groundviews » Sri Lanka Unites: Our vision and work

Sri Lanka Unites: Our vision and work

September 10, 2009 at 6:25 am · Categories: Colombo, Peace and Conflict | by Prashan De Visser

[Editors note: This is a response to A critique of Sri Lanka Unites: Freedom has NOT made itself known]

Dear E Pluribus Unum,

Thank you for taking the time to write. We were informed of your post, but as it was soon after our successful conference our attention was focused on many post-conference follow up activities that had to be done. We were also occupied with immediately leveraging on the networks built by the students over the 5 days, to engage them in community-level reconciliation initiatives. This also included mobilizing them to collect relief packages from their communities to be sent to IDP camps in the North. We are glad to now take time to respond to some of the comments made in your article. We want to invite everyone to feel free to question or critique our efforts. We believe this is a perfect way to refine our work and be more effective. However, please do approach us directly.

This article has not grasped who we are as an organization and the content or what actually took place at the conference, yet boldly makes very provocative allegations and demands apologies. All these misconceptions would have been answered if he or she actually attended the conference and spoke to any one of us from the SLU team, rather than take a glimpse through a hand book and then take its content out of context.

We have an open invitation to anyone who wants to do more than complain, accuse or be pessimistic to join in our efforts to make a difference. We are just trying to do our part. We have much to learn and have consistently sought guidance from great role models and individuals who have gone before us. We at Sri Lanka Unites believe that we are just one of many organizations who want to make a difference and are well aware that such challenging issues as reconciliation, justice and equality needs to be approached though multiple angles. Promoting hope and reconciliation through our youth movement, and targeting youth leaders from every part of the country, is our approach.

With regards to your accusation that we are ignorant and ill informed, let me clarify that the inner circle of Sri Lanka Unites leadership is a formidable group of young Sri Lankans drawn from various fields of expertise. Political science and international relations majors, development economists, graduates of sri lankan history and culture, masters students of peace and reconciliation, lawyers, activists, marketers, medical students and accountants. All of them are well educated, and some have graduated from foreign universities and returned to contribute to the country’s development. They come not just from Colombo, as is the case with too many civil society groups, but have representatives from various parts of the country – some of our key office bearers are from Jaffna, Mannar, Puttalam and Gampaha. We are well aware of the issues and have three graduation theses on peace and reconciliation just among the committee. However, if one takes bits and pieces from a handbook out of context, I’m sure it will be possible to fabricate and make anyone look ignorant on the issues. Even worse, it will be possible to make it seem that we are unaware of the pressing needs of the people we serve.

We are very much on ground zero. We work on these issues everyday. We are not a political organization that goes about looking for loop holes, errors and complaining and fueling the “us against them” mentality. We have decided that there has been enough theorising. We are action-oriented. Well thought out, well-time initiatives. We will listen to arm-chair critics, but only just. We will give precedence to those who wish to engage with us on getting things done

We are a youth organization that will strive for change and make the issues and discussions on reconciliation, justice, equality and human rights that have so far been limited to mere discussion points in Colombo, anonymous articles on the web or a protest rally in the cosines of the western world, into a place for awareness and action in the hearts of the youth, at the very grassroots in Sri Lanka – whether it be in schools in Jaffna or Matara, the city or village, appealing to the heart of our common humanity and not ones’ blind political agenda.

We see no point lecturing to a 16 year old student from Matara on the importance of the full implementation of the 13th amendment and devolution of powers to the people of the North and East, if all he has heard in life is to distrust and look down upon the people of the North and East. We are about making national issues of reconciliation, integration and language more relevant to youth who have been detached from these issues. It’s all about contextualizing these issues, to be more relevant to THEIR lives.

