** The ill-fated story of the leopard mother and her cubs
** The secured culprit, Deputy Minister Duminda Dissanayake
by Sunalie Ratnayake
(July 16, Washington DC, Sri Lanka Guardian) SRI LANKA : Leopards, as we all are perfectly aware of, happen to not only be dominant cats related closely to tigers, lions and jaguars, but are also graceful creatures and a perpetual supplementary asset to our forests. Perpetual, nevertheless, only if we protect them, or leastwise, refrain from destroying them.
Adding to the asceticism of the entire state of affairs, the voiceless victim, killed for her striking skin, remain a female leopard, belonging to a sub species, scientifically known as Phanthera phadoos. This blameless sufferer, endemic to Sri Lanka, if not for her adverse fate as of late, would have been cuddling and feeding her delightful cubs, with paramount anticipation of preparing her newly found bundle of joy, to face the challenges in the wilderness, by now.
Just like any mother, human or other, the emotions of motherhood shall remain intact. Just like any newborn, human or other, the longing for a mother’s warmth and refuge for that palpable period of significance shall remain integral. Just like any human, animals fear death to the utmost. They do encompass feelings, more often than not, to an elevated echelon than most so-called human beings do.
Just like humans desire long life and unscathed living on earth, animals too aspire to live, void of trepidation, especially the unpitying kind caused on them by humans, the so-called sort.
However, in present day Sri Lanka, that does not seem to be the case, as stated earlier as well. Given the current circumstances as a whole, not only truth speaking, forthright humans living in the commune need to watch their back for merely indulging in a genuine vocation, but also voiceless, blameless animals born to the woodland seem to be having the obligation of preparing themselves, to avoid probable catastrophes of all nature, mainly the kind bequeathed upon them by Homo Sapiens, and once again, the so-called sort.
Thanks to our deceitful politicians in numbers, who are no more than insatiable schemers, and a pitiable legal system that disgracefully defend all unlawful activity of those in power ad infinitum, the aforesaid mother leopard too had to undergo a malicious fate, leaving an even shoddier hope for her three young female cubs.
It was learnt that a few huntsmen had been ordered the killing of the mother leopard by those well au fait with the government. Moreover, it was also reported that during a comparable time frame from the butchery of the mother leopard, three leopard cubs, no more than two months in age had been handed over to the Karuwalagaswewa Wildlife sector, and had been shortly transferred to the Anuradhapura Wildlife sector. The initial handing over of the cubs, to the Karuwalagaswewa Wildlife sector, had been made by North Western Provincial Council Member namely Priyankara Jayaratne and Karuwalagaswewa Pradeshiya Sabha Member baring the name Neil. However, there seem to be more to the so-called handing over ritual conducted by the aforesaid politicians.
According to internal and reliable sources of the Sri Lanka Wildlife Department, this brazen racket had been instigated in the Thabbowa forest for a significant period of time, under the sanction of the present regime, as well as it’s high ranking officials.
Furthermore, it was learnt that a President sibling well known for his infamous pilfering of the state’s prime wealth, perceptibly and ironically, not in aspects of developing the nation, but profoundly developing personal agendas at a rate (quite a common scenario witnessed from top to bottom, without endorsement, yet lying parallel to the code of ethics, in the Rajapakse regime), of course appointed by non other than the supremacy, a man supposed to be working for the wholehearted development of the island, in aspects of all communities with no boundaries had intervened in a dash, and had ordered “not to proceed” with further inquiries on the subject matter, thus to let it go, on the sly.
Acting devotedly with a bow, in terms of aforesaid orders from the summit, Director General of the Forest Department Chandrawansa Pathiraja had been instrumental in intervening rapidly and sending the rangers home, who had no other choice, but to abandon the raid scene, and to leave the leopard skin behind as well.
According to further sources of reliability, and some baring proof of the said defense, ordered by the aforesaid so-called “nation builder” in kurahan sataka, it had been at the time that the skin of the leopard mother had been ascertained at the residence of opulence, belonging to the minister in his youth, primarily referred to, in this article. And that had been, during and after the raid conducted by a team, with the direction of Mr. Upali Padmasiri of the Sri Lanka Forest Protection and Law Enforcement Unit (also the head of the said division) at the minister’s Skelton Gardens Havelock Town residence in Colombo 5, where the leopard skin had been put to dry, in the first floor.
This minister in his youth accountable predominantly for the entire misdeed happen to be non other than the Deputy Minister of Skills Development and Youth Affairs, Duminda Dissanayake, moreover the applauded son-in-law of the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, the presently frail D.M. Jayaratne.
