The Silk Road Journal by Mahika Ming

Most Sri Lankans are praising Dinesh Priyantha for winning their first ever Paralympics Gold Medal in Tokyo. He set a new world record by throwing the Javelin 67.79m. Samitha Dulan who won the Bronze is also being praised. Dinesh brought honour to the motherland in Rio as well in 2016 where he won a Bronze. Dinesh who is serving the SL Army since 2004 was injured while fighting to end the violence unleashed by the LTTE since 1975. SL armed forces ended the violent conflict in May 2009. It was a task which many military & non military experts said was impossible. Some were even confused if the Salvation Army was in battle front heading to Pamankada. However, in the end the public cosponsored a UN resolution against the armed forces (which included Dinesh) through their elected representatives (with support from the USA).

A decade has passed & since March 2020, the public are witnessing many protests by various groups demanding things to reduce the impact of the COVID pandemic. The armed forces & the police however, focus only on combating the virus in their capacity by risking their lives just the way they did in 2009. Though some Sri Lankans encouraged the population not to get the vaccine at the outset, it is encouraging to see some from Colombo even sneak through barbed wire fences in Chilaw to get the first dose while others take the expressway to Galle to get the second dose. With the intention of supporting Sri Lanka to rise against COVID – 19 many friends are helping in many ways. Among them are India, Russia, USA & Japan etc. The Peoples Republic of China (PRC) however, donated most of the medical & protection equipment & vaccines since the outbreak.

It is learned that some members of the armed forces are not vaccinated yet. It is very important for any nation to maintain healthy security forces for its protection not only during a pandemic but even during peaceful normal conditions. The PRC recently donated a stock of 300,000 doses of vaccines for the SL armed forces through the Chinese Defense Attaché in Colombo Senior Colonel Wan Dong. According to Chinese sources this donation is a result of the request made by Defense Secretary (Rtd) General Kamal Gunaratna from the Defense minister of China who visited Sri Lanka few months back. Sri Lankan public should be stronger to face obstacles that will come their way when developing their country. They should remember that there is enemy within & out of the country wanting to stop Sri Lanka going forward. The enemy will never run out of arrows, stones or javelins. People should learn from Dinesh Priyantha to identify the enemy in advance & throw their Javelins. Only strong Generals can lead strong armies. Only such can move mountains by moving little stones first. COVID is a small stone. It should not stop the country.

The writer is an analyst with interests in the financial and sustainable development sectors with postgraduate exposure in the Far East (mahika.ming@gmail.com).