Aritha W

Banking Lawyer, Human Rights Activist, Adventurer. Tweets are personal.

[Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project @OCCRP]

The revelation that a large number of Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka are accused of abusing children was made in response to a freedom of information request by OCCRP. It comes as the country grapples with child sex allegations against one of its most senior Buddhist clergymen.

https://t.co/fSG0ZZbiUj

[Aritha W @aritha]

The police officer in charge of the Bureau for the Prevention of Abuse of Children and Women prides herself in the number of families she’s “put together” and often refuses to take complaints down from abused women and children. The situation has got worse.

[Chaminda Dias @chami9539]

This is dire... but not a surprise. We have built a system that routinely fails victims of abuse.

Recently, a friend was physically assaulted by her husband. When she went to the police and made a complaint, the response was for the policewoman to call the husband and ask him to take her home because men are seen as the head of the household.

That entrenched misogyny meant she was asked to be patient, think of the children, and try to work things out... and this was after she had been battered.

The case is still going nowhere, and she remains trapped in that home, still living with a violent and unpredictable man.

So when people ask why there is outrage when children allege abuse, this is why... If grown women can't get protection from a system steeped in misogyny and power imbalances, what chance does a child have?

Then add another layer.. the reverence and protection afforded to religious institutions. Those children are not just fighting an individual abuser but an entire system.

That is why people are angry, why I am angry. That is why this has touched a nerve throughout the country.

Anyone who feels that this is an attack on the institution of Buddhism needs to rethink their worldview. It is the abuser who is denigrating the religion, not those asking for accountability on behalf of voiceless children.

#SriLanka
#AccountabilityProjectLK
#SystemChangeLK

[Kithmina Hewage @khewage1]

Rs 10bn = USD 30mn

Here's just a small sample of things you could buy with that money (based on a quick Google search):

👉🏾 10 high-end MRI machines
👉🏾 2 specialized pediatric cardiac wings similar to Little Hearts
👉🏾 10 regional hospitals
👉🏾 75,000 - 100,000 laptops for low-income students

Every rupee wasted on perpetually loss-making SriLankan Airlines comes at the cost of the health and education of Sri Lankan citizens!

[Aritha W @aritha]

@LihiniFernando Sri Lanka desperately needs a system to maintain monastic discipline and to disrobe monks who violate it. For decades politicians have used the lack of such a system for their advantage to increasingly politicise the Sasana. These measures should reverse that.

[Aritha W @aritha]

@RehanJayawick @aruni_t Rehan - how can an audit report be ready when it’s only been 6 months since the fund was established? First a financial year has to end, then accounts prepared and subject to a Government audit which takes many months (same as a Pvt company) and then the report is published.

[The Examiner @ExaminerLK]

The JMO’s report concluded that the child had been raped over a long period of time. The NCPA told the court that even as recently as April 27th the police had failed to name any suspects.

https://t.co/VtM4JAPP1E

[Centre for a Smart Future (CSF) @CSFasia]

The price of slow progress is rising. Sri Lanka’s trade, exports, and FDI agenda needs an urgent refresh and acceleration. Read our sharp Media Release published in today’s @FTSriLanka. Private and public sector stakeholders must work together proactively https://t.co/HojRuZptni

[Aritha W @aritha]

@ManikkageYasuni @gayaradesilva Any crime is a crime against the State and the prosecution is done by the State. Private lawyers can support the victim by guiding them through the legal process. When the victim is a child, any supplementary private legal support must be sought by the NCPA and the parents.

[Nalaka Gunawardene @NalakaG]

Will #SaffronCrimes against children in #lka receive due criminal investigation & judicial action? Or will #SaffronImpunity prevail? Watch this space...

[Aritha W @aritha]

Where are all the religious leaders who are always protesting about “protecting” children?

[Kelum Samarasena @kelums]

The monk must be immediately removed from position as the chief prelate responsible for key historic places in Anuradhapura including Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi. The alleged crime surfaced in 2022. Siyam Nikaya heads should've taken action long before.

[Aritha W @aritha]

@gita_mathew Looks yum

[Shashi Tharoor @ShashiTharoor]

Points well taken. Things are going well currently. But we need a major push to enhance our relationship even more! @santoshm

[Daniel Alphonsus @danielalphonsus]

Meanwhile in a parallel universe 32 kms away…

[Aritha W @aritha]

@SethFromColombo Rajagiriya doesn’t belong to Colombo. Also, the green algae is a result of prolonged dry weather which has reduced the flow and depth of the water and increased its temperature.

[Lihini Fernando @LihiniFernando]

When national interest rises above party politics,
When integrity and ethics outweigh individual ambition,
That is where you find @EranWick Eran Wickramaratne.

When his own party failed to recognise his true worth,
The ruling party made the smarter call.

Credit to President AKD for choosing meritocracy over party politics, for placing the right person in the right role, rather than siding to party loyalty.

Looking at the interim committee, what stands out is balance. The industry specialists, financial minds, legal expertise, strong female representation and the leadership. I’m sure it was Eran who recommended the names.

Many would agree that some of the finest minds in our political landscape presently have spent years on the opposition benches, without the opportunity to truly govern.

So, appointments like this- at least aimed at restoring a game we all cherish is a refreshing signal, that real progress requires looking outside ones own camp and President AKD has acknowledged it with this appointment.

Wishing the interim committee led by Eran Wickramaratne the very best!

[Aritha W @aritha]

@WrongLK @anuradisanayake If you don’t want to buy Pakistani milk - don’t buy it. No one is forcing you. Let market forces reign and let consumers choose what they want to consume.

[Yasuni Manikkage @ManikkageYasuni]

Things I utterly condemn:
– Children being forced to become monks or priests
– Celibate clergy preaching to us about sex education
As a doctor, I’ve seen enough child abuse by clergy.
Be done with the silence. These cover-ups must end now.

[Murtaza Jafferjee @murtazajaff]

MCC had nothing to do with SOFA. The link was concocted by our zealots. Saying no to MCC was the biggest policy blunder - we probably gave up 1 percent annual gdp growth over a decade. The focus of the MCC was evidence based - usd 480 mn, usd 300 mn was to improve connectivity including bus rapid transit. USD 60 mn was to improve land management including titling -

[Aritha W @aritha]

@ManikkageYasuni explains well why informed children are a threat to those that want to abuse them. And why there is so much resistance to comprehensive Sex Ed - because there is so much abuse.

[Yasuni Manikkage @ManikkageYasuni]

This is good journalism.@ExaminerLK

Children abused, silenced & sacrificed to protect the image of a church.
While survivors are still trying to heal, the same priests roar against sex education in schools.
They know: informed, empowered children are harder to groom, harder to control.
That’s why they fear knowledge more than they fear abuse being repeated.

[Aritha W @aritha]

@SuDharmapala @rukmankan @ExaminerLK Of course, that’s why the pedophile rings have been so activated about comprehensive sex and relationship education to children. Once you teach children things like “consent” and what abuse is, they will hopefully get caught out.

[Aritha W @aritha]

Horrifying expose by the @ExaminerLK on the Sri Lankan Catholic Church’s cover up of sexual abuse of young boys.

No wonder Cardinal Ranjith wants to keep children ignorant on sexual health and rights. So his priests can continue to molest young kids and get away with it.