Although I teach economics at the University of Peradeniya for my bread and butter, I have been quite distant from the discipline for sometime and my readings on the subject has been quite limited to the two courses I teach at the university. My principal research work is on conflicts. Hence, it was not strange for people to call me oftentimes as a teacher attached to the Department of Politics. However, in the last three four months, I had to re-enter this interesting area of work as I was invited to make comments on two books, one in Sinhala (Sri Lanka Arthikaya edited by O G Dayarathna Banda et al) and one in English (Development and Conflict by Kumar Rupesinghe). …

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Sumanasiri Liyanage

Dr Pradeep Jeganathan’s dinner experience in Delhi with a French anthropologist reminded me a recent meeting I happened to have with a European high level diplomat in Sri Lanka. Referring to the recent events in Sri Lanka, he said: “I would be worried if similar things have happened in Balkans or even in India, but I am not worried at all for what is happening in Sri Lanka”. Is this a difference between an anthropologist who in Dr Jeganathan’s account was superficially worried about Sri Lanka and a diplomat who has been here for quite a long time but least worried about the Sri Lankan events? The diplomat in my story was rather angry as international …

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The All Party Representative Committee (APRC) is supposed submit its report to the President on January 23. When the APRC together with the expert committee began its deliberations, many people including myself were optimistic and saw it as a ‘glimmer of hope’. However, glimmer of hope began to fade away with the submission of the SLFP proposals in response to Tissa Vitharana Report (TVR). The essence of the TRV is that Sri Lankan post-colonial state be restructured following the principles of shared and self rule so that it proposes devolution of power and the formation of the second chamber. In that sense, TRV = 2000 Draft + Senate. I personally believed that it provided a basis for discussion with Tamil …

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By Sumanasiri Liyanage

Somewhere in 2003 when the issue of interim administration for Northern and Eastern Provinces was raised, some, including myself, argued that the country should adopt an interim or transitional constitution including power-sharing arrangement for the war-ravaged provinces.
The idea behind this suggestion was that other important constitutional issues such as all powerful executive presidency with almost no checks and balances and politicization of the bureaucracy may also be addressed in such an interim constitution. However, there was no serious debate on this subject partly due to the political changes that took place in the late 2003 and early 2004. Moreover, it was made clear that no significant change can be initiated without the consent of the executive president.

Things have …

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The United National Party has changed its policy on ethno-political question and stated that it would withdraw from a federal type solution to a unitary solution that would be based on the 13th Amendment to the Second Republic Constitution. Clarifying this change, its spokesperson, Ravi Karunanayake, even used words decentralization and devolution as synonym. At a meeting in Monaragala, Ranil Wickramasinghe talked about adopting a policy framework that is doable. This change in UNP policies may be a shock to Colombo civil society, but it would not be a shock for someone who carefully observed the political line of Ranil Wickramasinghe since 1987. He took anti-Indo-Lanka Accord position in 1987; he refused to participate fully Parliamentary Select Committee procedure in …

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The discussions at the All-Party Representative Committee (APRC) have taken a significant turn in the last two three weeks and its indefatigable chairman, Minister Tissa Vitharana, appears to have given in to the pressure of the Sinhala nationalist elements. All the signals show that the APRC final report would suggest that the unitary character of the Sri Lankan state be preserved. The expectations that Minister Vitharana would at the end of the day be able to reveres the incorrect move taken by his senior colleague, late Dr Colvin R de Silva, 35 years ago would remain unfulfilled. The pressure has come from the three Sinhala nationalist parties, Janata Vimikthi Peramuna, Mahajana Eksath Peramuna and Jathika Hela Urumaya, …

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In his Mahaweera Day speech in 2005, Vellupillai Pirapaharan, the LTTE leader, depicted Ranil Wickremesinghe as a calculating fox who tried to deceive everyone by entering into a ceasefire agreement with the LTTE. Ranil Wickremesinghe has once again shown his foxy behaviour in his comments on the capture of Thoppigala by the security forces of the Government of Sri Lanka. His initial position was that capturing Thoppigala would be a useless exercise as it is worthy only for collectors of fire-wood.

However, at the signing of a MoU with the SLFP (M), Ranil Wickremesinghe claimed that under the Wijetunga-Wickremesinghe regime, Thoppigala was captured by the security forces. Did he mean that Thoppigala was strategically important then but not now? As I …

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Ranil Wickramasingha and his party spokespersons are quite worried these days about the way in which Toppigala operation was carried out by the security forces. Wickramasinghe’s initial position is capturing Thoppigala is useless exercise as it is worthy only for collectors of fire-woods. As I have no knowledge in military strategy and I have no idea to get access to that sphere of knowledge, I do not wish to comment on that. Ranil Wickramasinghe and his associate Lakshman Kiriella, MP for Kandy, came up with another criticism about Thoppigala operation. They alleged that the security forces allow the LTTE leaders including Ramesh and its cadres to escape from Thoppigala with all military hardware that includes multi-barrel …

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My article, in Sinhala, is a brief sketch on Mangala Samaraweera’s dramatic break from the SLFP and the introduction of his third-way of politics. I raise a note of skepticism ont he eventual fate of his policies and vision, but accept as necessary and vital his voice and alternatives to the dystopia brought about by the incumbent political regime.

I also submit that for Mangala’s third way to succeed and to elicit the potential support of progressive members of the SLFP partial to his vision, he needs to maintain a healthy distance from the UNP. The potential of the third way and political alliances in support of it is not insignificant. At a time when even political rhetoric plays a vital …

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Taken from Al Jazeera

Transforming State media
Recent reports in the State media loudly proclaimed the President’s desire to depoliticise State media and his instructions to this effect. As pointed out in the Free Media Movement statement in response to the President’s comments, President Rajapakse had ‘pointed out that the government owned media should play a pivotal role in portraying the government’s development work’ and the need ‘for an effective role by the media to project the country’s situation to the international community at a time where various people were trying to tarnish the country’s image by engaging in a slanderous campaign abroad.’

I am deeply skeptical of the President’s avowed desire to reform State media. …

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