The Australian Financial Review is read by the people who run the country.
The Canberra Times is read by people who think they run the country. Continue reading
The House of Lords Debate on Sri Lanka and the UNHCR resolution
FROM An Eye in the Ceiling: “Sri Lanka’s UNHRC Resolution”
Lord Naseby
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the resignation of the government of the United States from the United Nations Human Rights Council where they co-sponsored with the United Kingdom Resolution 30/1 in 2015 and Resolution 34/1 in 2017, in regard to Sri Lanka, and given the progress made towards many aspects highlighted in the resolutions, what assessment they have made of whether to annul or withdraw those resolutions.
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Universal Suffrage in Ceylon and Lanka from 1931-81
Kingsley M de Silva’s edited collection of articles on Universal Suffrage … has been a neglected work . As Sri Lanka struggles today and as many cast reviews on the island’s history perhaps this event in 1831 and its repercussions should receive more incisive attention from analysts. Apart from KM de Silva himself, the authors include RA Ariayaratne, CR De Silva, Tilaka Metthananda, Vijaya Samaraweera, SWR de Samarasinghe, Neelan Tiruchelvam and AJ Wilson …. by and large a Peradeniya University consortium.
Filed under British colonialism, constitutional amendments, democratic measures, education, electoral structures, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, legal issues, life stories, modernity & modernization, nationalism, politIcal discourse, power politics, Presidential elections, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, social justice, sri lankan society, welfare & philanthophy, world events & processes
Victor Ivan’s Populist Move for a People’s Constituent Assembly in Constitution-Making
Victor Ivan
At a meeting convened by the “Punarudaya Movement” which was attended by 46 people’s organisations on 19th January at Kobbekaduva Institution, Colombo, the topic of making a new constitution for the country was discussed at length reaching a consensus on as to how the proposed new constitution should be framed. The consensus reached and the points agreed upon at this meeting can be summarized as follows.
Dharmapala, Banda and Gunadasa as Central Figures in Dissection of Nationalist Authenticity
Harshana Rambukwella
Let’s begin with the book title. Why is it called ‘The politics and poetics of authenticity’?
The title refers to the central theme of the book. It is primarily about why we think certain cultural practices are more authentic than others. How do such ideas come about? And what are the political implications of such notions of authenticity and what are the cultural and aesthetic implications of these notions as well? The poetics in the title refer to the second aspect of culture and aesthetics.
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1948-2019: Intertwined Trajectories summed up …. Sri Lanka and Personnel
Michel Nugawela, in Daily Financial Times, 4 February 2019
In search of a story: Professor Simon Anholt, who coined the term ‘nation brand’, once asked, “If the hand of God should accidentally slip on the celestial keyboard tomorrow and hit delete and Britain went, who would notice and why?” I would like to ask the same question of Sri Lanka. After all, good leadership is largely about providing people with a meaningful narrative – a cohesive story that weaves together the significant characters and events of a community or country into a plot that articulates who they are, and who they strive to be.
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Long Live the Burghers … …. Anecdotes from the Past
An Anonymous Muslim Admirer … using the email circuits
I have a great predilection towards Burghers. Not only because I have many bosom cronies in that community, but because I have spent some of the happiest years of my boyhood in their homes. The finest lady that I ever knew was a Burgher. The most select gentleman of my acquaintance is a Burgher; and if some unfortunate Muslim girl fails to discover me, I could still discover both intelligence and beauty in a Burgher girl and — marry her; I can have four, can’t I?
This is merely a personal outburst, because a fair face seldom fails to floor me. But the Burghers are not only fair of face, along with the attractive complexion they have, in addition, their broad sense of fair play and fair dealing make them the easiest to get on with in the world. We have been brothers and sisters in blood for we have tasted more things than salt together.
Sihalē’s Goddess Tara in British Hands
Senel Wanniarchchi, in Adahas, 2 February 2019, where the title is “Finders Keepers: On Sex, Tara the Buddhist Deity at the British Museum and Brownness in the Colonies”
I am at the entrance to the British Museum and the path separates into two. I take the path which appears to be less crowded and a guard interrupts me saying this entrance is for ‘members only’. I apologize, take the other and stand in a queue for several minutes. I pass through barricades that separate the members from ‘the other’ which leads me to a checkpoint. It’s my turn to have my bag checked and suddenly I’m conscious of my brownness. Soon, I find myself facing the British Museum. The building’s personality is intimidating and reeks of power. As I walk in, I am reminded that the history of this building and this city is intrinsically entrenched to my own and that of my ancestors and I am reminded of my place in the world and its hierarchies. As I walk in, I see a sign that reads ‘The British Museum — collecting the world’.
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Imperialist Intrusions? USA has Logistics Hub Facilities in Sri Lanka
Lasanda Kurukulasuriya, in Dateline, 4 February 2019, where the title is “Duplicity and doublespeak on US military logistics hub in Sri Lanka.”
While Sri Lankans were distracted by a power struggle between the president and prime minister in December, the world’s superpower pulled off a heist in terms of extending its military footprint in Sri Lanka and, by extension, in the Indian Ocean.
USS John C Stennis off Sri Lanka in December 2018
Between 24– 29 January, the US Navy’s 7th Fleet for a second time carried out what it called a ‘temporary cargo transfer initiative’ in Sri Lanka using the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), to move supplies on to the US aircraft carrier USS John C Stennis, located off Sri Lankan waters. During the previous December operation involving the same aircraft carrier, the US had set up what it called a ‘logistics hub’ in Sri Lanka “to receive support, supplies and services” for US Navy ships operating in the Indian Ocean. The BIA was used for US military planes to bring in supplies, and for aircraft aboard the John C Stennis to fly in, load, and ferry them back. Continue reading
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February 4th 1948: “We Are Independent and One”
Sajitha Prematunge, in Island. 4 February 2019, with Pics by Jude Denzil Pathiraja and title reading “Swarnamali recounts reading solidarity message at first Independence commemoration”
The day was February 4, 1949, the first commemoration of Independence at the Torrington Square. With synchronised grace, four athletes – Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim, Burgher – handed over scrolls of solidarity from the four corners of Ceylon to four charming and self-conscious young ladies. Swarnamali Amarasuriya, Sirimani Ramachandran, Ayesha Zally and Phyllis de Kretser read those messages in their respective languages and handed them over to Prime Minister D. S. Senanayake to be enshrined with the foundation stone.
