Category Archives: life stories

April 30, 2015 · 1:29 pm

The Passage of the Amended 19A has 4 Winners and Two Losers, says Dayan

DAYAN J in mountainsDayan Jayatilleka, in The Island, 30 April 2015 , where the title runs “19A Minus: A Middle Path”

There were four main winners in the battle over 19A. Of them, the second biggest winner was President Sirisena who was able to retain much of his power while balancing adroitly between the two contending components of his power base: his ally the UNP and his party the SLFP. The biggest winner however, was not President Sirisena. It was a dead man, President Junius Richard Jayewardene. His 1978 Constitution proved so robust a structure, that it successfully resisted the joint attempt of his distant nephew Ranil Wickremesinghe and his old rival Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s daughter Chandrika Kumaratunga to upend its center-piece, the executive presidency. Continue reading →

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April 30, 2015 · 1:06 pm

Dayan nails Sampanthan and TNA unto Separatist Cross

Dayan Jayatilleka, courtesy of The Island, 5 April 2015, where the title reads ““Last nail in the coffin”

We have already had a bitter experience with Mr. Wigneswaran and we mustn’t repeat or compound it. Mr. Sampanthan is a cultured gentleman, a superb speaker and fine parliamentarian in the old tradition. But he would be most unsuitable to be made Leader of the Opposition. It is neither because he is an ethnic Tamil nor because he is the leader of the TNA that Mr. Sampanthan must not be appointed the Leader of the Opposition of the Sri Lankan parliament. It is because of the political project he subscribes to and the political views he holds. Going by those declared views, he would, as Opposition Leader, not oppose only the policies and practices of the Government of Sri Lanka. Indeed he probably won’t oppose the present Government at all, since he helped bring it into office; his party colleague Mr. Sumanthiran is a co-drafter of the 19th amendment which castrates the executive Presidency, turning that office into a constitutional eunuch; and his party the TNA has gone on to defend the 19th amendment in the Supreme Court. Instead, Mr. Sampanthan as Opposition Leader would be opposed to the very political community, the very political unit, which he would be sworn to uphold and operate squarely within. TNA leaders -island

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April 26, 2015 · 4:03 am

Nihal Fernando’s Odyssey in and with Sri Lanka: An Appreciation

Neville Weeraratne, in The Sunday Island, 26 April 2015
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There is, on the title page of Nihal Fernando’s ‘Sri Lanka — A Personal Odyssey’ a photograph of a shadow of a man holding what must be a camera. It falls on a wide beach with a set of footprints leading to where the subject, Nihal Fernando himself stands. Beyond them and in the distance is a glimpse of the sea. This is an image that gently nudges me into recognizing Nihal himself, one of the finest men of our time, a great artist, a selfless devotee, his skills indisputable. I do not know who took the picture but it is surely an inspired gesture and helps to illustrate a confession Nihal made on another occasion, in the Prologue to his ‘The Wild, the Free, the Beautiful’: ” I do not choose my subjects, they chose me …” Continue reading →

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April 24, 2015 · 2:57 pm

Combat Trauma and Shell Shock in the Sri Lanka Army: “Palali” as Its Metaphor

Dr Ruwan M Jayatunge, courtesy of Lankaweb 15 April 2015, where the title is  “Shell Shock To Palali Syndrome,”  http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2015/04/15/shell-shock-to-palali-syndrome-2/

“In war, there are no unwounded soldiers” – Jose Narosky

Palali is a well-known area in the Jaffna Peninsula in the Northern Sri Lanka. Palali has an important airport that serves as the main lifeline in the North. A large number of soldiers travel to the Northern Peninsula through the Palali Airbase. During the Eelam War, Palali Air Base played a key role (like the Tan Son Nhut Air Base during the Vietnam conflict) providing essential food items, medicines and ammunition to the troops. Throughout the Eelam War, many battle casualties were transported to Colombo via Palali.

PALALI 22Therefore, Palali is a part of the combatants who fought in the Eelam War for nearly three decades. Palali is in their memories, sometimes in their intrusions. Palali has become a symbol and metaphor that recounts combat trauma in Sri Lanka.  Palali represents the symptom complex of battle stresses that has been experienced by the new generation of combatants. It has developed in to a syndrome.  Palali syndrome describes various clinical and psychosocial ailments experienced by the Sri Lankan combatants and in the final score how it affects the society at large. Continue reading →

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April 22, 2015 · 3:27 am

Eelam War IV and Issue of Collateral Damage & Civilian Deaths in International Law: Laduwahetty summarizes Desmond De Silva’s ‘Treatise’

Neville Laduwahetty, in The Island, 19 April 2015, where the title is “War crimes: A comment on what experts say” … with illustrations and emphases in the text added by Thuppahi

The comments presented below are in response to an edited and abbreviated version of a legal opinion by Sir Desmond de Silva on “Permissible parameters of collateral damage” carried by The Island of April 10, 2015. The article states: “Currently whether or not an attack that results in civilian deaths is legal under international humanitarian law depends on whether the attack meets the requirements of three principles: (1) Distinction; (2) Military Necessity and (3) Proportionality. A violation of international humanitarian law only occurs if there is an intentional attack directed against civilians, or if an attack is launched on a military objective with knowledge that the incidental civilian injuries would be clearly excessive in relation to the anticipated military advantage”.

