Category Archives: Rajapaksa regime

January 11, 2022 · 11:40 am

Hambantota Port and Its Prospects

Facemask ..in The Island, 11 January 2022 ….https://island.lk/55469-2/

The Hambantota International Port (HIP), which continues to come under attack by the Opposition, has said it expects an impressive growth in time to come.

The HIP has in a media statement said it has received FSS certification (Fitness for Service) for their tank farm facility. “The certification was issued by Lloyd’s Register (LR), the World’s leading provider of classification, compliance and consultancy services to marine and offshore industries.  This is a landmark achievement that will further strengthen the HIP brand in the maritime world.”

 

 

 

 

Site inspection (L-R): Liu Shengshan- Construction Manager, Sinopec Construction LLC; Wang Chuanzheng- Deputy project Manager, Sinopec Construction LLC; Sarathchandra Kumara – Senior Specialist-Energy Services; Ambrish Bansal Vice President – Business Advisory & Consulting Lloyd’s Register; SL. Kulkarni- Senior Inspector Oil & Gas – Lloyd’s Register. Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, centre-periphery relations, China and Chinese influences, economic processes, export issues, foreign policy, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, landscape wondrous, legal issues, life stories, modernity & modernization, politIcal discourse, Rajapaksa regime, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, transport and communications, truth as casualty of war, world events & processes

December 22, 2021 · 10:25 pm

A Critical Assessment of the Sri Lankan Government’s Budget

   Chandrasena Maliyadde, in DailyFT, 21 December 2021 …. where the title is ” The Budget: As I See it” &&&

The Budget is a mirror effect of the inconsiste  …ncy, incoherence and confusion prevailing at different levels of the Government The second Budget of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Government was presented on 12 November by his younger brother Basil Rajapaksa. Cheerleaders and image builders claim the Budget is extraordinarily beneficial and presented by a Minister exceptionally clever. Hence, one has to think twice before commenting on it. 

 

 

 

 

 

Continue reading →

3 Comments

Filed under accountability, centre-periphery relations, economic processes, education, export issues, governance, historical interpretation, island economy, legal issues, life stories, modernity & modernization, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, transport and communications, welfare & philanthophy, working class conditions, world events & processes

December 13, 2021 · 11:54 pm

Tamara Kunanayakam: Some Career Highlights

Michael Roberts

I got to know Tamara Kunanayakam and her partner, Jean-Pierre Page, and their dog Umberto[1] when staying overnight with them at their rented house in Battaramulla around 2016[2] during the course of my inquiries into Sri Lankan political affairs on the diplomatic circuit and the UNHRC in particular. Since Tamara was our Ambassador at the UNHRC in Geneva in the years 2011-12, this was a logical step.

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, ethnicity, foreign policy, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, life stories, politIcal discourse, power sharing, Rajapaksa regime, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, social justice, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, tamil refugees, the imaginary and the real, travelogue, truth as casualty of war, UN reports, unusual people, world events & processes

December 12, 2021 · 12:37 pm

Struggles in Geneva … with Yakku within the Rajapaksa Officialdom

Uditha Devapriya, in The  Island, 11 December 2021,reviewing Rajiva Wijesinha’s Representing Sri Lanka  (S. Godage & Brothers, 2021, 189 pp. Rs. 750) …. where the title is “Downhill All The Way”

I met Rajiva Wijesinha for the first time four years ago, at the Organisation of Professional Associations in Colombo. At a seminar on English language learning and teaching there, he handed me a book he had published a few days earlier. Titled Endgames and Excursions, it was an account of his official travels, friendships, and associations. I remember promising to review it, reading it, and then laying it aside. It was an unforgivable lapse, but one I now feel was justified: I was simply not qualified for the task.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, democratic measures, discrimination, disparagement, ethnicity, foreign policy, governance, historical interpretation, human rights, legal issues, life stories, literary achievements, patriotism, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, reconciliation, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, truth as casualty of war, UN reports, unusual people, war reportage, world events & processes

December 8, 2021 · 10:47 pm

Pressures on Lanka: Machinations in Washington

Fair Dinkum, responding to developments in Washington involving the US State Department and SL Tamil representatives outlined by Daya Gamage recently

Michael,  I read Daya Gamage’s article published in the Colombo Telegraph (4/12/2021) with considerable interest. It raises red flags for Sri Lanka, and I’ll touch on three in this short memo.

https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/u-s-congress-state-department-to-bring-fresh-pressure-on-sri-lanka-for-devolution-accountability/

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, american imperialism, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, foreign policy, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, life stories, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, reconciliation, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, Tamil migration, tamil refugees, TNA, truth as casualty of war, UN reports, vengeance, war crimes, world events & processes

November 26, 2021 · 1:12 pm

Exploring Sri Lanka’s Experiences with Democracy

Sarah Kabir and ROAR on “A Journey of a Demcracy: The Sri Lankan Story”

ROAR is embarking on the generation of a documentary thatseeks to create awareness and understanding of Sri Lanka’s post-independence history…… SEE INITIAL NOTICE: https://thuppahis.com/2021/11/19/imaginative-explorations-of-sri-lankas-history-on-the-cards/#more-56776

 