The “Us against them” mentality, finger pointing and the highly politically charged activism have left this country and innocent civilians with no more freedom than terror and war has. It’s time to move to the common man and win his or her heart and persuade them to action, for love triumphs all – even the dreaded ethnic divide. We are convinced that our youth in Sri Lanka, representing all ethnicities will prove that the freedom they have to interact and work together will lead our country to a new era where there is no tolerance for hatred or inequality. Also that mere, anonymous, misinformed unconstructive words of criticism will in no way slow our pace of work. In fact, it wills fuel our passion. Articles like this reflect the most obvious failure of Sri Lankans of our parent’s era…. the readiness to accuse, condemn and complain, while being very ignorant of the realities.

However, we are truly accepting of any constructive, informed and open critiques. We are thirsty to learn and to better serve the people; we as an organization strive to serve the youth across this land who are willing to stand up to make a difference, with an unquestionable desire to see reconciliation, hope and prosperity for all people.

For any questions please feel free to e-mail us at mail@srilankaunites.org or our facebook group – Sri Lanka Unites. You can also visit our website www.srilankaunites.org

We look forward to having productive discussions with you, as well as all readers of this blog, but this time, directly.

Prashan De Visser
President,
Sri Lanka Unites

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A critique of Sri Lanka Unites: Freedom has NOT made itself known “After 25 years, terror, war, and violence have lost their grip, and freedom has finally made itself known” ~ Prashan De Visser, President, Sri Lanka Unites While acknowledging the meritorious work of Sri Lanka Unites and the passion being exhibited by such young people in contrast to the general apathy of most of their peers, as... E Pluribus Unum, August 15, 2009

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Nibras Bawa said,

September 10, 2009 @ 10:04 am

Hi Prashan,

Congrats.. was wondering why a reply was not forthcoming considering E Pluribus’s silly comments. People who want to criticize should first STUDY, yes STUDY and then come to conclusions.

Sri Lanka Unites may not be perfect, like none of us is either, but its a step in the right direction. Perhaps we should encourage them. As long as your conscience is clear you need not worry about bad publicity for some thrive on it. Good luck mate.

Susan Goon said,

September 10, 2009 @ 1:54 pm

How can Prashan De Visser, apparently a Burgher, seek to unite Sri Lanka? This is the land of the Sinhala Buddhists and they alone can and must take the lead in everything of national character. As our former Army Commander reminded ethnic and religious minorities, they are welcome guests on our island but cannot be allowed to dominate in national affairs. They have a voice, but a proportionately small one that befits their ethnic/religious ratios. Nothing more, and nothing less.

The topic of unity is a non-issue for the Sinhala Buddhist majority in Sri Lanka. We have our differences but are fundamentally united and unified on common issues. The minorities have the option of falling in line, or just getting out of this island and return to wherever their ancestors originally came from. Sri Lanka was designated by the Buddha as the place for his teachings to thrive, and was the chosen land for the Sinhalese. All others are later arriving immigrants. We alone are indigenous, and Mahinda will not rest until he has created a Sinhala Buddhist Republic.

undergroundview said,

September 10, 2009 @ 3:01 pm

If there are no longer any minorities, as the President said, just Sri Lankans, how can you write off so many voices as being “only guests”?

You say: “Mahinda will not rest until he has created a Sinhala Buddhist Republic” – that may be true, but it’s not actually what he said, is it?

You also say: “Sri Lanka was designated by the Buddha as the place for his teachings to thrive”. Ironic, isn’t it, that his teachings are so widely ignored? Even the most venerable MPs seem firmly in the grip of illusions like money, cars, and status. What hope have less exalted Buddhists?

Lenova said,

September 10, 2009 @ 3:22 pm

@ nibras,
someone of your ilk whose family members share the rajapkse cabinet has to be politically correct all the time no? grandpa grooming you, is it? You will never criticize the government due to your vested interests and its pointless allowing people like you on a forum like this. Please try to see the bigger picture before jumping out to defend your ilk.

@ susan,
very true. rajapakse’s ultimate vision is a buddhist empire. he might even introduce a monarchy. very soon we will see king rajapake, prince namal and the sort. May God save us.

