Theekshana Jayakody

SRI LANKAN 🇱🇰🇺🇸📷☸️🌍🌲🎶🏏☮️

[Sam E @Sm137023]

The 2 dogs in Bondi Beach have been neutralised

[Azzam Ameen @AzzamAmeen]

A heartbreaking loss for our nation. 🇱🇰💔

Wing Commander Nirmal Siyambalapitiya, the pilot of the Sri Lanka Air Force Bell 212 helicopter, has died in the crash that occurred during disaster relief and rescue operations in Wennappuwa.

A brave officer who served with courage and selflessness until his final moment.

Sri Lanka mourns a true hero. 🙏🏻

[Theekshana Jayakody @TJ_SL]

One of the best #t20 innings I have witnessed. Only regret is I was not at the ground. Keep it consistent #AsiaCup2025 @OfficialSLC @KusalMendis13

[Cricinfo @cricinfo]

Where once greatness was expected, now only meaningful contributions are required, and Kusal Mendis is playing match-winning innings while also impressing with the gloves across formats, writes @afidelf.

Read more: https://t.co/x7I0iDRFps #AsiaCup2025

[M U M Ali Sabry @alisabrypc]

A Personal Reflection on the Brampton Monument and Tamil Genocide Education Week

As a citizen deeply committed to Sri Lanka’s unity, dignity, and reconciliation, I am both dismayed and saddened by the recent developments in Ontario, Canada , including the inauguration of a so-called “Tamil Genocide Monument” and the observance of a “Genocide Education Week.”

Let me be clear, Sri Lanka did not commit genocide. That claim is not only unfounded, it is deeply damaging. No international tribunal has ever found Sri Lanka guilty of genocide. What took place in Sri Lanka was a tragic but necessary military operation to end a decades-long conflict against the LTTE, a proscribed terrorist organization in over 30 countries, including Canada. It was a war against terror, not against any community.

While every loss of innocent life in war is heartbreaking, mischaracterizing the conflict as genocide not only distorts the truth but also dishonours the memory of all Sri Lankans who suffered, Sinhala, Tamil, and Muslim alike.

These symbolic acts in Canada far removed from our realities on the ground and directed at appeasing vote bank risk reopening old wounds, hardening divisions, and undermining the delicate progress we’ve made in healing as a nation. Reconciliation cannot be built on selective memory and one-sided narratives. It requires courage, honesty, and above all, empathy for all communities who endured pain during the war.

As someone who has dedicated years in public service, I know how difficult but essential it is to bring people together. This kind of gesture does the opposite it divides Sri Lankans at home and polarizes our diaspora abroad.

We must learn from our past, yes. But let us do so with truth, nuance, and compassion not with slogans that simplify complex histories or monuments that deepen mistrust.

[M U M Ali Sabry @alisabrypc]

If ever there was a genocide in Sri Lanka, it was the LTTE’s brutal ethnic cleansing of Muslims and Sinhalese from the Northern Province.
In October 1990, Muslims, fellow minorities, were given just 24 hours to pack up and leave their ancestral homes. Over 75,000 people were expelled. Their properties looted, mosques desecrated, and lives shattered, simply because of their faith.
Sinhalese families were driven out too, many never allowed to return.
This is the real, documented ethnic cleansing that took place in our lifetime.

Today, the Northern Province stands as a testament to resilience, not of ethnic purity, but of political participation.
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) swept the recently concluded Local Government Elections in that very province.
Would that be possible in a land where “genocide” was allegedly committed by the state?
Let’s be honest, what a farce.

The truth is, all communities suffered in this conflict.
The Tamils bore unimaginable hardship, both from the war that raged through their lands and from appalling riots like in 1983.
The Muslims and Sinhalese too suffered displacement and loss.
But to falsely label Sri Lanka with the gravest of crimes, genocide, is not just wrong, it is divisive, dangerous, and deeply irresponsible.

