Archive for September, 2009
September 30, 2009 at 10:02 am · Categories: Media and Communications | by Concerned Citizen
[Authors note: This was written around 4 weeks ago; the result of 48 hours of shock and anger following an Honest Penman being "put into the 'Pen'". ]
“Yellow Banana” (with apologies to the Beatles…)
In this island where we’re STILL being torn
Lived one man wrote a tale of Truth, you see.
But THEY took 20 years of his life
In this land of a Banana Republic
So they sailed on (the King; & his Princes & sons)
(Will they never be downed by the spineless Party of Green?)
but those Blues live on, enjoying the people’s waves
In their yellow banana ……..
We all live in their yellow banana
Yellow banana, yellow banana
We all live in our yellow banana
Yellow banana, yellow banana
And THEIR friends are all aboard
(Half …
September 30, 2009 at 9:48 am · Categories: IDPs and Refugees, Peace and Conflict, Post-War, Vavuniya | by Groundviews
[Editors note: Two short testimonies on the plight of IDPs released from Menik Camp sent to Groundviews highlight significant challenges facing reconciliation and resettlement in post-war Sri Lanka and the urgent need for psycho-social counseling.]
Testimony #1
Around 50-52 IDP families from Zone 5, Menik Farm were brought outside the camp with their belongings and asked to leave without any assistance. No transport provided. No proper documentation was given to prove the release. The military brought our belongings in a tractor until the entrance of the camp and then handed over to us. We walked till the entrance. Once our belongings arrived, we were asked to go home. But we didn’t have any facility to go. We didn’t know where to go …
September 28, 2009 at 1:24 pm · Categories: Colombo, Human Rights, Human Security, IDPs and Refugees, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance, Post-War | by Basil Fernando
Dayan Jayatilaka begins his article with the words, “I am proud of my country, Sri Lanka.” To demonstrate the differences in our points of view I would like to begin by stating that, while I am proud of some aspects of Sri Lanka I am also very ashamed of many other aspects of my country, Sri Lanka. I have publically stated that many times, over many years, beginning particularly from the cruel repression of the innocent in 1971 under the pretext of dealing with the JVP insurgency. In my book of poems, The sea is calm behind your house, I have expressed many times that when a motherland turns into a ‘murder land’ it is a matter that …
September 28, 2009 at 1:15 am · Categories: Disaster Management, IDPs and Refugees, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance, Post-War, Vavuniya | by Rohini Hensman
[Editors note: An edited copy of this article appears in the Sunday Times of 27th September 2009. This is the full version.]
It was a relief to hear that the government was at last responding to mounting domestic and international criticism, and had begun releasing the Vanni IDPs. Perhaps the shocking report in the Sunday Times on 6 September about human trafficking at the internment camps was partly responsible. An exemplary piece of investigative journalism, it revealed that up to 20,000 IDPs have been ransomed by desperate relatives who are able and willing to pay lakhs of rupees to secure their release, and have left the camps. This exposes so-called ‘screening’ for what it is: a cover …
September 27, 2009 at 11:28 am · Categories: Colombo, Foreign Relations, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance, Post-War | by Dayan Jayatilleka
I am proud of my country, Sri Lanka, which has just been able to vanquish a formidable, ferocious and fascistic foe, despite its vast global network and in the face of considerable external pressure. I am proud that my country Sri Lanka has been able to restore its territorial unity and integrity and reasssert its independence and sovereignty. I am proud of the Sri Lankan armed forces which have achieved that which the armies of major powers have been unable to in many parts of the world. I am proud that Sri Lanka has been able to defeat not one but two armed totalitarianisms, South and North, Sinhala and Tamil — the JVP and the LTTE- while maintaining at least …
September 27, 2009 at 2:24 am · Categories: Jaffna, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance | by Dayan Jayatilleka
The evening was good but perhaps Rajani deserved a bit better. She always told it like it was, named things by their name, confronted reality frontally. That quintessential spirit of Rajani, her courageous, critical, ‘concreteness’, was by and large absent in the 20th anniversary commemoration held at the BMICH on September 25th. It was only in the keynote speaker from India, our old friend Nandita Haksar, that one recognized a spiritual sister of Rajani Thiranagama.
Even if a trifle protracted, the cultural component of the evening was beautiful, strong and poignant, with the singing voices of Rajani’s sisters (especially Nirmala’s opening dirge), Liyanage Amarakeerthi’s poetry reading and Rajani’s own writings being the high points.