 

 

 

 

 

Project Intervention

It has been over a decade since the end of Sri Lanka’s protracted conflict, but what we have today is ‘negative peace’ – which is the absence of overt violence. Limited understanding of Sri Lanka’s history, politics, democracy, ambition, intent, and the refusal to acknowledge acts of intolerance and discrimination that destroyed lives and led to bloodshed makes it increasingly difficult to avoid the recurrence of violence and we risk repeating the same mistakes. Today, we are confronted with choices that could lead to positive peace or a resumption of cycles of violence. Even now, the difficulties of dealing with COVID-19 and the resulting economic fallout could lead to social unrest that may morph into inter-communal violence if manipulated. Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, architects & architecture, British colonialism, Buddhism, centre-periphery relations, chauvinism, constitutional amendments, cultural transmission, democratic measures, demography, devolution, discrimination, economic processes, education policy, electoral structures, ethnicity, fundamentalism, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, insurrections, Islamic fundamentalism, island economy, land policies, landscape wondrous, language policies, law of armed conflict, Left politics, legal issues, life stories, modernity & modernization, Muslims in Lanka, nationalism, parliamentary elections, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, Presidential elections, press freedom & censorship, propaganda, racist thinking, Rajapaksa regime, reconciliation, refugees, religiosity, riots and pogroms, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, social justice, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil migration, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, transport and communications, trauma, truth as casualty of war, UN reports, unusual people, vengeance, war crimes, war reportage, welfare & philanthophy, women in ethnic conflcits, working class conditions, world events & processes

November 24, 2021 · 10:10 pm

Orations. Where Mia prospers and Gotha …

Omar Rajarathnam, in Factum, 22 November 2021, where the title reads “Factum Perspective – Speech lessons for Lankan leaders from Barbados PM”

Sri Lankan leaders in recent times have often struggled to effectively advocate for the country’s interest at international forums. The likes of Sirimavo Bandaranaike, J.R. Jayewardene and Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga during the pre-2000 era were exceptions. In the last 15 years, Sri Lankan leaders have failed to deliver show stopping speeches in international engagements. Why is this challenging, and how do leaders like Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley speak with impact at the world stage despite a population 90 times less than Sri Lanka?

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, centre-periphery relations, cultural transmission, disparagement, education, ethnicity, foreign policy, heritage, life stories, performance, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, taking the piss, unusual people, world events & processes

November 23, 2021 · 12:51 pm

Continuation of Venom and Bias at the UNHRC

Malinda Seneviratne in his web-site MalindaWords where the title runs “Spit and venom in Geneva (same old, same old)”

 

 

 It’s Bachelet’s hour. That’s Michelle. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The second of her bi-annual Christmas-come-early party in Geneva. Time to get her kicks, probably. The grave countenance, deep tone and malice disguised as concern.  Yes, folks, it’s that time of year of regurgitating tired arguments based on tendentious claims made by unreliable sources with agendas that have little or nothing to do with human rights.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, american imperialism, atrocities, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, conspiracies, discrimination, disparagement, doctoring evidence, ethnicity, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, landscape wondrous, language policies, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, patriotism, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, truth as casualty of war, UN reports, unusual people, vengeance, war crimes, war reportage, world events & processes, zealotry

November 10, 2021 · 5:42 pm

Reconfiguring Our Categories of Being for the Sake of Lanka’s Future

Michael Roberts, here repeating a set of perspectives voiced initially on 19 June 2009 after the LTTE had been vanquished,in the News Magazine FRONTLINE that was printed every fortnight from Chennai.++

“One can win the War, but lose the Peace.” Cliché this may be, but it also a hoary truism that looms over the post-war scenario in Sri Lanka. The triumphant Sri Lankan government now has to address the human terrain rather than the fields of battle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, anti-racism, British colonialism, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, cultural transmission, education, ethnicity, governance, hatan kavi, historical interpretation, language policies, legal issues, life stories, modernity & modernization, nationalism, patriotism, politIcal discourse, power politics, racism, racist thinking, Rajapaksa regime, reconciliation, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, tolerance, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, world events & processes

November 1, 2021 · 8:21 pm

Choosing Gnanasara Thera! ‘Unmandated’ Madness!

Prabath Sahabandu, Chief Editor of The Island, where this item appeared on 31 October 2021, with the title “Sri Lanka: Mandates Stupidity“

A popular mandate is not a licence for a leader to do as he or she pleases. Instead, it is the authority the people confer on a political leader to act as their representative and serve them.

It has been reported that the Rajapaksa brothers saw red when one of the SLPP coalition leaders, at a recent meeting, expressed his displeasure at the appointment of Ven. Galagodaatte Gnanasara as the head of the so-called one-country-one-law presidential task force. They reportedly demanded to know what right the dissenting leader had to question the decision of a President who had received a mandate from 6.9 million people. Their line of reasoning defies comprehension. Do they think the mandate they are crowing about has made the President infallible?

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, chauvinism, communal relations, democratic measures, disparagement, fundamentalism, governance, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, legal issues, life stories, performance, politIcal discourse, power politics, racist thinking, Rajapaksa regime, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, the imaginary and the real, unusual people, world events & processes