The Canadian government should know better.
But sadly, they are blinded by vote-bank politics, chasing ballots, not balance.
This recklessness doesn’t heal. It doesn’t unite.
It emboldens extremism, inflames wounds, and threatens the very reconciliation we all aspire to achieve.

We must stand for truth, for all communities, and for a future rooted not in falsehood and foreign posturing, but in justice, unity, and dignity for every Sri Lankan.

[Theekshana Jayakody @TJ_SL]

#Yellowstone season 5 is the biggest disappointment since #GameOfThrones. What’s the point of watching without #KevinCostner

[Jared Kushner @jaredkushner]

September 27th is the most important day in the Middle East since the Abraham Accords breakthrough.

I have spent countless hours studying Hezbollah and there is not an expert on earth who thought that what Israel has done to decapitate and degrade them was possible.

This is significant because Iran is now fully exposed. The reason why their nuclear facilities have not been destroyed, despite weak air defense systems, is because Hezbollah has been a loaded gun pointed at Israel. Iran spent the last forty years building this capability as its deterrent.

President Trump would often say, “Iran has never won a war but never lost a negotiation.” The Islamic Republic’s regime is much tougher when risking Hamas, Hezbollah, Syrian and Houthi lives than when risking their own. Their foolish efforts to assassinate President Trump and hack his campaign reek of desperation and are hardening a large coalition against them.

Iranian leadership is stuck in the old Middle East, while their neighbors in the GCC are sprinting toward the future by investing in their populations and infrastructure. They are becoming dynamic magnets for talent and investment while Iran falls further behind. As the Iranian proxies and threats dissipate, regional security and prosperity will rise for Christians, Muslims and Jews alike.

Israel now finds itself with the threat from Gaza mostly neutralized and the opportunity to neutralize Hezbollah in the north. It’s unfortunate how we got here but maybe there can be a silver lining in the end.

Anyone who has been calling for a ceasefire in the North is wrong. There is no going back for Israel. They cannot afford now to not finish the job and completely dismantle the arsenal that has been aimed at them. They will never get another chance.

After the brilliant, rapid-fire tactical successes of the pagers, radios, and targeting of leadership, Hezbollah’s massive weapon cache is unguarded and unmanned. Most of Hezbollah fighters are hiding in their tunnels. Anyone still around was not important enough to carry a pager or be invited to a leadership meeting. Iran is reeling, as well, insecure and unsure how deeply its own intelligence has been penetrated. Failing to take full advantage of this opportunity to neutralize the threat is irresponsible.

I have been hearing some amazing stories about how Israel has been collecting intelligence over the past 10 months with some brilliant technology and crowdsourcing initiatives.

But today, with the confirmed killing of Nasrallah and at least 16 top commanders eliminated in just nine days, was the first day I started thinking about a Middle East without Iran’s fully loaded arsenal aimed at Israel. So many more positive outcomes are possible.

This is a moment to stand behind the peace-seeking nation of Israel and the large portion of the Lebanese who have been plagued by Hezbollah and who want to return to the times when their country was thriving, and Beirut a cosmopolitan city. The main issue between Lebanon and Israel is Iran; otherwise there is a lot of benefit for the people of both countries from working together.

The right move now for America would be to tell Israel to finish the job. It’s long overdue. And it’s not only Israel’s fight.

More than 40 years ago, Hezbollah killed 241 US military personnel, including 220 Marines. That remains the single deadliest day for the U.S. Marine Corps since the Battle of Iwo Jima. Later that same day, Hezbollah killed 58 French paratroopers.

And now, over the past six weeks or so, Israel has eliminated as many terrorists on the US list of wanted terrorists as the US has done in the last 20 years. Including Ibrahim Aqil, the leader of Hezbollah’s Islamic Jihad Organization who masterminded the 1983 killing of those Marines.

