Anoma Pieris
Abstract: The role of the home, the domestic sphere and the intimate, ethno-cultural identities that are cultivated within it, are critical to understanding the polemical constructions of country and city; tradition and modernity; and regionalism and cosmopolitanism. The home is fundamental to ideas of the homeland that give nationalism its imaginative form and its political trajectory. Continue reading
“There are two main reasons for welcoming The Sri Lankan Republic at 40: Reflections on Constitutional History, Theory and Practice. The work presents the detailed recollections and reflections of Sri Lankans concerned with the making of the Constitution in 1972 that explore legal, political and social dimensions. Moreover, it contains much cogent analysis by scholars from across the globe of current thinking on the difficult path for constitutionalism in face of the power-struggle that has been, or is still being, waged in many diverse states and nations. These volumes are thus not only an important aid to a deeper understanding of the history of Sri Lanka; they are also a valuable addition to the growing literature on comparative constitutional law. A fine standard of editing is evident throughout and can be seen, for instance, in a remarkably full bibliography. The publishers are to be congratulated on the attractive design and printing of the work, which do full justice to the rich quality of its contents.”– Anthony Bradley, Q.C., Emeritus Professor of Constitutional Law of the University of Edinburgh; Barrister, Cloisters Chambers; co-author of A.W. Bradley & K.D. Ewing (2011) Constitutional and Administrative Law (15th Ed.) (Longman). Continue reading
ONE: Kumar David: “Racists abhor breathing space for Tamils: Constitutional panic and proposals,” …. Sunday Island, June 15, 2013, 6:53 pm
There’s no need to hold the punches, let’s say it straight. Vermin who gladly enjoyed and exploited the Provincial Council system for 25 years, JHU, JVP, SLFP and an assortment of Councils included, are now up in arms at the thought of Tamils in the Northern Province having an elected council of their own for the first time since 13A was enacted! What is the mental makeup of these rats? I do not hold back in declaring them racists. If you belong in this bunch of bigots that want to deprive the NPC of rights other PCs enjoyed for a quarter century, well you now know what I think of you. I hope it makes your distilled chauvinist blood boil to hear me reckon that one reason may be that you fear a Tamil led PC (led by TNA, Douglas or anyone else) could achieve more than the other eight! Continue reading
Padraig Colman, in the Sunday Island, where the title is “Who speaks for Sri Lanka’s Tamils?”
Pic from Ministry of Defence
An article I posted on Groundviews on May 28 elicited many responses —http://groundviews.org/2013/05/28/sri-lankas-numbers-game/ On May 16, a seminar was held at the Marga Institute to launch a publication by the Independent Diaspora Analysis Group – Sri Lanka (IDAG-S) – The Numbers Game: Politics of Restorative Justice — http://www.scribd.com/doc/132499266/The-Numbers-Game-Politics-of-Retributive-Justice
Dr Godfrey Gunatilleke, Chairman Emeritus of the Marga Institute, opened the proceedings by answering the question: “Do numbers matter”. He acknowledged that, while even a low number of civilian casualties was cause for anguish, citing large and inaccurate figures could only inhibit the healing process. Continue reading
Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, historical interpretation, law of armed conflict, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, nationalism, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, rehabilitation, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, Tamil migration, tamil refugees, Tamil Tiger fighters, terrorism, unusual people, war crimes, world events & processes, zealotry
Faraz Shauketaly, with Mike O’Shea, in The Sunday Leader, 16 June 2013
English cricket legend, Sir Ian Botham has confirmed that he is embarking on his most daring walk ever – all in aid of raising funds for sport in Sri Lanka. ‘Beefy’ whose love for Sri Lanka has matured ever since he first arrived here for the first test that Sri Lanka played, at the Sara Stadium – The Oval Colombo – way back in 1982. The former English Captain and one of England’s most beloved cricket all-rounders, will walk from Mankulam in the former conflict zone to Seenigama in the South, an area that suffered particularly badly during the Tsunami 2004. Announcing the event at a function on London earlier this week, Sir Ian was joined by Sri Lanka’s own star player, Kumar Sangakkara and Indian cricket legend Kapil Dev. They were all present when the well known sports foundation, Laureus Foundation made the announcement that Sir Ian Botham’s walk will raise funds for a sports complex and school to be built in Mankulam. Continue reading
A Tamil in UK who must remain Anonymous … responding to Tamil nationalist commemorations of the Tiger and Tamil dead and to a photograph by Robert Pinney [see below] depicting this event in mid-May 2013**
