuss the details of an application while it is still pending,” PR Manager Doug Male replied, when Colombo Telegraph queried if the record would be granted despite an ongoing child abuse case being investigated in its attempt.
When Colombo Telegraph further queried if Guinness World Records officials were physically present at the world record attempt, Doug Male responded by saying “Guinness World Records was not present when the attempt was made. Approximately 80% of all official record attempts rely on evidence submission for verification. A very detailed and stringent pack of guidelines and evidence requirements, including independent witness statements, are issued to everybody who makes an application with us. Evidence is then reviewed by a team of experts and a decision is made”.
Meanwhile Sri Lanka’s Central Province Governor Niluka Ekanayake ordered an investigation into child abuse be carried out after several complaints were received that the childrens’ lives were put in danger.
National Child Protection Authority Chairman Marini De Livera went on to say “We need to stop these type of things before they become a fashion. In my eyes this is child abuse. Depriving kids of their education and harming their dignity is abuse by itself. Violators for such offenses could get up to 10 years in jail”. (By Jacqueline Senanayake)
paul / September 25, 2017
‘250 school children were forced to report to school at 2:30 am and line up the Gannoruwa – Kandy road ‘ If this is true the couple are behaving like our politicians. In fact they could not have arranged this without political patronage. So who was responsible for this outrage?
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Don / September 26, 2017
Thos is so sad. How come the parents of these children agreed to this BS.
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Dilhara / September 26, 2017
In any case these weddings are a Colonial British Victorian tradition. Traditionally there was no such weddings or veils when young people decided to co-habit.
In fact the veil is another Christian tradition and dressing up in Fake Sinhala Buddhist Kandian Kings regalia and trying to enter the Guiness Book of records shows how pathetic the folk of the Miracle of Modayas have become!
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K.Pillai / September 26, 2017
Don ~ “…….How come the parents of these children agreed to this BS.”
Do you mean the parents of the child bride and bridegroom?
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Hamlet / September 26, 2017
Paul:-
If this is the Standard of Behaviour that is taught to school children, as Acceptable, it is no wonder that they grow up to support Politicians who think that Boru Show is what they have been Elected to Perform!
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Native Vedda / September 26, 2017
wannihami
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This is Child slavery.
Why aren’t you doing something about it?
Do you regret Guinness World Records refused to endorse the record?
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Seelawathie Jayasinghe / September 26, 2017
On the list of drug and alcohol or to have wore the longest sareee the like are common to lanken folks.
They just imitate westerners to be on spot light.
While these unhealthy sick men and women could do use the sums for the benefit or the country s poor that have been made even poorer by former brutal so called regime.
There are over 43% in the country whose earnings a day are said to be not even 2 dollars ( 300 rupees).
But we the lankens are on the spot light to have been the expert in alcohol consumption, drug consumption, addicted to sex websites.
This is REALLY the hell of Asia not the miracle at all…. no signs they would reach near to miracle. But they have a big mouth… they just stay talking only.
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k.soysa / September 26, 2017
I wish this couple every happiness. But it is wrong to start their marriage by inconveniencing so many people as well by putting these little kids in harm’s way. They and all responsible should be penalised.
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Native Vedda / September 26, 2017
wannihami
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Read what your Hindian cousins are doing to the refugees:
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New Delhi, (Hindustan Times), 23, Sept. 2017 – India has stepped up security along its largely porous eastern border with Bangladesh and is using “chilli and stun grenades” to block the entry of Rohingya Muslims fleeing from violence in their homeland of Myanmar, officials said on Friday.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is growing increasingly hostile towards the Rohingya in India, with Home Minister Rajnath Singh calling on Thursday for their deportation as illegal migrants.
Border forces, which wants to deport around 40,000 Rohingya already living in the country, citing security risks, have been authorised to use “rude and crude” methods to stop any infiltration attempts.
“We don’t want to cause any serious injury or arrest them, but we won’t tolerate Rohingya on Indian soil,” said a senior official with the Border Security Force (BSF) in New Delhi.
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“We’re using grenades containing chilli spray to stop hundreds of Rohingyas trying to enter India … the situation is tense,” added the official, who declined to be identified as he was not authorised to speak to media.