Even though the leopard mother’s skin was promised to be handed over to the Forest Department by the house owners, up until today, there have been no indication whatsoever, of such act, in consequence, allowing the forest officials to file a “B” Report in court, with regards to the episode.
However, we, as Sri Lankan citizens, who have spent a lifetime of significance in our motherland, witnessing a noteworthy number these kind of reports being filed in numbers, throughout history, in terms of transgression by non other than stomach-churning politicians of all regimes, nature, size and colour, we are also quite confident of the fact that these reports shall end up in some god forsaken folder, which will eventually be hauled-up from the authorities in no time, in exchange of a little kickback to relevant parties, bringing the apt Sinhala quote to mind - “ Naduth haamuduruwange, baduth haamuduruwange. ”
It was also learnt that an attempt to sell the cubs for Rs. 500,000 had been abandoned, once the leopard mother’s skin was found at Minister Duminda Dissanayake’s abode, the site of the raid. The racketeers had taken measures to handover the cubs to the authorities, pretending goodwill, only to prevent further exposure from media and other related authorities that one could rely in present day Sri Lanka, in terms of unfolding the truth, and in this case, the truth pertaining to the massive sale of flora and fauna in Sri Lankan jungles, with the green flag from the supremacy.
Despite the disgusting situation on the whole, it is of unreserved importance to mention the noble efforts taken by the Sri Lanka Wildlife Department team led by Dr. Chandana Jayasinghe, who had taken all necessary steps to secure the lives of the fragile motherless leopard cubs, during their care at the Anuradhapura wildlife division, prior to moving them to the Dehiwela zoo. It is Dr. Jayasinghe and his team that had coached the cubs to consume milk from feeding bottles, that if not for the ill fate, would have been their mother’s abiding duty.
Dr Chandana Jayasinghe had eternally been a tower of strength, not only to the facility that his invaluable services are rendered unconditionally through the years, but by doing so, to the utmost betterment of all fauna in hazard in Sri Lanka, would it be in terms of disease, injury though natural causes, negligence or the common development of brutal attempt of hunt, Dr. Jayasinghe’s services towards those who cannot speak for themselves remain humble, yet precious. Thus, let alone recognition (which, in Sri Lanka, is not an expression for the genuine), at least appreciation should bestow upon him, and his team. Hence, I shall take this self-effacing moment for same.
Getting back to the focal point, further query on the state of affairs have only revealed further pitiable result. Prior to the leopard skin being discovered at Dissanayake’s residence, an immense, yet hushed pandemonium had been carried out at the Thabbowa junlge, where the leopard cubs had been discovered, and as said before, the racket had taken place for prolonged periods, thanks to a strappingly established legal and communal system in Sri Lanka, where silencing of all significant illegitimate conducts takes place, from the pinnacle to the pedestal.
In this case too, when a group of sincere officials had attempted by all means to establish integrity, in the face of evil, which obviously what they have vowed to do in terms of their vocation, and as the name of the unit they serve plainly states “Forest Protection and Law Enforcement”, a filament of questions burst in one‘s own mind as follows, given the circumstances ;
1) - protection of the forest in what aspects ?
2) - taken the reality into consideration, what does “protection” really stand for ?
3) - protecting whom from what ? (the treacherous humans of double-standards, from the innocent fauna ?)
4) - what is the law ?
5) - where is the law ?
6) - if at all there is a law, where is the law actually enforced ?
7) - on what ?
8) - and last, but not least, by whom ?
In a sensible world, the skin of the leopard mother should have belonged to the leopard herself, and the leopard should have been living happy-go-lucky in the woods. But in the foul world in Sri Lanka, polluted in every possible aspect by deadly politicians representing a “Chinthana” government and it‘s so-called morals, the leopard mother lies lifeless today, where her skin in pealed and hung to dry for the shameful pleasure of those in power, not in the forest, but at an exalted site in the middle of a metropolis.
That indeed is the quite obvious distinction, in terms of “The Wonder Of Asia” which indeed makes it a debatable ‘wonder’ by all means. The whole world is looking at us with estranged, bewildered, traumatized eyes, in many an aspect as of late, and this episode is only another scenario, probably quite diminutive in the eyes of the substantial crimes still hovering around.
Are we going to let it persist, and become Asia’s wonder of shame ? Mr. Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa a.k.a. Mahinda Rajapaksea, it’s high time to put your act together, especially in aspects of disgrace by your own contenders. However, one cannot teach a crab to walk straight.
The writer can be reached at sunalie.secretandbeyond@yahoo.com or sue@srilankaguardian.org
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