Part two | Continued….

LGBT Community is active in the underlying

The writer while compiling this article, inquired from acquaintances where Sri Lankan gay people could be got hold of.  His ready answer was that if you go to the public washroom of Majestic City or the bus halt opposite the public library adjacent to ViharaMahaDevi Park (formerly Victoria Park) in Colombo at office signing off time, you will be in for a luck.  These places were supposed to be the meeting places of gay people. But, due to the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic and prevalent economic crisis in the country, physical movements on public roads and transport are restricted so like-minded gay people mostly browse internet sites to find partners now.  These sites are freely available on social media as described in the part-01 of this article.  According to the information gathered from reliable sources, LGBT community is very much active in the underlying society discreetly.  With advancements in the information technological field, finding a partner for LGBT people has become quite easy now. About a decade back, Thunmulla Junction in the close proximity of University of Colombo was an infamous joint for gays and transsexual. Now, it is no more a meeting place for them. Just by carrying an advertisement on social media would suffice to find an ideal partner. 

Security Forces: A haven for Gays and Lesbians

Sri Lankan Security Forces are held in high esteem by the people of Sri Lanka especially after the famous victory against LTTE.  But, with all due respect to the members of the security forces, it needs to be told though with reluctance that the environs of security forces are a haven for gays and lesbians in particular. One could find a multitude of examples in this stride in the security forces.  There was a well-known drill instructor in Sri Lanka Air Force some years back who was a gay.  His interest was in blow jobs and sodomization so that he kept some of his own recruits for indulgence of his sex desires.  For parental pressure, he got married but couldn’t satisfy his wife sexually. It was a known fact that he used to send his ‘boys’ to satisfy his wife while they were on leave. He was so addicted to gay sex so that when he was to leave the service, he couldn’t bear it.  He chose to commit suicide instead.  There was another senior officer who was an Air Traffic Controller. He was also well known for his explicit sexual desire for blow jobs. Although he was a marvel at job, he was looked down upon by superiors and peers. In a similar case, there was a woman soldier who was happily married with children.  Her marriage life was ruined as she kept a lesbian partner secretly beside. 

Common phenomenon in the society 

In Sri Lanka Army too, there were famous gay officers.  There were two noted characters who held the rank of Brigadier. In short, they preferred boys to girls.  One Brigadier was implicated in a mass murder in 88/89 era and incarcerated.  But, he was acquitted after a brief imprisonment.  Another one was of a Burgher descent and he died after leaving the Army. Similarly, there was a Navy Officer who was cashiered from the service for indulgence in gay sex.  In fact, he was later found to be a bi-sexual guy. Now, he is happily married with a child but he still goes for ‘boy encounters’ on and off but in absolute secrecy.  This is common to civil society as well. Some years back, a top CEO of a company was murdered in his car on Marine Drive, Colombo when he was on a hunt for boys.  Apart from that, a top notched Civil Servant who served for a number of Prime Ministers in Sri Lanka was a known bi-sexual. It was highlighted in my last article how the previous government openly championed LGBT activities and fell short of legalising them. Sri Lanka has a small population of transsexuals as well. Most of them are in the profession of prostitution mostly in Colombo and suburbs.  Thailand is a famous hotspot for transsexuals. Since Thailand being a popular place for prostitution, young boys go to extent of removing their genitals to pose as transsexuals to make money. In Sri Lanka, it is something that doesn’t happen. 

Whither LGBT rights in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is a way from the thinking pattern of the west.  Therefore, Sri Lankans are not yet ready to accept this notion of homosexuality in the society. In spite of this, it is commonplace everywhere but Sri Lankans still frown upon LGBT community. People consider it a taboo in society. Usually, the LGBT people are considered to be extraordinarily intelligent.  Judging by the people who indulge in LGBT sex, it could be a proven fact. Sri Lanka being a highly conservative society, is unlikely to recognize LGBT rights in the near future. This gives vent to the fact that Sri Lankan LGBT community has to go underground in satisfying their sexual desires for eternity.  It is because Sri Lanka has been deep rooted in religious beliefs and perceptions which cannot be reversed in a mediocre effort. So, the Sri Lankan LGBT community has no alternative but to carry on discreetly until a conducive environment is created for them to live in dignity as of western countries. But, it is a pipe dream for LGBTers as far as the local mindset on them is concerned.  Before, I conclude, I need to mention about Dr Sonali Deraniyagala who lost her entire family for 2004 Tsunami, has openly live in a same sex marriage in United States. She had reportedly undergone a trauma and found solace in her new relationship. Sri Lanka is too far behind to understand this human nature. 