[Theekshana Jayakody @TJ_SL]

@RexClementine It’s a team sport. It’s not about personal milestones. Don’t start shit! I thought you were a good journalist instead you are garbage

[Theekshana Jayakody @TJ_SL]

@BTnewsroom @Nibsnib She is a joke

[Theekshana Jayakody @TJ_SL]

@ICC such a shame. Double Standards. This happens when @OfficialSLC ex co has no backbone. https://t.co/OUJEwWrHn3

[James Lucas @JamesLucasIT]

Places on Earth that don't look real - thread 🧵

1. Namibia, where the desert meets the ocean

[Theekshana Jayakody @TJ_SL]

@Dailymirror_SL How can this mf even say this?

[Theekshana Jayakody @TJ_SL]

@tourismlk @fernandoharin all the good work done promoting Sri Lanka as a top tourist destination is undone when your own is getting discriminated in your own backyard. This is no isolated incident. Oh yeah and the open air drug markets at these parties…you should go sometime

[Rukmankan @rukmankan]

Step 1: make it easier for foreigners to get a business visa, set up a business.
Step 2: make it easy for any hospitality establishment to get excise license
Step 3: raid all these places run by tourists without work permit & fine them

And never let stuff like 👇🏾 take place.

[NewsWire 🇱🇰 @NewsWireLK]

"Congratulations Sri Lanka. Mahola for working together to create positive change. You are the example. All my Aloha" Actor Jason Momoa, famous for his portrayal in the movie Aquaman, extended his congratulations to Sri Lanka following the island's designation as a UN World Restoration Flagship. This acknowledgment highlights Sri Lanka's significant endeavors in rebuilding and restoring mangrove ecosystems.

📸 UN

[Tucker Carlson @TuckerCarlson]

Ep. 73 The Vladimir Putin Interview

[Theekshana Jayakody @TJ_SL]

@Sakun_SD #chills

[Theekshana Jayakody @TJ_SL]

@afidelf Mad Max #GOAT

[Robin Delta @heyrobinai]

Is ChatGPT yesterday's news?

Microsoft just released Copilot Pro, and it's simply amazing!

Here are the 10 Copilot features you can't miss in 2024:

THREAD 🧵

[Tucker Carlson @TuckerCarlson]

Ep. 56 A Christmas Eve election surprise

[Jeevan Thondaman @JeevanThondaman]

Yesterday in Parliament we debated the budgetary allocation for the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Children and Social Empowerment.

Rape and sexual violence against women and children was heavily discussed. Unfortunately, instead of proposing solutions, many of my fellow Parliamentarians only politicised the situation.

Politicisation of rape does not address the conditions that lead to rape or deal with its terrible aftermath. The solution is to take definitive steps to solve it, which is why I am campaigning for:

1. Comprehensive Sexuality Education for children and young adults - that can empower them to take control and make informed decisions on their sexuality and relationships.

2. Decriminalisation of abortion - so that women are empowered to make decisions on their bodies. Reports from the Health Ministry show that about 650 unsafe abortions take place everyday. This means that our laws are putting the lives of 250,000 women at risk every year.

3. Increased Judicial Safety for women and children - so that our justice system doesn’t penalise the very people that need its protection.

4. Speedy resolution of cases pertaining to rape and sexual violence - The average child rape case can take 7-10 years to resolve, leaving the victims in limbo and without any justice.

Sri Lanka’s statistics on sexual violence against women and children are alarming.

- Every 2 hours a child is sexually molested.
- Every 90 minutes, a woman is raped.
- 62% of women killed were murdered by either an intimate partner, ex-partner or family member.

A 2013 UN Survey on Male Sexual violence in SL showed that 15% of men interviewed admitted to having raped at least once, with the majority who admitted to rape saying they did so because they were entitled to.

20% of those respondents admitted to raping for fun or out of boredom.

In this country, we have a history of safeguarding oppressors, and it is much the same with rape or sexual violence, where police tend to have more sympathy with the rapists than the victims.

This is reflected in the chilling statistic that only 3% of those who admitted to rape in the above study were arrested. And, according to a 2021 University of Kelaniya study, only 5% of cases relating to women murdered between 2013-2017 have concluded.

These figures should make us ashamed and alarmed. Which is why I am committed to support reforms to create a safer and more just country for our women and children.