Volume 1 Issue 11 - Apr 2009 Web: www.lankaemb-riyadh.org Email: [email protected] Tel: +966-1-460-6906/460-8689 / 460-8232/460-8235 Fax: +966-1-460-0846

King Abdullah Receives Sri Lankan Business Opportunities National Day Homes of ctd p3 Cinnamon Products, Cloves, Black Dr Schokman lived in this house called Delegates Pepper, Coffee Celebrations Pics In “Valerest” opposite the Havelock Park. Mr.P.Runage, Managing Director Stewart Orr of the Municipal Council Rathna Producers & Exporters (Pvt) Eastern Province lived in this house previously and it was Akuressa Road , Kamburupitiya, Matara called ‘Dilkusha’. Tel: +94 41 2292299 Fax: +94 11 2699029 In its front yard was a beautiful circular Email: [email protected] sunken garden. In later years the house Web: www.rathna.150m.com was converted into a restaurant.

Ayurveda Products (Balm, Oil, Adjoining the northern bund of the canal Toothpaste, Soap, Cream, Cologne) was the Government Senior School, Mr.Tharindu Perera which later transferred to Maharagama. Hettigoda Industries ( Pvt ) Ltd During World War II it housed the Royal No.33/3, Sri Darmarama Road, Primary School when the entire Royal Ratmalana, College complex was used as a military Tel: +94 11 2736910 hospital. Today the buildings are the Fax: +94 112735465 home to Lumbini Maha Vidyalaya. Email: [email protected] Opposite the school was a row of small Web: www.siddhalepa.com shops and houses including a bicycle repair service, which was popular with Fishing Boats, Life Crafts & students and adults alike, as many Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah, receives Sri Lankan delegate, Rismi Surveillance Boats adults cycled to work in the city and Reyal, Chairman and Managing Director of the Traveler Globe ,left, and Mohammed Mr. P. N. Neil Fernando, Chairman would stop by to pump up their tyres. Muzaffar, director Foreign Relations of the Makola Muslim Children's Orphanage at the Neil Fernando & Co (Pvt) Ltd Political freedom is the absence of Yamamah Palace in Riyadh recently during a banquet at the National Heritage and Culture No.11, Alexandra Road ,Colombo 06 Festival in Janadriyah In one of these houses lived Mr M. E. interference with the sovereignty of an Tel: +94 11 2588234, 2502154 individual by the use of coercion or Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, received the Piyasena, affectionately known by the Fax: +94 11 2580756 aggression. The members of a free two Sri Lankan delegates , who came for the National Heritage and Culture Festival boys as “Vathey”, teacher at the Royal in Janadriya on his invitation. Email: [email protected] Primary School and a great organizer in society would have full dominion over Web: www.neilmarine.com the Boy Scout movement. Lawrence their public and private lives. The Sri Lankan delegates, prominent social worker Rismi Reyal, chairman and Tudawe of the building firm Tudawe opposite of a free society would be a Printing & Real Estate managing director of the Traveller Globe and Mohammed Muzaffar, director foreign Brothers lived in the freestanding house totalitarian state, which highly restricts Vijay N. Vijayratnam, Director political freedom in order to regulate relations of the Makola Muslim Children's Orphanage met the monarch at the next door. A few houses further on lived NENASALA S. B. Lekamge, a lawyer, whose wife almost every aspect of behavior. In this Yamamah Palace in the Saudi capital . Colombo Railway Station, Col 1 was a teacher at the Royal Primary sense ‘freedom’ refers solely to the Tel. +94-11 5655050 or 5655051 President Mahinda Rajapaksa had attended the Janadriyah function in January School. In the adjoining lane was the relation of humans to other humans, Email: [email protected] and the only infringement on it is 2002 on behalf of the Sri Lanka–Palestinian Friendship Society when Ibrahim Sahib home of Dr C. O. Perera, then http://www.colombofort.com coercion by humans Ansar was in Riyadh as the island's Ambassador. Superintendent of the Mental Hospital. http://www.realtorlanka.com To be continued Addressing the foreign dignitaries who came to attend the National Heritage and The concept of political freedom is very closely allied with the concepts of civil Culture Festival in Janadriya at a banquet , King Abdullah asked the guests to carry EDITORIAL BOARD liberties and individual rights, which a message of goodwill from Saudi Arabia to their respective countries. The King Honorary Members in most democratic societies is the thanked the guests and told them to convey the greetings of the people of Saudi A Sabarullah Khan

profession characterized by various Arabia to their fellow countrymen. W A Sarath Kumara Yasantha de Silva freedoms which are afforded the legal “I welcome you all with the greetings of Islam to Saudi Arabia,” King Abdullah said. M C Rasooldeen J.P protection of the state. THE King received a commemorative gift from the delegates on the occasion of the Fazli Sameer