There was something missing though, an absent presence: …
September 25, 2009 at 7:00 am · Categories: Colombo, Foreign Relations, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance, Post-War, Vavuniya, War Crimes | by Concerned Citizen
Despite the successful military victory over terrorism, we continue to be warned by the state that a critical threat to national security continues to stalk the country. Consequently, we have passively assented to a persistent and invasive military presence in our daily life. Furthermore, over quarter of a million Tamils are continuing to be held by the state against their will in IDP camps as suspect terrorists until proved innocent through stringent government screening procedures implemented at a measured pace which appears insidious. The leadership of the country has assumed an overtly authoritarian and threatening stance in declaring that dissenting opinion against state policy is unpatriotic and subversive.
Despite vehement denials, it is obvious that the government is guilty of suppression …
September 23, 2009 at 5:18 pm · Categories: Colombo, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance, Post-War | by Dr. P. Saravanamuttu
The war it seems is not over. The international conspiracies to save Prabhakaran and the LTTE are now said to have morphed into a conspiracy to destabilize the government, initiate regime change and charge its leading lights and war heroes with war crimes. The opposition and civil society activists are said to be key figures in this decidedly and dangerously unpatriotic exercise.
A English language broadsheet during the week quoted the Minister of Transport and leading light of the current regime as saying this and in doing so making a link between the Channel 4 video and the fate of the GSP Plus extension. Whilst the regime’s argument is that the sole purpose of this purported conspiracy is to destabilize and …
September 22, 2009 at 10:42 am · Categories: Advocacy, Galle, Peace and Conflict, Post-War, Reconciliation | by Deborah Philip
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“Where is the hope?” is a question that the writer encountered quite a few times when she asked people to pose with the HOPE board. The culture of impunity prevalent in post-war Sri Lanka paints a rather depressing picture of a country that has lost the ability to hope. Human rights continue to be violated, there is an upsurge in criminal activity, media freedom is severely restricted and nationalist rhetoric continues to be the theme of those in the highest echelons of power. Hope has been replaced with a sense of hopelessness and apathy that has gripped society. In order for positive change to …
September 21, 2009 at 12:18 pm · Categories: Peace and Conflict, Post-War | by Nigel Nugawela
Click for larger image.
Photographs above are of the Separation Wall at the Bethlehem-Jerusalem border in Israel.
When I took these pictures last year, I knew I was standing in front of what would be a perverse chapter in history. Then again, a few perverse chapters tends to always make history interesting for political scientists and historians, rather than for the humanitarians and peace …
September 17, 2009 at 11:39 am · Categories: Colombo, Constitutional Reform, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance, Post-War | by Suren Raghavan
The elite based political debate in Sri Lanka once again appears to gravitate around the primordial issue of deciding the best mode of power-sharing between the centre and the periphery, primarily between the dominant majoritarian Sinhalas and the battle shamed minority Thamils. In a rather apolitical interventionist manner CPA has released an 800 page volume, a collection of related documents on the theme since 1926. As a student of Political Science I look forward to having such a valuable collection in my library, irrespective of the possible biasness in justifying the selection as much as omitting process of any document, notwithstanding the order of chapter zing or the editorial preferences. I have not seen the book yet. (My order inquiry …
September 17, 2009 at 7:00 am · Categories: Batticaloa, Peace and Conflict | by A Little Batti
If you look at Batticaloa District on a map, you’ll see that in a sense there are two Districts.
The first is the coastal strip, where you find Batti, Kattankudy, Valachchenai, and other towns and villages. I’m only guessing, but it seems to me that some 90% of the Districts’ population lives in this narrow band of land.
As you will see on your map, a long sinuous lagoon separates most of the coastal strip from the interior, which makes up the bulk of the District. The interior is sparsely populated and there are no real towns to speak of; at best you could call them small villages or hamlets.
I am most familiar with Mamunai West Division, which is located directly opposite …
September 17, 2009 at 12:02 am · Categories: Colombo, Human Security, IDPs and Refugees, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance, Post-War, Vavuniya | by Devanesan Nesiah
The widespread indifference to the continuing misery of 280,000 interned IDPs, most of them already unlawfully detained for about four months without any charges, is a sad reflection on the moral values of our society. The reported release of a few thousand is most welcome, but what of the remaining 270,000? Attempts made to justify the internment on the grounds that some of the areas from which they were displaced may yet be land-mined is patently false, in that these internees could then be permitted to move temporarily to other areas to live with relatives or friends, or in accommodation provided by organisations that have already indicated a willingness to help. As in the case of other IDPs, the state …
September 16, 2009 at 7:00 am · Categories: Batticaloa, Disaster Management, Environment | by A Little Batti
The following is an except from a letter I wrote about the recent Tsunami Early Warning Test last week. I hope the readers of Groundviews find it interesting. I have to preface this by saying I am a Westerner, one of the few, living in Batticaloa, where I have been since shortly after the 2004 tsunami.