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More than 420,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since Aug. 25, when a co-ordinated attack by Rohingya insurgents on Myanmar security forces triggered a counteroffensive, killing at least 400 people, mainly militants.
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Rajash / September 26, 2017
who is wannihami
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Native Vedda / September 26, 2017
Rajash
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wannihami is another pain in his/her own neck.
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Rtd. Lt. Reginald Shamal Perera / September 26, 2017
The Bride sure needs the longest Saree when the Groom needs to make up for the tiniest manhood.
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Native Vedda / September 26, 2017
Retarded women sniffing Reginald Shameless Perera
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“The Bride sure needs the longest Saree when the Groom needs to make up for the tiniest manhood.”
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Did it work for you?
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Ben Hurling / September 26, 2017
Retired Reggie,
You seem to have intimate knowledge of bridegroom’s manhood? Is that a hobby you have cultivated? Perhaps, during your rendezvous with Sri Lanka Army? Cheers!
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Native Vedda / September 26, 2017
Ben Hurling
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“Is that a hobby you have cultivated? Perhaps, during your rendezvous with Sri Lanka Army?”
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Retarded women sniffing Reginald Shameless Perera is another fantasist, like the one we had a few years ago by the name of Black and Decker. They are like Walter Mitty.
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Don / September 26, 2017
This is absolute nonsense. Who gives a shit about the Guinness world records. In addition to using poor school children ( I will bet these children not from any reputed school), how about the inconvenience to the general public. How is it that some families waste so much money on a wedding, where majority of the population is struggling to make a decent living.
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Goraka / September 26, 2017
Is it a wedding for the couple to be happy, or just a drama?
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Mama Sinhalam / September 26, 2017
The man is also carrying an offensive weapon in public. He is dressed like the Tamil Kandyan King who was branded a traitor. The children are not smiling. They seem rather poor. Must have been press-ganged from school- child soldiers compelled to work for the wannabe Kandyan elite. There is a contrast between the kids dressed in red, obviously the flower girls and the school kids.
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Hamlet / September 26, 2017
If you have the money to waste on a Mile of Saree, give some of it to a Charitable Cause!
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Kushem / September 26, 2017
Apart from this couple the principal of this school too should be punished for permitting the school children to be used for this event. Why did the police allow this type of activity on the main road? Action should be taken on all local authorities who permitted to carry out this event on a public road using school children. The parents of these school children are also at fault for letting their children take part in an event such as this.
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Champa / September 26, 2017
This is a gross abuse of school children and recklessly putting their lives in danger on the road.
There should an inquiry against Chief Minister Sarath Ekanayake who personally took part in displaying the Sari-fall on the road using minors. This is not a government sponsored event eventhough it is also wrong. This is a privately sponsored event. There is no doubt that the Chief Minister has used his power to use school children as he himself seeing holding the Sari-fall. The Divisional Education Secretary has nothing to do with this as this is an event attended by the Chief Minister. CM should take the responsibility. I heard he is already off the hook by Governor Niluka Ekanayake, even before the investigations start. Another King Kakille’s verdict.
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Champa / September 26, 2017
Correction:
It should be Secretary of the Central Province Education Ministry NOT Divisional Education Secretary.
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Champa / September 26, 2017
President says again and again that he brought change to the society. Is this what it is?
Mr. President, at least now, please issue a Circular from President’s Office (to be adhered to by politicians, government institutions and schools equally) strictly prohibiting child labour and exploitation.
School children being used by politicians for various menial tasks from singing strotam to forcing them to attend private functions during school time, should be banned. Most parents are helpless in a situation like this due to obvious reasons.
If the couple hired adults for this task, they can’t get it done free of charge. 250 minors have been used here for unpaid labour by using political influence. This is unacceptable and against the law. However, it is people’s stupidity most of the time that led them into troubles like this, as done by this couple who should be warned rather than punishing.
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kp / September 26, 2017
God, will you shut up? Why do you have to drag up this irrelevant bs on an article about kids in Lanka being used as near-slaves? Is everything an opportunity for you to stand on your soapbox about whatever comes into your head?
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Justice & Fairplay / September 26, 2017
What a damn-fool exercise, all told!
This is a phobia in Sri Lanka: this craze over world records! It is an illness.
There are plenty of world record holders in the loony bin by the Diyawanna, if ever Guinness wished to fill up their pages in a jiffy. Take them along so that we can be rid of them!