It really bothers me that the protest of ‘Tamils… gathered around photographs of those killed during the Sri Lankan civil war’ is being symbolized by people carrying the LTTE flag. Anyone who protests that massacres of Tamils in 2009 should by no means do so under the Tiger flag. In 2009, the Tigers forced innocent Tamil civilians to remain in the Vanni – under pain of death. When I was working in the Vanni, I began to truly sympathize with the Tamils who stayed behind in Sri Lanka. They lost EVERYTHING under the Tigers and the GOSL 
A shed with garlanded photographs of maaveerar, Batticaloa locality, c. 2004 Continue reading
Filed under accountability, cultural transmission, ethnicity, historical interpretation, law of armed conflict, LTTE, martyrdom, mass conscription, nationalism, photography, power politics, prabhakaran, propaganda, reconciliation, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil migration, Tamil Tiger fighters, world affairs
Step-By-Step Studio Images 
Mystery Painting Studios, like the Step-by-Step Studio in Colombo, are not primarily about “doing” something. They are about “being” something: being peace, being hope, being adaptable and dependable in situations that change rapidly and are far from reliable. The Monkey’s Tale Centre for Contemplative Art in Batticaloa was the first Mystery Painting studio. It was born out of the generosity of friends in Canada, America and Great Britain responding to the tsunami, which first swept ashore in Sri Lanka at Marathamunai a town some forty kilometers from Batticaloa, the day after Christmas 2004.
Just as with the response of the international community, people in Batticaloa reached into their hearts and helped out however they could. They weathered the crisis and, in doing so, learned a valuable lesson. Wherever there is turbulence there is transition, and transition – to be productive of the most positive results – must be anchored in an open and yielding heart. Continue reading
Michael Roberts, reprinting an article published in 2003 in Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, Summer 2003, 9: 75-102.**
ABSTRACT: The collective identity of Sinhala-speakers over four centuries dating from the 1590s is analyzed with due attention to the structural form of (a) the Kingdom of Kandy and (b) the British colonial regime that took control of the whole island by 1815/18. The analysis dwells on the modes of oral, visual-iconic and written forms of cultural transmission that pre-dated print technology, while drawing attention to the relative uniformity of the Sinhala language in both geographical and temporal scale. A semantic pattern of political alliances based on the opposition of inside to outside which works contextually like a nestling Chinese-box is one dimension of this linguistic order. This supported the tendency of Sinhalese representations to adopt an associational logic which merged past enemies (the wicked Tamils) with contemporary enemies (the Portuguese, the English) during the liberation struggles of the Kandyan state and its militia in the pre-1818 period. Such tendencies and the continuation of disparaging epithets coined during the period of Portuguese imperial intrusion into the vocabulary of the twentieth century must inform any theoretical efforts to distinguish the collective consciousness of the Sinhalese after the substantial transformations initiated under the British from that which is expressed so powerfully in the war poems of the pre-British period. Continue reading
Filed under British colonialism, communal relations, disparagement, economic processes, ethnicity, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, language policies, Left politics, life stories, literary achievements, Muslims in Lanka, nationalism, politIcal discourse, population, power sharing, religious nationalism, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, world affairs
S. Sivathasan in the Sunday Leader,13 May 2013
When the Jaffna Development Council started functioning a Minister who made frequent official visits to Jaffna was Hon. Gamini Dissanayake. His known closeness to the President lent some significance to the discussions he had with Mr. Nadarajah the Chairman of the Council. A warm rapport developed between the two. To the Chairman it opened a two-way communication connecting the District with the Centre. The Minister perhaps was not unaware of the political fall-out for the government, if things turned out well.
Quite a few meetings with the Minister were held in Colombo. The Chairman, the Government Agent Dr. Nesiah and the writer participated in these meetings. What were emphasized from the Council’s side were substantially larger funding and more devolved powers to utilize the finances effectively. The proposition struck a sensitive chord with the Minister and he took the initiative in arranging for a meeting with President J.R. Jayawardene one evening at his residence. It was in the latter part of 1982. The five of us took part in the discussions for over an hour. Development priorities with central funding were outlined by us. The Jaffna Lagoon Scheme and bridging the Mahadeva Causeway were among them. There was responsive interaction. Continue reading
thuppahi