Russia’s military lost two jets, 13 tanks and a helicopter over the last 24 hours, Ukraine’s military claimed Friday, despite Putin claiming the annexation of four Ukrainian regions a few hours later.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine detailed Russia’s combat losses between the beginning of the war on February 24 and September 30, as well as those from the last day.

It estimated that 59,080 Russian troops and military personnel had died in the fighting since the war started in february 2022, including 500 over on Friday.

They also said Russia had lost 13 tanks in the last day, and more than 2,300 since the beginning of the fighting. Russia lost two jets last friday, contributing to the 264 it has lost in total since the start of the conflict.

On Friday, Russia lost one helicopter to Ukrainian forces; it has lost 225 overall since February 24.

Incredibly, in the last 24 hours before the announcement, Russia lost 23 armored combat machines (APVs), six artillery systems, an anti-aircraft warfare system and eight UAVs.

Russia cannot replace the tanks and planes lost and has started pulling outdated models out of retirement to replace their losses.

This chaotic situation led to the civilian taking over of Presidential House and the Presidential Secretariat in an unprecedented wave of civilian demonstrations ever seen in post-independent Sri Lanka. 

The 8th Executive President of Sri Lanka was taken to a safe house in Male, Maldives by a Sri Lanka Air Force carrier which even brought the wrath of people on SLAF Commander Air Marshal Sudharshana Pathirana. During his short stay in Maldives, the opposition party of Maldives raised concerns with their government for accommodating ousted president of Sri Lanka in Maldives. The country hopping GR’s next stop was Singapore.  In Singapore too, the reception was not healthy for him and his spouse.

Meanwhile, back in Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan government was accused of funding the ousted President’s overseas hotel accommodation and other expenses. However, GR’s stay in Singapore was a little more than one month. He and his spouse were granted an extension of Visa by the Singaporean government at the request of the Sri Lankan government. It was an unequivocal fact that the Sri Lankan government was still backing for GR’s safety. This has in fact dismayed the people of Sri Lanka but now they have limited options. 

GR then proceeded to Thailand for safety. Thailand government however assured that he would be allowed to stay in the country as long as he would be safe to return to Sri Lanka. Nevertheless, GR and spouse opted to return to Sri Lanka after over one month of self-imposed exile obviously with the blessings of the Sri Lankan government. It is not clear as of now whether he would be planning for a comeback to domestic politics. But, he has very remote chances of doing it given the situation in the country today. He still stands out in favor of the people.   

The IMF offered the first indication of a path out of insolvency for the nation,  which has run out of cash and suffered insuperable shortages of fuel and essentials this year. 

However, the multilateral lender said the staff-level agreement was subject to approval by its management and executive board and contingent on Sri Lanka securing debt relief from creditors and financing from multilateral lenders, as well as undertaking steps to reform its economy and improve governance.

 “Because Sri Lanka’s debt is assessed to be unsustainable, debt relief from Sri Lanka’s creditors will be required to assure debt sustainability,” said Peter Breuer, the IMF’s senior mission chief for the country. 

“Having a path to restore debt sustainability — so-called financing assurances — is necessary for approval by the IMF executive board, and additional financing from multilateral partners will be needed to close financing gaps.” Sri Lanka this year became the first Asian nation in decades to default on its external debt of $51bn, about half of which is held by private bondholders.

LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transsexual) is a taboo subject in Sri Lanka. And it is not a topic which is widely discussed in the society or local forums either. But, LGBT activities are widespread in Sri Lankan society in the underlying and in absolute secrecy.  The writer wishes to share a story which he is privy to, personally. It is a very popular sport in Sri Lanka which is evenly played by both sex (name of the sport is withheld due to obvious reasons).  Men’s and women’s teams share the same facilities at a venue in Colombo and therefore, both teams frequent this place for regular practices. Men’s team members are always accompanied by their spouses who would while away time being in their cars or SUVs.  Even the fiancés of men’s team members are a common sight there. Nevertheless, the women’s team is a stark contrast in this sense. Out of all women’s team members, only 2 % of them are married while all others remain single. Unlike the men’s team, they are never accompanied by their fiancés because they don’t have male partners in their life. The entire team members are hardcore lesbians as it transpired. Each player has a partner and they stick to each other at any cost.  More than anything, they want to share the room with their partner during a tournament in Sri Lanka or abroad. Knowing the fact that all team members are lesbians, the authorities have less respect for them, in contrary to their counterparts of the opposite sex.  Moreover, recently, a prominent Cricketer of international repute divorced his wife as he found his wife to be a lesbian. 

