Authors note: This expands on a comment I left on Groundviews here, in response to my last article In defense of the JVP campaign to support Sarath Fonseka.

Tamils must not play a sectarian role in the presidential election. That’ll be counterproductive. This is not the time for Tamils to do politics based on anger and hatred. Tamils, I think, should realize democratic transformation of the Centre is crucial for them. Also, Tamil-speaking people – including plantation-workers & Muslims and Colombo Tamils- live all over Sri Lanka. Therefore, it’s important to make all calculations in general terms, not in sectarian terms. All parties of the Tamil-speaking people should maintain a solid united front in presenting their demands. They should …

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Sri Lanka is one of the few countries that provides students the opportunity of a free secondary education. More than 200,000 students sit for the GCE Advanced Level examinations in Sri Lanka every year, of which only around 20,000 are selected to the fourteen universities across the country. It is possible to conclude then that this 10% who make it, are among the brightest and best brains in the country, who deserve every bit of the chance they get to ensure a better life for themselves. Surprisingly then, barely one year into their University careers, a few of these same students get angrily referred to in the media and among the public as being “mentally unstable” and even “psychotic”. The reason? …

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There is much  controversy over the fate of the internally displaced persons (IDPs), whom I wish to refer as internally detained persons. In essence, this controversy revolves around the nature of the LTTE, the counter-insurgency strategy of the GOSL, and its criminal effect on over 200,000 detainees. The question of the fate of some 10,000 Tamil political prisoners who are yet to be charged, also hovers in the background. To get some rationality and clarity on these issues, we should raise and answer one fundamental question.

Do the Tamil people who consider the North-East as their areas of historical habitation (homeland) constitute a nation? This question cannot be resolved by piling up archaic archaeological or historical evidence. It is not a …

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In a one dimensional interview with the Daily Mirror, General Sarath Fonseka outlined his grievances before the people and we got an idea why he is running for the highest office in the land.

It was a litany of personal woes. Just about the whole interview was about what has been taken away from him by the Rajapakse brothers since the end of the war. More specifically, the interview dealt almost exclusively with the issue of reducing his security detail. To give him credit, he knew exactly how many personnel, support staff, vehicles and special forces were involved in providing security for the President, the Secretary of Defense, his nemesis the former Navy Commander, wife of Lakshman Kadiragamar, the current …

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A number of columnists have commented on the various different aspects of the Provincial Council elections held in 2008 /2009 beginning with the Eastern PC elections in May 2008. These comments have ranged from increasing election fatigue, the costs to the tax payer, the phenomenon of the new contenders, and implications of results for future parliamentary and presidential elections. Here I would like to focus on the nominations given to women and women’s representation in PCs following these elections.

According to statistics from the Department of Elections a total of 31 political parties and numerous Independent groups (as many as 13 in some districts) contested for the 417 seats in the 8 PC elections held between May 2008 and October 2008. …

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In the past few weeks newspapers were rife with speculations of a possible presidential or parliamentary election that was ‘coming soon’. Confirming most of these speculations, President Mahinda Rajapakse announced the presidential elections and sent directives to the election commissioner to do the needful in this regard.  Ending the long speculation of the common candidate, the UNF and the JVP also announced that they will field General Sarath Fonseka as their common candidate in the upcoming presidential election. Political analysts are already busy with their predictions on the outcomes of the most awaited hustings.  Political Analysts and regular newspaper columnist who unconditionally supported the Rajapakse regime and General Fonseka during the war are now finding themselves in total discomfiture, as …

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The ongoing “Rajapaksa-Fonseka battle” is a blessing in disguise for the Tamil-speaking people and the Sinhalese despite its immediate appearances; because the upcoming debates are bound to change the confused Sinhala consciousness on an unprecedented scale.

The JVP’s decision to back the General as a tactical move to get rid of the utterly corrupt Rajapaksa-regime is sensible indeed, to say the least. Fonseka is a political novice, therefore, he is malleable. He is thoroughly cornered by the reactionary establishment; and therefore, his pliability is increasing by the day. That’s a positive thing. The chances of him suddenly turning into a dictator after an electoral victory is very little indeed. If he does a social revolution will be on the cards; and …

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I have taken up anthropology. It is I, your potato farmer. In previous posts, I told you the story of my farm, my trial and my poultry venture. I now want to study the differences between the T-tribe and the S-tribe in our island paradise, in order to answer a fundamental question about genetics and behavior.

Experts say that the genomic variation within members of either tribe is as high as that across. The technology of DNA sequencing was unknown to the authors of our History 101 texts, MV and YVM, from which our tribal elders often quote, to drive up our blood pressures and make us vote for them. Because of our overindulgence in these classics, we …

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Caveat: It is strongly encouraged that one reads Dr. Saravanamuttu’s article “Rajapakse vs Fonseka: Tweedledum vs Tweedledee” before proceeding. Also, in this fragment I have failed to adequately define terms such as “moderate” and “extremist”; however, I hope my readers will be considerate of the informal, conversational nature of this fragment.

In previous presidential elections, although the (generally) two primary candidates were far from satisfactory, one was generally the lesser of the two evils. The question whether President Rajapakse or General Fonseka is the the lesser of the two evils cannot be convincingly answered.  Dr. Saravanamuttu, in his latest Groundviews post, aptly used the cliché, “between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea”. There will be enough and …

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“The oppressed are allowed once every few years to decide which particular representatives of the oppressing class are to represent and repress them.” — Karl Marx

“The oppressed, having internalized the image of the oppressor and adopted his guidelines are fearful of freedom. Freedom would require them to eject this image and replace it with autonomy and responsibility.” — Paulo Freire

As news of the upcoming election unfolds, I find myself considering the meaning of the notion the “common candidate” in general, and its application to General Fonseka in particular.  In the broadest sense, a common candidate is one who represents and promises to fulfill the people’s common aspirations and desires.  Whether the General meets these criteria is still open …

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The results of the national elections are now by no means certain.  There is a contest and as a consequence, there is the possibility that the presidency could change hands, which in turn will have its impact on the general elections.  This is attributable to the Fonseka presidential candidacy and it depriving the incumbent of claiming sole credit for the defeat of the LTTE.