Various groups along the political silver jubilee of the Janadriya Festival. ctd on page 3 [email protected] This issue of Insight is sponsored by spectrum naturally differ on what they TURKI ABDUL HAMEED CONTG. EST. believe constitutes "true" political TURKI ABDUL HAMEED CONTG. EST. Printed at Al Raja Press, Riyadh freedom. General Contracting of Building Maintenance, Cleaning & Operation of Building, Road Works, +966-1-453-8811 (Tel), 470-1167 (Fax) Electrical, Mechanical, & Industrial Contracting Mobile: 050-323-1721 Left wing political philosophy generally P O Box 756, King AbdulAziz Street, Yanbu, Saudi Arabia Tel/Fax: (04) 390 8220 PAGE 4 couples the notion of freedom with that of positive liberty, or the see page 2

Insight – Apr 2009 Insight –Apr 2009 Freedom ctd from page 1 RIYADH SLES SPORTS MEET 2009 Homes of Colombo Japan, Saudi Arabia King Abdullah

enabling of an individual to realize his or Fund Moragahakanda Receives SL her own potential. Freedom, in this from page 1 sense, may include freedom from Project Delegates poverty, starvation, treatable disease, The festival is designed to portray the and oppression, as well as freedom variety of cultural aspects of the from force and coercion, from whomever they may issue. Kingdom’s different regions. A wide range of activities, including sword Some people treat freedom as if it were dances, heritage and history exhibitions, almost synonymous with democracy, culinary specialties and stunts are while other people see conflicts or even Oasis was bounded by Felsinger Town, organized to educate and entertain opposition between the two concepts. a conglomeration of houses owned by visitors. the Felsinger family, on the northern