Shihan said,

September 10, 2009 @ 4:35 pm

Lenova, u are right. in the reply you wrote to Susan. God has to save us from sri lanka being ruled by these culprits. we have to stand against all this and especailly we dont want a king nor a prince

Benjamin said,

September 10, 2009 @ 5:51 pm

Yes, you know, I must say, Susan, your rhetoric sounds very familiar…. where have I heard the likes of it before…… hmmmmm…. oh, right, thats it: 1994…. Rwanda…. Genocide…. Almost a million men, women and children slaughtered by their fellow countrymen. Well done, what you suggest with your incredibly violent words is just the very step before said atrocities!

WeAreSrilankens said,

September 10, 2009 @ 8:04 pm

To Susan Goon:

Why should not he seek to unite the country if he is a srilanken? For me everyone who are srilanken citizenship should be treated equally.

People like you (Goon) who represent nationalistic clans of the country always come with these disgusting opinions, but the majority of citizens do want to be called and behaved us as SRILANKENs rather than Sinhala buddhists, Sinhala christians or whatever. While masses of the country are currently trying their best to see the opposite, people like you seem to be spreading views triggering the lankens further divided. Also considering your previous repeated comments to various topics that are being discussed here, I have the feeling you –Mr /Ms Goon, may have not gone through the rules and regulations of ground views properly when passing your views to this blog. And ground views should also take its responsibility when allowing nationalistic comments to be read on this blog, especially targeting minority folks in the country. As president mahinda and the voices of new generations have resounded it recently, there will be no more minorities in Srilanka at least from the day terrorism was declared as over – eliminated within Sri lanka. This is though a process that could take years or decades if we would not change our mind sets appropriately, how can we expect peace and harmony within the nation.

As if you personally met with Buddha, you have written it here – Sri Lanka was designated by the Buddha as the place for his teachings to thrive, and was the chosen land for the Sinhalese.

Do the majority Buddhists in lanka are aware this ? 100% no. We can get more info by calling an opinion poll.

For me, human beings of your voice are not at all buddhists. They are just another sorta groups that are trying to isolate the nation within the country and internally as well. Army commander or anyone whoever has advocated naming Srilanka only for Buddhists should think twice before opening their mouths in next open discussions. Mahinda will not create you a country only for Buddhists but for all citizens. So has he himself shared in several occasions. If he could turn the country to a model of malaysia´s style (the one only country in the asia we can compare our social indicators and population with), he can be the nation´s president.

As a buddhist srilanken who has been waiting for long to see our country to become a peaceful one, I feel all what we need timeworthy is the necessity of holding awareness programme across the country to making them. This can then be the real Buddhism practising in srilanka if we can achieve our final goals – peace and harmony for everyone within Lanka.

dudette said,

September 10, 2009 @ 9:44 pm

why does the Sri Lanka unites leadership have no farmers?
who consist of 70% of our population?
what kind of a youth movement with grass root connections and so interested in action has no representatives of the common man?

aadhavan said,

September 11, 2009 @ 2:27 am

Will the Sri Lanka Unites team explain themselves on why they made the comment alluded to in the title of E Pluribus Unum’s contribution.

“After 25 years, terror, war, and violence have lost their grip, and freedom has finally made itself known”

Is it the position of the team that the Sri Lankan government, which now enjoys a monopoly over violence in the country, is not at least partially the source of, and continues to be an agent of terror and violence? If what we have now, with the crackdown on dissent; the internment of hundreds of thousands of Tamils and a culture of impunity is ‘freedom’, then I’m not sure what they mean by ‘justice’ and ‘equality’ either. I don’t doubt the bona fides of the organisers for a moment, but I do think they need to think through what they are doing and face issues head on.

In Your Face said,

September 11, 2009 @ 7:46 am

SUSAN GOON:

Susan Goon – the transparent straw man/woman – is once again used as a cheap theatrical prop to antagonize communities.