The excerpt:
The second exciting and panic-inducing event was the botched Tsunami Early Warning Test last Thursday, the 10th. The papers had announced that the new warning towers would be tested on the 19th, so you can see the first problem. Second, no one I talked to knew where these towers were. Turns out that there are three in the District: one in Kallady, about a …
September 15, 2009 at 2:56 pm · Categories: Media and Communications | by Groundviews
Select Groundviews content is now available through Yahoo’s new micro-blogging platform, Meme. Yahoo! Meme allows for in-line videos, photos and audio as well as more detailed updates per post in comparison to Twitter. Though still in beta, invitations to the platform can be requested by visiting its homepage.
Unlike some mainstream media sites in Sri Lanka, Groundviews does not want all its readers to access content through its website. Groundviews already has over 300 followers on Twitter and over 550 fans on Facebook. Since updates on the site are reflected in the Facebook streams of each …
September 15, 2009 at 7:00 am · Categories: Colombo, Economy, Environment | by mihiriw
Sri Lanka on the nuclear map
Recently Sri Lanka has shown increased interest in using nuclear energy for future power generation. The Atomic Energy Authority (AEA) of Sri Lanka is in the process of seeking cabinet approval to initiate a programme for ‘Nuclear Energy for Peaceful Use’.
Initial explorations in Sri Lanka have shown that some areas of the Southern and Western coastline have thorium deposits, which can be used as a nuclear fuel. India, which utilizes thorium for large-scale energy production has entered discussions on how it could assist Sri Lanka to develop thorium based energy.
This article argues that nuclear energy is not a viable option for energy generation in Sri Lanka as it is not safe, cost effective or emission …
September 14, 2009 at 10:58 pm · Categories: Advocacy, Colombo, Peace and Conflict | by Concerned Citizen
As I scanned the Sunday newspapers today, I saw the ‘wanted’ faces of Sara and Jehan and the bold article by Tissaranee who are but a few brave patriots in our country who are virtually sticking their necks out to uphold the time tested values of justice, peace and equity in our beautiful isle.
Criticizing the regime is deemed as high treason and poor Tissanayagam had to pay the price for it through a showcase trial that warned everyone to shut up or else! Yes, many of us had a gut feeling that we were headed in the direction of a dictatorship but were never thought it will catch up on us so quickly and stealthily. Corruption has pervaded out entire …
September 12, 2009 at 8:07 pm · Categories: Colombo, Media and Communications, Peace and Conflict, Post-War | by Sandun Ratnaweera
I am Sandun Ratnaweera, a 59 year old Sri Lankan Sinhalese from the Galle District. I attended Richmond College, and I have a government job. Sinhalese is the language that my family speaks at home. Therefore I would consider myself a very common Sinhalese man – just as regular as most of all other Sinhalese in this island.
It is on this basis and identity that I was shocked and appalled at the conviction and the sentencing of J.S Tissainayagam when I first heard it. I was even more appalled when I read more carefully media coverage of his case and sentence. How could anyone come to the conclusion that the common Sinhala man (which I consider myself) could have been incited …
September 11, 2009 at 11:29 am · Categories: Colombo, Constitutional Reform, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance, Post-War | by Groundviews
The Centre for Policy Alternatives recently launched Power-sharing in Sri Lanka: Constitutional and Political Documents 1926 – 2008, a compendium of important constitutional proposals and political ideas that have featured in debates about power-sharing and the constitutional form of the Sri Lankan State since before independence to the present.
Invited to critique the tome was Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka, Sri Lanka’s erstwhile representative at the United Nations in Geneva. In his submission, Dayan pointed out that,
“in a poly-ethnic mosaic such as Sri Lanka, the most realistic thing to do, is to go for the activation of what is already in our constitution, the 13th Amendment. I fear another ten, fifteen years going round and round the Mulberry bush talking to …
September 11, 2009 at 7:00 am · Categories: Colombo, Environment | by Lalith Gunaratne
It was almost a decade since I had been involved with climate change activities, so I was happy when I was invited to a capacity building session held in Kathmandu in July by the Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA). CANSA is part of a global network of NGOs addressing climate change issues in the region.
I was eager to learn about the current science of climate change and how well nations around the world are responding to it. To my dismay, I found that global carbon dioxide emissions have increased by 70% in the last 20 years. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that the evidence is even stronger that human factors have exacerbated the climate change process. In …
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