Contests in themselves are good.  Elections being the principal mechanism for choice and change in a functioning democracy, the lack of a contest could breed a lack of interest in elections on the part of the electorate, which in turn is not healthy for participatory and representative democracy.  The Fonseka candidacy ensures that the Rajapaksa dynasty is …

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In Sri Lanka, the Dhamma preached by the Buddha has gone through many transformations.

First we had the Hinduization, bringing in Hindu deities into our temples, sometimes converting them to ‘Buddhism’.

Next came the Christianization, which led to the coining of the term ‘Protestant Buddhism’. This was influenced more by Christians who turned to Buddhism, than from a direct influence of the Christian church. We saw this with the start of ‘Sunday Schools’ instead of teaching the Buddha Dhamma to the children on poya days. We saw the Bhakti Gee, Wesak Cards, Schools on the lines of the Missionary schools. Saying ‘Theruwan Sarani’ for ‘God Bless’. Even performing marriages in temples, officiated by Buddhist monks, even though there was no legal status …

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Czechoslovakian President Vaclav Klaus signed the 2007 EU Lisbon Treaty on the 3rd of November thereby making the Treaty effective as of the 1st of December 2009. The Czech Republic was the last European Union nation (EU is comprised of 27 nations) to ratify the Lisbon treaty. President Klaus, a Eurosceptic, had earlier opposed the Treaty, and still had many objections to the Treaty, but felt forced to sign the treaty after the Czech Constitutional Court had ruled in favor of the Treaty.

The Lisbon treaty was signed by EU leaders on 13 December 2007 bringing to an end several years of negotiations about institutional issues. The Treaty of Lisbon amends the current EU and EC treaties, without replacing them. The …

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For a long time I didn’t think of myself as being a part of the Tamil Diaspora. I had this vague feeling that I was going to go back home some day.  Even when it was pretty obvious that I was not going back, I still didn’t want to identify myself as a member of the Diaspora.  For me, acknowledging that I was a part of the Diaspora meant closing the door on my life in Colombo.  Forever.  After this past year, I am humbled and grateful to be able to call myself a part of the Diaspora (and furious, sad, and horrified, like much of the Tamil Diaspora, by the plight of Tamil citizens callously sacrificed to the Sri …

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Groundviews recently spoke to Tracy Holsinger of Mind Adventures and Mike Masilamani (Masii) about the upcoming production of ‘The Travelling Circus’, devised and adapted from Mike’s short story, ‘The Boy Who Spoke in Numbers‘. Tracy’s adaptation of the short story for stage deals with the political and social problems in Sri Lanka at present and also ventures, comprehensively, into the subject of IDPs.

Tracy and Mike highlighted the importance of theatre in engaging with the narratives of the country as well as …

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Some of the recent deaths of animals in captivity in our zoological gardens, had been blamed on the visitors.

The real blame should be accepted by the authorities who manage these prisons. Who collect innocent animals from around the country, and from around the world and who keep these animals in small cages for life. The only escape for the animals is through death. Death would be a really welcome relief for them.

These animals and birds are captured, separated from their parents and siblings and separated from their habitat, their food, their playgrounds, their hunting grounds. We bring animals who live in very cold climates and also from tropical rain forests and deserts. We bring animals who are used to changing …

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by Arjuna Ranawana[i] and Anupama. M. Ranawana[ii]

Think to that place that this country has now come to, – the chaos of impunity, the failure to protect human rights and the hysteria of nationalism;  It is a moment, we must understand in which we pause and reflect. Something has ended, it must be grieved well and then what must be created after must indeed be a result of deliberate and well planned progression, not of fractured regimes.

In the creation of a state and of a political space, one reflects constantly on the relations of power and the nature of power itself. At the very least, it is an area that has become an unending point of discussion for many of …

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Reading about GOSL’s latest foreign foray is like venturing into an oncologist’s office; you suspect that there is something wrong with your system but you hope that it’s nothing serious. But, deep down you know that you will be looking at some serious chemotherapy and at least a few doses of radiation. You try to come to terms with the impending gloom of the loss of hair; the loss of appetite and the nausea. Try to put the best spin on this situation, but you still come up short.

Since the successful end of the military campaign against the LTTE in May 2009, the GOSL has managed to alienate most of the western world and the sole super power and the …

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My daughter Dhara, 13, finds it incredible that I had never seen a working television until I had reached her current age — that’s when broadcast television was finally introduced in Sri Lanka, in April 1979. It is also totally inconceivable to her that my entire pre-teen media experience was limited to newspapers and a single, state-owned radio station.

And she simply doesn’t believe me when I say — in all honesty and humility — that I was already 20 when I first used a personal computer, 29 when I bought my first mobile phone, and 30 when I finally got wired. In fact, my first home Internet connectivity — using a 33kbps dial-up modem — and our daughter arrived …

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This article is a tribute to those devil’s advocates who were hurt or killed just because they asked questions

“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to death your right to say it” said Voltaire after reading Rousseau’s Social Contract in 18th century France. We respect the courage and honesty of Voltaire and other leaders of the time for they laid the foundation for an enlightened century.  Medieval  dogmatism, prejudice and narrow mindedness was set aside at the political level to allow for more mature acceptance of questioning and criticism.  This laid the foundation for recognizing the individual and the concept of the democratic ideal.

Contrast that with the 21st century political dictum first uttered by George W …

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