February 24, 2020 · 10:42 am

From Wuhan to Diyathalawa: The Tale of Sri Lankans who were Quarantined

Lt. Com Chaminda Walakuluge, in Ministry of Defence Site, 15 February 2020, …. where the title is “Chartered from Wuhan and quarantined at Diyathalawa”

“If you want to describe this place, it’s awesome” Suganthan said. “I will tell all my friends and family that the hospitality and care we received here is beyond ‘star grades’. I have never ever been to a military facility before” Suganthan continued to share his experience at the Diyathalawa Quarantine facility, which was set up by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) to quarantine the group of Sri Lankans evacuated from Corona virus hit Wuhan.

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February 24, 2020 · 10:12 am

Remembering Sunila Abeysekera

An INFORM Item … https://www.inform.lk/sunila-abeysekara/

Sunila, a founder member of INFORM, exemplified how the global and local intersect. For over 40 years, she worked for justice and redress for human rights abuses in Sri Lanka during a time of great challenge and conflicts. Her work placed a special emphasis on gender, human rights and peace building, which included documenting the impact of conflict on civilians, introducing nonviolent strategies of conflict transformation and challenging impunity to hold perpetrators accountable. Hers was a holistic vision that addressed many issues, ranging from violence against women to sexual and reproductive rights, including the rights of communities, such as sex workers, people living with HIV/AIDS, and lesbian, gay, and transgender people. She also nurtured and supported countless women and men of all ages the world over, inspiring many, both directly and by example, to challenge abusive authority at the local, national and international levels.

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February 22, 2020 · 2:19 pm

Today’s HR Drumbeats vs GSL: Some Critical Responses

Challenges to Recent HR Allegations from Amanda Hodge and Others

A recent criticism by Amanda Hodge in The Australian is one mark of the vociferous claims that human rights activists are under threat in Sri Lanka today under the new regime. Former Minister Eran Wickremeratne’s public claim in the Colombo Telegraph of 21st February that a witch-hunt is in progress and that the Swiss embassy issue had led to the unjustifiable hounding of Dharisha Bastians, Krishantha Cooray and former CID Director Shani Abeysekera adds fuel to this fire. The second of these claims is bracketed here for further comment when more information reaches us.

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February 21, 2020 · 4:29 pm

Shane Warne as Worldly fat Bastard

David Runciman reviewing NO SPIN by Shane Warne in the London Review of Books … and deploying the title Fat Bastard

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February 20, 2020 · 7:18 am

HRW and Hodge clamour about Renewed Intimidation under Gota

Amanda Hodge, in The Australian, 20 February 2020, with this title “Fear campaign ‘silencing Sri Lanka activists’

Three months after Sri Lanka’s feared former security minister Gotabaya Rajapaksa won a shock presidential victory, rights groups say security forces and intelligen­ce agencies have intensified surveillance and intimid­ation of activists and families of victims of his former regime.

 Gotabaya Rajapaksa in October 2019  …. Photo by Tharaka Basnayaka/NurPhoto via Getty Images

New York-based Human Rights Watch has called on the new government to end the ­intimidation of activists and families of those forcibly disappeared during the country’s 28-year civil war, including the 10 years in which the Rajapaksa family held power until its defeat in 2015.

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February 18, 2020 · 1:40 pm

Sri Lankan Women maul England XI in T20 Warm-up in Adelaide

Michael Roberts

A magnificent all-round performance saw the Sri Lankan Women’s team upset the pecking order in T20 women’s cricket during the warm-up matches being played in the Karen Roltan Oval in my ‘home-town’ of Adelaide this Tuesday 18th February. England are up there among the leading sides in this form of the game and Sri Lankan lost badly to South Africa in the warm-up on Sunday.

An England batswoman returns to the pavilion in manifest annoyance (at herself)…while heroines in the making, Chamari and Hasini wait to open the innings

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February 17, 2020 · 4:22 pm

Lessons from Lee Kuan Yew’s Reflections of Sri Lankan Political History

Dayan Jayatilleka, in Financial Times, February 2020where the title runs “Learning Lee Kuan Yew’s lessons for Lanka”

Unarguably, Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) is the most universally respected Asian statesman of our time. He is esteemed from Washington to Havana, from Moscow to Beijing; from East to West and North to South, both for the quality of his mind and his conspicuous practical success as a transformational leader.

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February 17, 2020 · 3:20 pm

Yogaraja sparks Protest against Caste Disabilities in the Tamil Regions

Ahilan Kadirgamar. in Daily Mirror, on 17 February 2020, where the title is “Breaking the Silence on Caste”

Caste is all present in Jaffna, but a silence prevails about caste oppression. Such silence and invisibility were not always the case, where vibrant struggles against caste oppression shook Jaffna some five decades ago.

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February 16, 2020 · 4:13 pm

Malinda and Shenali tilt at SOFA and MCC Schemes

Editor: I have not had the time to study the SOFA and MCC proposals or the several conflicting reports on this set of topics; while I have reservations about my own deciphering capacity on economic issues. An academic with a broad span of experience across several countries indicated to me this month  that the discussions surrounding these two issues has been marked by writings that “[ignore] facts that are unfavorable to the case that is being made or willfully distorting facts or using outright lies”.

He added: : ‘Unfortunately, this kind of unacceptable commentary is now common practice the world over and that includes some people in the highest levels of US government and academia.”

To this caution I add Sam Samarasinghe’s[i] cautionary email note to me a few months back where he indicated that the USA’s governing order is complex and its various arms do not always work with one mind.[ii]

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February 15, 2020 · 7:50 am

Extremist Fervour as Roadblock for Reconciliation: A High Profile Example from the Galle-Lit-Fest

RK Radhakrishnan, in The Hindu, 2011 (?) … https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-reviews/reconciliation-elusive-on-the-ground/article6164031.ece

The packed hall at the Galle Literary Festival was stunned into silence by a series of abuses hurled on a Sri Lankan human rights activist by a member in the audience. The hurler of abuses, a well-known journalist, questioned the activist’s patriotism, labelled her pro-Tiger, and described her as a ‘stooge’ of the Western nations. Oh yes, that was just the printable part.

The activist at the receiving end was Sunila Abeysekera. She was one of the panelists on ‘Aftershock: The lingering legacy of civil war,’ presented by the BBC World Service. Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and event moderator Bridget Kendall (BBC’s diplomatic correspondent) were on stage. The exchange presented a clear idea of the differing perceptions on the concept of reconciliation.

Rajpal Abeynaike

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