Susan Goon is a juvenile creation of some of the participants on GroundViews–created to get rid of dissenting voices on GroundViews with a vengeance!
And here is the most hilarious part, the creator(s) of Susan Goon sound like rejects of the side that conceded total defeat a few months back: absolute losers in every shape and form. Not surprisingly, looks like Susan Goon has plenty of groupies on GroundViews, eh?

Your pathological hatred of Sinhala Buddhists reveals an immediate need for intervention, preferably some sort of exorcism. Shall I call Father Karras, and/or some Bali/Thovil karaya from the deep South? By the way, they don’t come cheap, so, please, have your Master Card/Visa ready.

rose-bud said,

September 11, 2009 @ 8:00 am

@Susan: do you belong to the “Theraputtabhaya” clan of goons that go around issuing fatwas against non-buddhist infidels and buddhist liberals??? If you are, please call me.
@Prashan: what you are doing is nothing short of commendable. Dudette’s got a point – it does not suffice for you to be “Colombo unites” in practice. Quite a large number of Sri Lankans – perhaps a majority – are monolingual and are therefore may not have the confidence to reach beyond their own ethnic and religious base with respect and understanding. Though i am sure there are plenty of exceptions to this, it is the people out in our villages who are not yet ready to face upto new ideas about equality and liberal democracy (http://taboosubjects.wordpress.com/2009/09/06/02-12/) who need exposure to these ideas and the confidence to face up to them. Perhaps this can be done by empowering them with knowledge and exposing them to the broader world than their own backyards, towns and helping them understand the immensity and richness of the world beyond our beautiful amd magical, but also tiny and in the grand scheme of things much less significant island.

Susan Goon said,

September 11, 2009 @ 9:23 am

Theraputtabhaya. Ravana. We have many names. Labels don’t really matter. The noble end justifies our means. History will judge us as the true followers of Ashoka. We will do whatever we have to do to cleanse this Sinhala Buddhist land of unwanted influences and interfering foreign forces.

rose-bud said,

September 11, 2009 @ 1:07 pm

LMFAO!!!
Good luck mate!
(I vote for “Theraputtabhaya” though… sounds catchy…!)

smoulderingjin said,

September 11, 2009 @ 5:12 pm

Prashan,

Although I agree with some of the criticisms made regarding the programme, not least about the lack of visibility and awareness in some aspects of it, I do agree with Rosebud that it is commendable. I am reminded of the slogan of a local NGO – it is better to light a candle than curse the darkness!

I do feel that as Rosebud points out, it is far more imperative that SL Unites works in the villages where people are exposed to nothing but their local ideology and the national TV. We all know the trend of national tv and the news it presents, so one can hardly blame people for holding the views they do. This is not to insinuate that the villagers are less intelligent but merely to point out that it is far more insular and definitely less interactive with other races or cultures of this nation.

However, being “friendly” and accepting of one another in terms of race, religion and culture, is not as easy as you might assume, especially when this government and many nationalist buddhist groups are promoting exactly the reverse. The Sinhala Buddhist fervour is heightened after the end of the war. The racism of this nation is far more evident now than it has ever been before. Is this not a strange and significant fact about the trajectory that these nation and the govt is now choosing?

Sgoon – is nothing short of a joke!

Mawatha Silva said,

September 11, 2009 @ 9:24 pm

ragedy is a norm in Sri Lankan Concentration camps….

A malnourished IDP child slowly dying..
http://transcurrents.com/tc/2009/09/govt_violates_constitution_by.html

When this nightmare is going to end?

Mawatha Silva said,

September 11, 2009 @ 9:25 pm

September 11, 2009 @ 9:24 pm

Tragedy is a norm in Sri Lankan Concentration camps….

A malnourished IDP child slowly dying..
http://transcurrents.com/tc/2009/09/govt_violates_constitution_by.html

When this nightmare is going to end?

Heshan said,

September 11, 2009 @ 10:29 pm

“We will do whatever we have to do to cleanse this Sinhala Buddhist land of unwanted influences and interfering foreign forces.”