WAR ZONE- late April ICGThe War Theatre in mid-late April 2009 and Illustration of the Penultimate SLA Operation in Late april 2008 —Map courtesy of International Crisis Group

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April 15, 2015 · 2:52 am

Where Liberal Fundamentalism opens the Door for Extremism in the Heart of Western Society

jennifer-orielJennifer Oriel, courtesy of  The Australian, 14 April 2015, where title is “Political Correctness shackles the War on Terror” … and where reader comments will be found

Guilty on all charges. When the Boston bombing trial jury handed down their verdict against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev last week, the courtroom was silent. The most important legacy of the trial was not the verdict, but the sombre realisation that the West must jettison political correctness to win the war against terror.

Boston_marathon_bombing_22The Boston bombings constituted a horrific slaughter of innocents and a radical failure of the state to fulfil its primary duty of care to citizens. Counter-terrorism should have stopped the Tsarnaev family at the border, rejecting their plea for political asylum on the advice of Russian authorities. Counter-radicalisation should have stopped the brothers at their mosque, part of a government-funded outreach program. Intelligence agencies should have caught the thugs online after they posted viciously anti-Western tracts. Continue reading →

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April 6, 2015 · 1:30 pm

Namo Namo: Its History from Jeyaraj and Constitutional Technicalities from Laduwahetty

I. DBS Jeyaraj:  “History of Sri Lanka’s National Anthem mired in Controversy,” in Daily Mirror,  http://www.dailymirror.lk/67545/history-of-sri-lanka-s-national-anthem-mired-in-controversy

A very effective message regarding the contentious  issue of the National Anthem being sung in Tamil was sent out earlier this week  to the  nation in general and the Tamil people in particular in the form of exemplary concrete action by the  triumvirate  comprising President Maithripala Sirisena, Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe and former President Chandrika Kumaratunga. A symbolically meaningful event unfolded last Monday, March 23  at Valalaai in the Jaffna Peninsula where  a number of dignitaries participated. Chief among them were President  Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister  Ranil Wickremesinghe and former Premier cum President Chandrika  Bandaranaike  Kumaratunga. Over 400 acres of land taken over by the Sri Lankan armed forces to maintain a high security zone was handed over to the long deprived rightful owners on the occasion. The participation  of the ruling triumvirate of Maithri-Ranil-Chandrika at the event conveyed the message that the new dispensation was committed to the gradual downsizing of the military presence in the north and east and the re-settlement of internally displaced people in their  original habitat. The presence of the top trio at such a simple ceremony in the north  demonstrated the avowed sincerity and goodwill of the new govt in bringing about ethnic reconciliation and amity.

Ananda SAMARAKOON 1 Continue reading →

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April 6, 2015 · 11:40 am

Two Tributes in Appreciation of Anne Abayasekara

ONE. Ranmali Ponnambalam: “Amma, we thank God for your life”

It is with a heart full of thanks to God for our beloved Amma that I write today on behalf of our family. Ever since Amma passed away on January 4, after a brief illness, the tributes have poured in from near and far from family and friends Annette Aurelia Ameresekere was born on April 3, 1925 to a humble family -Justus and Frances Ameresekere, in the village of Madampe where she spent the first few years of her life. Her parents struggled to make ends meet and moved to Colombo with her and her older brother when she was still a little girl, and opened a boarding house in Colombo.

Anne Abayasekara Continue reading →

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April 3, 2015 · 5:44 am

Emotional Turmoil and Rumour-Mongering: World Cup Defeats, Pogroms & Elections

Michael Roberts

Though hardly surprising,** Sri Lanka’s ignominious exit from the World Cup in ODI cricket this year has inspired some ridiculous criticisms of team selections from cricket enthusiasts who have not evaluated the difficulties posed by a series of unfortunate injuries or the questionable alternatives facing the Selectors in every instance of player position/selection. Such waves of criticism are not uncommon from fans of particular sides in many parts of the world. However, the Sri Lankan story this time round is reminiscent of the malicious rumours swirling around the World Cup selections before and after the final match at Mumbai in the World Cup 2011 (some concocted by Rajapaksa-haters and/or opponents). It is therefore appropriate that I reproduce the essay*** that I penned on that occasion and place it within a political space — not least because it dwells on the horrendous crimes inflicted in 1915, 1958 and 1983 upon minority communities who were Sri Lankan through and through. Continue reading →

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April 1, 2015 · 11:34 am

Science Nay-Sayers in the West and their Cultural Counterparts in Sri Lanka

Chandre Dharmawardana, Ottawa, Canada

Galileo nearly got burnt at the stake for heresy when he claimed that the Earth orbited around the sun instead of being the fixed center of the God-created Universe. At that time most people were science Nay-Sayers. A century before Galileo, when Christopher Columbus defiantly sailed  West seeking Eastern India, most people  believed that the Earth was flat, as was evident to the eye. This view was common to almost all cultures, be it Hindu, Buddhist, Chinese or Hebrew. Today many of us happily believe that people are well informed in this age of the internet and Google.

flat_earth motis.blogspot.com

Amazingly, the very opposite  is also true. Rich counties like the USA  or the Oil Kingdoms are not educated societies. Fundamentalist religions remain powerful and science Nay-Sayers are well funded and articulate. While the Western nations spend billions on scientific research, the average citizen prefers to use the fruits of science (i.e., technology) while refusing to come to terms with  what he/she finds incomprehensible, counter-intuitive and often going against traditional beliefs and practices. Instead of expecting to build an improved world using science, Science Nay-Sayers take a very distopian view of   modern knowledge.  They, like their counterparts during Galileo’s times,  seek  to find solace in returning to “traditional ways”, even though Humpty-Dumpty cannot be be put back, with some 22  million new people ( population of Sri Lanka!) added to the global population every two months! Continue reading →

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