side. Oasis closed down in the nineteen Environmentalists often argue that The Sri Lankan delegates also attended fifties and its former site is now a luncheon hosted by Culture and political freedoms should include some Sabarullah Khan, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Sri Lankan Embassy, and his wife are obliterated with houses, and shops. Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja in constraint on use of ecosystems. They being received by the school prefects. maintain there is no such thing, for Adjoining its southern border was honor of the foreign guests after Friday instance, as "freedom to pollute" or Ÿamuna”, the home of H Sri Nissanka, prayers. The Minister told the "freedom to deforest" given that such Q. C. It was at this house that the historic participants that the Kingdom’s purpose activities create negative externalities. Yamuna Conference was held by the late in inviting guests to the annual cultural The popularity of SUVs, golf, and urban Prime Minister, Mr S. W. R. D. festival was to let the world know about sprawl has been used as evidence that Bandaranaike, the first meeting of his the Kingdom’s rich culture and heritage. parliamentary supporters following his some ideas of freedom and ecological The minister said that interaction would resignation from the U. N. P. in 1951. It conservation can clash. This leads at lead to understanding between Saudi times to serious confrontations and was this meeting that led to the founding Arabia and other countries. clashes of values reflected in of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. The Government of Sri Lanka has Thanking the monarch for the advertising campaigns that suffer the allocated Rs. 3,750 million for the work of views of animal rights activits, for The house and its garden stands exactly opportunity given to participate in the as it was fifty years ago, one of the few the Moragahakanda- Kaluganga mega cultural event in the Middle East, example. Reservoir Project, which is the largest that has withstood pressures from the Sri Lankan delegate Mohammed Rizmi soaring land values in Colombo. Across and the final agri-reservoir project in Sri Reyal said that the show presented the There have been numerous Lanka under the Mahaweli Development philosophical debates over the nature of the road was the Wellawatte Spinning correct image of Saudi Arabia . “What Scheme. Sabarullah Khan, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Sri Lankan Embassy, SriLankan Airlines and Weaving Mils, the largest industrial we hear in the media is not what we see freedom, the claimed differences between various types of freedom, and Manager Indunil Wijekone and Principal M.E.M.Farook, right , take the salute during the enterprise in Colombo South at the time. here,” Reyal said, describing Saudi march past It was established by Darley Butler and Agriculture Development and Agrarian Arabia as a country with a rich heritage the extent to which freedom is Services Minister Maithripala Sirisena desirable. Sabarullah Khan, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Sri Lankan Embassy was the Co and at one time was owned by of which every Saudi citizen could be Chief Guest, while SriLankan Airlines Manager for Central Province, Indunil Goculdas, the Maharajah of Gwalior. The yesterday said Japan and Saudi Arabia proud. have come up to fund the project. In jurisprudence, freedom is the right to Wijekone was the Guest-Of-Honor, at the annual track and field event attended Mills employed thousands of workers determine one's own actions by a large gathering including parents and students and prominent members of most of whom lived in tenement housing Reyal said that the event gave a the community. around the , Minister Sirisena said so after platform for the foreign participants to autonomously; generally it is granted in ceremonially opening a new project those fields in which the subject has no Thimbirigasyaya, Pamankade and interact with the local intellectuals, The Overall Champion Challenge Trophy went to Walawe House at the meet Wellawatte areas. Its towering office at Moragahakanda, which was built academicians, artistes, poets and obligations to fulfill or laws to obey, at a cost of Rs. 67 million, Mahaweli according to the interpretation that the where more than 50 events were worked out. Champions from each age group smokestack was a landmark in Colombo playwrights. were given trophies. South. Its siren, which sounded at Authority sources said. hypothetical natural unlimited freedom is limited by the law for some matters. regular intervals, could be heard for Muzaffer said the opportunity gave the Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Khan pointed out that the competitions on the miles around, and served as a signal to He said the Government had imparted foreign participants a better picture of Rs. 3,750 million to step up the project in Social Justice, sometimes called Civil playing field give the participants an opportunity to learn from defeat as well as in the end of a work shift and as a wake up the Kingdom in terms of culture, 2009 with the funds pledged by the Justice, refers to the concept of a victory. "Those who did not get awards should try to win them at a subsequent call for workers due for the following heritage, and unique Arabian hospitality. Japanese and Saudi Arabian society in which justice is achieved in occasion and those who are victorious should not be content with their wins but shift. The siren sounded exactly on time, they should be motivated to improve their skills and talents for the coming so much so that people set their clocks governments. every aspect of it, rather than merely the administration of law. events." He also told the students that school days come to a man once in and watches to synchronize with it. The The total cost of Moragahakanda- Riyadh SLES Sports lifetime- it is a place where you cultivate good and unlearn bad habits. Therefore, Mills, which were associated with the social history of the area was also Kaluganga Reservoir Project is It is generally thought of as a world he asked them to make use of the school as a platform to develop the best for from page 2 their future career. significant in the political development of estimated to be US dollars 617 million Meet 2009 which affords individuals and groups fair (Rs. 65,000 million), the sources said. treatment and an impartial share of the modern Sri Lanka. The origins of the The diplomat said that the Sri Lankan International School in Riyadh, was the first trade union movement in Sri Lanka could He told the parents to wake up to the benefits of society. The project was launched by President problems of the school and cooperate Sri Lankan School to be established abroad. It serves as an example not only to be traced to the work force of the Mills. other Sri Lankan Schools in the Kingdom but also to other foreign schools spread The Mills and its massive complex of Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2007. with the administration to improve the (Different proponents of social justice condition of the school. "There is a have developed different interpretations out in several parts of the globe. He said the community is thankful to the people buildings, today stands in crumbling ruins who formed this institution with the initiative of former Ambassador Aboobucker ready for demolition. The Government has spent Rs. 500 great responsibility toward our children of what constitutes fair treatment and an million for the construction of the project who will be the future generation of our impartial share.) It can also refer to the Lebbe Muhammad Hashim, who founded this school with the assistance of a few dedicated community members who were interested in the future of Sri Lankan The Wellawatte Canal or “Layards Folly” in 2007 and Rs. 1,500 million in 2008. community." distribution of advantages and disadvantages within a society. children who were then resident in the capital. also referred to as the “Moda Ela” in Sinhala, into which the industrial wastes Minister Sirisena inspected the first He also stressed that the Sri Lankan phase of the project, which is nearing International School in Riyadh has Social justice is also a concept that Imran Haroon Acting Chairman of the Board of Management of the School of the Mills freely flowed, passed under requested the parents to rally round the school to develop the institution. "It is sad an old iron bridge on Havelock Road, completion with Kongahawela- earned a good reputation for its some use to describe the movement Moragahakanda highway being built at a outstanding performance in its curricular towards a socially just world. In this to note that a few parents only turn up for the school meetings," he said, adding replaced in 1938 by the bridge which that lack of parental cooperation could retard the progress of the school. stands today. It was constructed during cost of Rs. 900 million, and a bridge and extra-curricular activities because of context, social justice is based on the across Amban Ganga being constructed the persistent efforts of both the tutorial concepts of human rights and equality the tenure of office of the Mayor of at a cost of Rs 325 million. staff and its management. Enumerating the problems faced by the school, Haroon said the school finds it Colombo Dr V. R. Schokman in 1938. difficult to take visas from the government to recruit teachers from Sri Lanka. p3 ctd on p4 PAGE 3

Insight – Apr 2009 Insight –Apr 2009