How many IMF loans and GSP+ concessions will you need, exactly…

undergroundview said,

September 12, 2009 @ 1:34 am

Sounds like you want to cleanse the land of all that liberal wishy-washy enlightenment and Buddha nonsense, and institute an Ashokist kingdom.

Maybe THAT’s why so many in the government have their green cards and foreign visas…

Talking Head said,

September 12, 2009 @ 7:09 am

rose-bud,

What village people are you referring to, dude? The only “village people” I know of are those guys who sang “Y.M.C.A”. Sound familiar? You have a right to diss the disco era, but, the “village people” are not by any means ignorant and small-minded as the people living out in the suburbs.

It seems like you have been tutored by a memsahib who wanted you to diss your own people; I learnt about what these pathetic people did in India when I took a course on Malcolm X.

Why do you put up a link that others cannot decipher? How arrogant! Do you think we all read that language? The “village people” have more heart and soul – something a suburban hick like you will never understand!

Being unilingual is better than being a jackass with multiple tongues.

Power to the people!!!

punitham said,

September 13, 2009 @ 10:53 am

“After 25 years, terror, war, and violence have lost their grip, and freedom has finally made itself known” …
”yes this freedom with all its problems is still freedom from the violence that haunted us every day” …

1.”freedom” in these sentences = freedom from LTTE violence.
To a section of the population.
2.A section of the population has been afflicted with structural violence of government institutions i. in the 36 years before the ”25 years” , ii. during the ”25 years” and iii. in the 4 months after the ”25 years”, the structural violence escalating deeper and faster in the three successive stages. Now Sinhalese, Muslims, Tamils, Burghers,… …. lawyers, journalists, human rights activists,…. all live in fear and NOT ”freedom.”
I hate to have to post this comment. I hate violence in any form- (stimulating)structural and (responding) visible.
We are talking about the most vicious intrastate conflict of our times lasting more than six decades. About a ”textbook example”(according to researchers of ethnic conflicts). About the destruction of the socio-economic-environmental destruction of a nation in six decades when the rest of the country and the rest of the world has seen progress(as a result of science and technology and evolution of social science) much more than in the previous six centuries.
Prashan is not a baby.
Pluribus Unum, thank you for writing this very fine analysis. For writing a Must.

punitham said,

September 14, 2009 @ 9:43 am

Revenge the main show.
Reconciliation a fringe show.
Revenge on top gear/cruise control.
Reconciliation trying to ignite under the tsunami of REVENGE.
Revenge wreaks fear.
Reconciliation searches for freedom.

aadhavan said,

September 18, 2009 @ 4:04 am

So I’m assuming Sri Lanka Unites will only do private dialogue, and refuse to engage in the comments section of this post. Interesting.

HaHa said,

October 15, 2009 @ 12:38 pm

dear Aadhavan

please do understand that sri lanka unites does not have enough time for ARMCHAIR CRITICS.

nandasena said,

January 11, 2010 @ 8:46 pm

“Sri Lanka unite” should take all its members to the Menik farm and tour the vanni area, the Tamil areas to show how much damage is done by the SINHALESE GOVERNMENTS over the last 60 years!!!!! There is no point in having a meeting in Colombo with selected privileged kids and shouting “SRI LANKA” If the successive governments have taken any initiative at least soon after the ORGANISED POGROMS of the 1950s Sri Lanka would have been a better place to live in!!!!!
These kids are only told about the LTTE and not about what the sinhalese governments did to the TAmil population since 1956!!!! Sinhalese always propagate the half truth to suit thei agenda!!!!

If they had g iven self rule to the TAmils they would have prospered on their own !! It is better than killing thousands of Tamil civilians and making them paupers and destroying all their possesions. Sinhalese have the dog in the manger attitude!!!!

This posting may be late, but nothing changed regarding the “freedom of the Tamils” for that matter the life of the poor sinhalese!!!IDPS are dumped far away from the world’s eyes and allowed to rot!!! While the politicians pocket the money donated for them by other governments!!!!!