President Maithripala Srisena shall take over Department of Wildlife Conservation and bring it under the Ministry Environment
The Government of Democratic Socialist Republic
of Sri Lanka always upholds the Buddhists principles, being Buddhist Nation and
as such it has been blessed with an ardent heritage of following strict
conservation measures since the monarchical era, an adorable practice very
unique to this tiny beautiful Island Nation unparalleled to any other nation -
that is how we proudly inherit a rich but always under threat Fauna and Flora,
that makes Sri Lanka proud. As such every citizen is duty bound to protect this
invaluable inheritance of rich Wildlife and transfer this to the next
generation as well, as an ardent inheritance of this tiny island nation- that
is the main objective of Department of Wildlife Conservation and that is why
Dept. of Wildlife Conservation has been established with principles, laws and
protocols to be adhered always for an effective conservation of fauna and flora
and it has to be continued in unequivocal terms.
A highly qualified professional
environmentalist, and self-oriented wild elephant enthusiast Dr. Sumith Pilapitiya have rendered his resignation as Director
General, Department of Wildlife Conservation, within months of his appointment,
as a result of he was not in a position to save
an honest officer who has gallantly discharged his duties, from the personal
barrage and admonition of Minister in charge of Wildlife Conservation and Sustainable
Development, for nothing other than the executing of his duty as a Park Warden,
bravely and appropriately. This entire
episode has dashed the hopes and trust of the truly patriotic and
environmentally concerned people, elicited on Dr. Sumith Pilapitiya’s taking over the helm of Dept. WLC.
Here what the Gallant Officer Park Warden Yala National Park Suranga Rathnayake has to say
"On June 05, I as the warden of Yala Park,
sent a group for a raid that was launched on information we had received.
During the raid we arrested a man who had 46 kgs of animal meats, an illegal
weapon and a dead tiger whose jaws had been removed in his possession. As WLCD
officials, we have the power to arrest poachers and produce them before courts.
So we produced the arrested poacher before court and he was remanded. On that
day, Minister Gamini Jayawickrema Perera called me and admonished me for
producing the suspect in court without producing him before the police. But, we
have the powers to produce suspects directly before a magistrate. Poachers have
been killing animals as a practice in Yala for a long time.”
But what the
minster in charge of the subject, matter Gamini Jayawickrema Perera have done?
The Minister of the subject, instead of praising
the officer who was honest, and brave to have apprehended the culprits of
leopard hunters for meat, hide and tooth red handed - risking his life. But the
Minister has gone totally out of the way to save the culprits, absolutely
contradicting and criminal manner.
Any officials of the Dept. of Wildlife
Conservation has the right to produce a suspect to a magistrate, and they don’t
need a police assistance whatsoever, they even can arrest a police officer who
the Dept. of Wildlife Conservation officials opines as a hindrance to execute
his duties promptly, and it should be the way it should continue as well.
Furthermore the same minister in Gamini
Jayawickrema Perera of UNP have even uttered to the Yala Park Warden
"Poachers have been killing animals as a practice in Yala for a long
time" so what it means clearly here is there had, have been a practice and
expecting the Park Warden – just to overlook those criminal activities done
by the cronies of the politicians.
Therefore it is quite clear that Leopard meat,
hide and teeth is for the consumption, of the two Ministers involved
in this blatant messing up, as a (mythical) remedy for aging and
impotence.
Even any Minister who wants to praise his
officials for the gallantly performed duty, it has go through the proper
channel, otherwise it all become too personal, officer concerned would lose the
recordings and his entire carrier.
Gamini Jayawickrema Perera is not fit to be called a Honorable, because he has
utter foolishly strayed off a very well known -and long practiced protocol by summoning on the officer who discharged his duties very
gallantly to parliament to face himself alone, willfully avoiding the
Director General, Dept. of Wildlife Conservation who was legally appointed by
Public Service Commission.
Department of Wildlife Conservation at the
outset shouldn't have been with Ministry of Sustainable Development
particularly with the Sri Lankan standard of Ministers, who always target the
public properties only to enhance their appearance among the public, everything
a just a propaganda tool. Sustainable Development is a technical term
corresponding to conservation of forests and wildlife, to conserve all the
natural reserves most effective way and no politician can understand its
whole reflecting meaning be it in Sinhala or English and thus it is too
dangerous and threatening to have named a ministry as Wildlife Conservation and
Sustainable Development.
P.S-: I have worked under Gamini Jayawickrema
Perera as Kurunagala District Minister 1982- 1983, and I was the National
consultant Wildlife Veterinarian for Department, Wildlife Conservation (1995-
1998)
