Victor Ivan, in Ravaya, where the title is “Barring of Nagananda Kodituwakku from Practicing Law”
The Supreme Court has issued an order barring Nagananda Kodithuwakku , Attorneyat-Law and Public Interest Litigation Activist who has entered the political arena of Sri Lanka as a prospective presidential candidate, from practicing as a lawyer for three years. I think it is important that we assess Kodithuwakku’s role in the light of this incident.
Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, citizen journalism, conspiracies, disparagement, governance, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, legal issues, life stories, politIcal discourse, power politics, press freedom & censorship, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, unusual people, vengeance
Item on 28 March 2019, entitled “Alternative Avenues” … with highlighting emphasis by The Editor, Thuppahi
For almost a decade, Tamil victims have looked to the UN Human Rights Council in their pursuit of justice. However, after years of resolutions followed by an extension, alongside lack of any progress on accountability, events at Geneva this week brought another deep disappointment. A day after the Sri Lankan government expressly told the Council it had no intention of creating an accountability mechanism with foreign judges as originally promised, yet another resolution was passed giving Colombo two more years to do just that. Sri Lanka’s foreign minister was blunt. Sri Lanka will not allow an international justice mechanism. The international community can be under no more illusions. If Sri Lanka cannot deliver the justice that victims demand, then other avenues must be explored. Else, as the UN human rights chief herself warned, further violence and instability will follow.
Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, communal relations, disparagement, doctoring evidence, governance, historical interpretation, human rights, life stories, LTTE, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, power politics, reconciliation, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, Tamil migration, Tamil Tiger fighters, the imaginary and the real, truth as casualty of war, UN reports, unusual people, vengeance, war crimes, war reportage, world events & processes, zealotry
Charles Sarvan, courtesy of Colombo Telegraph, 19 March 2019, where the title is “ On ‘Reading’ A Picture” …. Note that I have taken the liberty of inserting emphasis in colour and introducing more paragraph divisions in Charlie Sarvan aka Ponnadurai’s presentation in order to assist readability and analytical work –though this act may well distort his philosophical bent…… Bio-data is at the end of the article Editor, Thuppahi
“The saying that a picture is worth a thousand words refers to the notion that a complex idea can be conveyed with just a single picture.” This particular picture appeared in ‘Colombo Telegraph’ on 12 Feb. 2019; I shared my reaction privately with some of my contacts including, as a courtesy, Colombo Telegraph Editor who suggested that I rework the material with the possibility of it being uploaded. Unsatisfactory health has hindered an earlier response. In philosophy, an ‘essential’ is a quality that something must have for it to be what it is, while an ‘accidental’ is one that it happens to have but could lack. In what follows, that the men in uniform are Sinhalese and the prisoners Tamil is accidental. In other words, what I attempt here is a modest, general investigation and reflection.
Filed under accountability, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, communal relations, cultural transmission, disparagement, ethnicity, governance, historical interpretation, human rights, landscape wondrous, language policies, law of armed conflict, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, patriotism, performance, photography, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, Rajapaksa regime, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil Tiger fighters, the imaginary and the real, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, vengeance, war crimes, war reportage, world events & processes
Michael Roberts
I receive news items from the web-site CRICKET AGE on a pop-up basis and am therefore a witness to their propensity towards muckraking. This has been a consistent dimension of their reportage and commentary – to the point where one can suspect that it is a policy that goes beyond commonplace news sensationalism.
Taylor Dibbert, in National Interest, 20 March 2019, where the title is “Samantha Power Visits Sri Lanka and Ignores History” AND the principal byline runs “Barack Obama’s former UN ambassador is no longer the human-rights supporter that she claims to be” …. NB: in composing my title for this Dibbert-effort I am playing on words: Samaantha P:ower wrote a book entitled Solution from Hell
Samantha Power recently delivered a big speech in Sri Lanka. She was the keynote speaker at an event that celebrated Minister Mangala Samaraweera’s three decades in politics. Given Power’s track record, this is quite regrettable news.