Government of Butterflies

In 2015, the so-called government of good governance came to power which was later branded as the government of butterflies.  It is common knowledge that the top brass of the government was said to be gays or bi sexual. Even the second in command of the government allegedly fell into the same category although he has been married for quite some time without children.  Late Mangala Samaraweera, a key minister of this government who held all important portfolios of Foreign affairs and Finance, openly declared that he was a gay. He even admitted to frequenting gay clubs while he was studying overseas. But, people of Sri Lanka looked down, ridiculed and loathed this government as a whole due to this very fact. However, this government had a better understanding of the world order as it had a blend of seasoned politicians with international exposure. So, the government covertly attempted to officially recognize homosexuality and legalize marriages of the same sex. Religious elements of Sri Lanka which are very powerful in fashioning public opinions, were soon up in arms against the government especially the Buddhist clergy. Therefore, the government was under immense pressure to put it under the carpet which they did ultimately under the mounting displeasure of the people. So, it has been nipped in the bud. In Sri Lanka, there is only a very little possibility that it will ever be legalized in line with western countries where such marriages are common and accepted in their societies.

Religious Opinion of homosexuality 

Lord Buddha, who lived 2600 years ago in India, once disclosed that there were four types of people in the world.  He identified them as Purushalinga (men), Sthreelinga (women), Napunshaka (Gay) and Ubatholinga (Transsexual).  Nowhere in Buddhist scripts, had homosexuality been condemned. Simply, it was there even during Buddha’s period. However, homosexuality is a taboo according to the Quran, the sacred book of Muslims.  The Quran had gone a step ahead beyond mere condemnation but cursed such acts. In ancient Muslim world, those who were caught for homosexuality had been stoned to death.  Quran had even specified the punishments that should be meted out to those who indulged in homosexuality. Today, homosexual people from Muslim world are only subjected to whipping.   In this sense, Christianity is no exception although it has specified no punishment.  In Christianity, it is against the wishes of the God Almighty or against the morality of societies. Basically, most of the Christian or Catholic sects do not promote homosexuality.  But, there are 27 countries where same sex marriages have been legalized. Irony is that they all are pro-Catholic or Christian countries. Netherlands is the first country which legalized same sex marriages in 2001 and afterwards, 26 other countries followed the suit.  Even in South Africa, it is legal. Nevertheless, Asian countries being traditionally conservative are far from accepting marriages of the same sex. 

Social Media provides impetus

Today, we are in a world of advanced technology.  Social media has taken the world by storm and is increasingly becoming popular all over the world. Matchmaking for marriages is extensively done online nowadays. Similarly, multitude of social media platforms and pornography sites have been created for like-minded people of various interest. Homosexuality is no exception in this trend. Homosexual online sites provide the opportunity of finding lesbian, gay or bi-sexual partner for one’s specific pleasure. Furthermore, transsexuals are sold online too. As a result, prostitution of LGBTs have been made easy worldwide. In Sri Lanka too, many similar sites have come up such as ‘Lankalove’ and exclusive gay sites on Facebook for instance. So, it is a well-known fact that Sri Lankans are browsing such sites to find sexual partners. The Government is rather strict on this up and coming trend and therefore, many sites have been restricted or prohibited. Even ‘Lankalove’ site has been dislodged but some secretive cartels of homosexuals are operative undercover. Recently, the government brought a law which allows the Police to round up who watches porn videos online.  No records are available to find out how successful the Police is, in this drive. Some radical thinkers countered this move saying it will serve no purpose. They point out that sex criminal wave is on the rise in spite of Government’s restrictions and laws. Therefore, it is high time that the Government revisited this issue from a different point of view because LGBT people also have rights of their own.

The group’s website also links to a second page claiming a 2019 Tesla software update negatively impacted the battery capacity of any Tesla Model S manufactured between 2013 and 2016.

Tesla has already settled two group lawsuits in Norway, from the spring and summer of 2018. The terms of these settlements are not known.

These are the numerous quality complaints in the past, and  Ellan Musk even acknowledged several faults.

Car won’t start in cold or warm weather 

Door handles won’t open in cold weather 

Intense squeaking noise 

“Bubbles” in seats 

Loose front seat 

Trunk lid filled with rain water 

Autopilot does not work properly 

Internet is slow and does not work as it ought to 

The car creaks when you pass speed bumps and other bumps in the road 

The lights do not work properly 

Doors that open by themselves 

Yellow edges around the display screens 

Windows that do not close completely 

Systems reset on their own 

Problems charging 

Rust problems on new cars (especially Model 3) 

Poor paint quality means that the car has to be repainted 

You were promised free charging throughout the car’s lifetime, but the new charging stations do not fit the car 

Not all problems are solved when the car is serviced 

You have to wait on the phone for a long time before Tesla answers