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Keynes! / September 26, 2017
This kind of child abuse has become standard now and the issue must be taken up.
Back in 2010, an international NGO looking into the welfare of children was engaging in similar abuse. In December 2010, World Concern under the leadership of Selina Premkumar brought in children from Trincomalee overnight in a packed van and forced them into the board room of John Keells.
Happy photographs were taken with Susantha Ratnayake and Lalith Ramanayake and then published in the newspapers!
None of these executives from John Keells were even remotely aware of the nightmare that the children had to go through when travelling from Trincomalee to their wood-paneled boardroom.
After John Keells, the children were vanned to the Mercantile Investments office in Colombo 3 for photographs with Gerard Ondatjee, who heads the Tangerine Group of Hotels. Gerard, on a solemn note, stated that his hotels will never be allowed for the use child sex tourism. The irony in all this is that they were abusing these children in the process of public proclaiming their rights!
nadijah Tambiah should take note of this and launch an investigation.
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Don / September 27, 2017
Well said..Child abuse seems to be part and parcel of our society. Children in Sri Lanka seems to have absolutely no rights and are always at the mercy of adults (parents, relations, teachers and religious leaders). Children from underprivileged families are always being abused, used and overlooked. This seems to be something very unique to Sri Lanka and few other south Asian countries. Most countries understand that children are the future of a nation and these are the future leaders, politician, public servants and etc. Sadly our mentality is that children of underprivileged families are only good for low level jobs and there for its okay treat them bad. This would have never happens to children of reputed school.
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Rajiv / September 26, 2017
The Chief Minister who authorized this along with the secretary should be prosecuted for child abuse.
Of course, that happening to a Maithri loyalist is absolutely zero. This will go off the news in a couple of days like the Lal Sirisena hit and run that killed 2 people.
What is most upsetting is that the Yahapalanaya worthies kept thumping their chests and said this is exactly what they were against and would eliminate.
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Gramaya / September 26, 2017
The THIEF MINISTER who allowed this should be entered into a LOONY BIN as the most stupid, deranged person to be a Chief minister
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Ceylonese / September 26, 2017
They should be crowned as the King & Queen of the Donkey Island.
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Maharage, Nimal / September 26, 2017
Arrest THIEF Chief Minister notorious for commissions from every thing for this heinous crime to using poor school children for his political gains. This crooked THIEF MINISTER FOR Central Province was prosecuted once for taking bribes for forced admission of a kid to a school in Pilimatalawa.
Kick him our of SLFP and never let him contest any elections in future
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J.Muthu / September 26, 2017
Brainless sinhala Buddhist modayas….nothing 2 add…
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Annesley Dias / September 26, 2017
J Muthu.
I can tell you that the SLFP bastards are real modayas.
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K.Pillai / September 26, 2017
Compare this with the plight of Rohingya refugees.
Yes. Guinness Book of Records can have an entry for “Extreme Insensitivity”.
The silver lining though is the absence of thugs, goons and whitevans to keep out those who think outside the 3.5 km length of the saree.
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jehan / September 27, 2017
child abuse- put the groom and bride in jail- 3years honeymoon.
wont happen- people with connection
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justice / September 27, 2017
The children could not have taken part without permission of their parents, and this probably happened on a non-school day. They appear to be enjoying the ‘show’.
I wish the couple a happy marriage, and hope that the record is achieved.
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Good Sense / September 27, 2017
Setting up a record! Pooh! It is publicity seeking stunt involving “child abuse”. Who is this couple and what is their connection to this fellow who is/was the Chief Minister of CP from time to time? Inquiry or not there is some culpability on the part of the provincial politician. MY3 along with the Governor should call upon this insensitive political nitwit to step down if he holds any office in the provincial administration. If RK had to step down long before any panel found fault with him then so can this chap.
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Raj / September 28, 2017
What a case of vanity & an ostentatious display of wealth Isn’t there a law against the use school children, dressed in school uniform, for private functions? If it was during school hours, was the Head Master unaware of this? Did the police give permission for a parade on a public road?
I suppose if funeral processions can take place on public roads, why not a wedding procession but this episode is a clear display of how the rich & powerful can exploit the poor for their enjoyment at a time when average citizens suffer in making ends meet.
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