Filed under accountability, american imperialism, communal relations, conspiracies, disparagement, doctoring evidence, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, Tamil migration, truth as casualty of war, vengeance, war crimes, war reportage, world events & processes, zealotry
ITEM in The Island, 20 March 2019, entitled UNHRC: Mangala slams Mahinda”
Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera has criticized former President Mahinda Rajapaksa for challenging the Geneva Resolution on the basis of disclosure made by Lord Naseby in the House of Lords. Samaraweera issued the following statement in response to Opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa’s statement dated17 March 2019 instructing the government on what its position should be when the UN Human Rights Council that is at present meeting in Geneva discusses Sri Lanka’s progress on national reconciliation:
“In his statement, as usual aimed at hoodwinking the masses, he assumes a commanding and almost martial tone. Packing it with misinformation to mislead the public, he seems to forget the small detail that he is no longer the President or even the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka – fake or otherwise. As the citizens of our country – Asia’s oldest democracy – remember very well, Mahinda Rajapaksa’s attempts to usurp the position of Prime Minister a few months ago failed miserably in the face of the determined resistance of our citizens and our independent institutions including our judiciary. My recommendation to Mahinda would be, in true friendship: lets put aside the airs. It really is impossible to engage in constructive dialogue if you give instructions and orders on policy to a government that is trying very hard to fix the several troubles that you yourself, your close advisors and those you appointed to high positions during your time as President created, especially since the conclusion of the conflict in May 2009. Continue reading
Filed under accountability, communal relations, democratic measures, disparagement, doctoring evidence, foreign policy, governance, landscape wondrous, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, reconciliation, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, social justice, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, truth as casualty of war, UN reports, vengeance, war crimes, war reportage, world events & processes
Statement by Tilak Marapana, Sri Lanka Foreign Minister
https://www.mfa.gov.lk/statement-by-hon-tilak-marapana-p-c-minister-of-foreign-affairs-of-sri-lanka-and-leader-of-the-sri-lanka-delegation-to-the-40th-session-of-the-human-rights-council-on-agenda/
Filed under accountability, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, British imperialism, centre-periphery relations, democratic measures, discrimination, disparagement, doctoring evidence, historical interpretation, human rights, Indian Ocean politics, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, patriotism, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, truth as casualty of war, UN reports, unusual people, vengeance, war crimes, world events & processes
ONE = Rajeewa Jayaweera, in Island, 17 March 2019, where the title is “Will Marapana play Ace or Joker @ UNHRC”
President Maithripala Sirisena, known for changing his mind on crucial issues has done it again. His delegation comprising of former Ministers and UPFA Parliamentarians Sarath Amunugama and Mahinda Samarasinghe together with Dr. Suren Raghavan, Governor of Northern Province to attend the 40th session of the UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) in Geneva announced last week has now been scrapped. Their purported mission was to seek the possibility of withdrawing from the Geneva Resolution.
Filed under accountability, British imperialism, centre-periphery relations, disparagement, doctoring evidence, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, legal issues, life stories, news fabrication, politIcal discourse, power politics, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, truth as casualty of war, war reportage, world events & processes
Samantha Power & Mangala Samaraweera as buddy-buddies on the Colombo and world stage …. with the picture drawn from Hassina Leelarathna’s scathing article “ “Mangala’s 30th Anniversary Bash & the Price of Power” AT https://srilankaexpress.org/
BUT their play is not a patch on that of Sam The Man …. 
| Email Note from Gus Mathews in London to Rajeewa Jayaweera in Lanka, 14 March 2019
Rajeewa, Thank you for your analysis.[1] You are absolutely correct that the main objective of the coalition was to prevent a Mahinda Rajapakse return to being President. RW [Ranil Wickremasinghe] had tried numerous times to be President and failed abysmally. So with the aid of the Western countries he embarked on series of actions that would have a puppet President with him wielding executive power. He tried it with Sarath Fonseka with the understanding that once SF became President that he would surrender all his Presidential powers to RW. Unfortunately, it did not work that time despite the minorities voting for SF.
|
Filed under accountability, american imperialism, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, conspiracies, cultural transmission, disparagement, economic processes, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, landscape wondrous, life stories, patriotism, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, Responsibility to Protect or R2P, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, unusual people, vengeance, world events & processes
thuppahi
