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Modi and Gota. India and Sri Lanka … and A Pilgrimage
Rajeewa Jayaweera, in Island, 10 February 2020, where the title runs “
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has once again sung his favorite rhapsody reserved for Sri Lankan leaders, during the joint press meet with visiting Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa,
Coronavirus Time Bomb …. Tick, Tick, Tick
Jamie Walker, in The Weekend Australian 1/2 February 2020
Passenger A flies into Melbourne from Wuhan on January 22 before the Chinese government seals off the drab industrial city of 11 million people in a futile bid to halt the spread of the coronavirus. He doesn’t know it — because what he feels is excitement to be on holiday in faraway Australia — but he has brought the disease with him.
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Our Constitutional Language Mediums: Bombastic Lies from Gammanpila and Others
FactCheck at http://factcheck.lk/claim/udaya-gammanpila-10
Statement
[According to Article 7 of the constitution] Sri Lanka’s national anthem is “Sri Lanka Maatha“… if anything other than the words of “Sri Lanka Maatha” contained in the third schedule is considered to be the national anthem, it would be a violation of the constitution.
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Vijayapalan Award bestowed on Sangakkara at Tamil Kamban Vizha
Pranavesh Sivakumar in Daily News, 6 February 2020, where the title runs “Sangakkara bestowed with top Tamil recognition”
Former Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara became the first-ever sportsman to be honoured and felicitated at Kamban Vizha (a prestigious Tamil cultural festival) for his exceptional and exemplary service and for doing his country proud.
Star southpaw Sangakkara, awarded the K. Vijayapalan memorial award, joined an elite and exclusive list of award winners and honourees, including Indian musical maestro S.P. Balasubramaniam, who shared the same stage.
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Our Anthem FOR Hearts and Minds
Michael Roberts
The full-frontal challenges from Janaka Perera and Daya Hewapathirane[1] to my advocacy of the National Anthem being sung in Sinhala and Tamil are on different scales, the one moderate and the latter extremist/chauvinist. But they are not totally apart. Both indulge in cherry-picking examples from the world beyond Sri Lanka to bolster their prejudices. More significantly, the moderate claims of JP work insidiously to bolster the extremists like DH and, worse still, to alienate moderate Tamils (the extremist Tamils, in my assessment, are beyond conversion to amity or sanity).
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For the Singing of the National Anthem in Sinhala Only: Two Adamant Voices
On the 21st January 2020 two personnel who are part of an “Email Collective” in which I am a member (mostly as a recipient) raised challenges by a comment within the Thuppahi route (Perera) and by an Email Note to the Collective (Hewapathirane) — arguing for the singing of the national anthem in Sinhala Only. Expecting the issue to arise on February 4th and overwhelmed with work on my two websites and other pursuits, I did not respond immediately. Janaka Perera is nothing if not persistent and has tapped me on the shoulder again.
Let me place their theses in the public domain first so that other voices can chip in. My answer will appear in a day or so as a separate entity.
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Facing the Geneva Threat: Lessons not Learnt
Neville Ladduwahetty, Island 29 January 2020, in with this title “GENEVA: Lessons NOT Learnt”
Lady Justice reading a book
According to a report in The Island of January 23, 2020, Minister Keheliya Rambukwella had stated “that the new government’s stand on the Geneva accountability resolution would be based on the position taken by former Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana, P.C. on behalf of the previous government…”.
“The Government of Sri Lanka at the highest political levels, has both publicly and in discussions with the present and former High Commissioner for Human Rights and other interlocutors, explained the constitutional and legal challenges that preclude it from including non-citizens in its judicial processes. It has been explained that if non-citizen judges are to be appointed in such a process, it will not be possible without an amendment to the Constitution by 2/3 of members of the Parliament voting in favour and also the approval of the people at a referendum”.
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Ecumenical Sri Lankans sing Anthem in Both Indigenous Languages
News Item in Colombo Gazette, 4 February 2020
Concerns were raised today over the failure by the Government to sing the National Anthem in Tamil at the main Independence Day event at Independence Square. The National Anthem was sung only in Sinhalese, which was a shift from the policy of the former Government which decided to sing the anthem in Sinhalese and Tamil in order to promote reconciliation among the communities.
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Sri Lankan Airlines in Mercy Mission to Wuhan and Back
News Item Colombo Page, 1 February 2020: “Mercy flight to Wuhan: SriLankan Airlines expresses gratitude to its courageous crew members and staff”
Feb 01, Colombo: Sri Lankan Airlines expresses its profound gratitude to its patriotic and loyal staff members who volunteered to operate Flight UL1423, the airline’s mission of mercy that brought back our students from Wuhan, China, on Saturday 1st February 2020.
