Rick Morton, in The Australian, 30 January 2015, where the title reads “Migrant Wave not seen since the Gold Rush“
DREAMS of a better life, education and solid investments have fuelled movement of migrants to Australia, with more than 28 per cent of the resident population born outside the country. That equals about 6.6 million people, numbers not seen in 120 years or since the tail end of the gold rush, said the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Denise Carlton.
C. A. Chandraprema’s Interview with Nirmal Ranjith Devasiri, courtesy of The Island, 30 January 2015
Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera’- Pic from Colombo Telegraph
Spokesman for Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera’s National Movement for Social Justice Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Devasiri speaks to C. A. Chandraprema about the apparent lack of interest in the new government in fulfilling the pledges relating to constitutional change they made during the election campaign.
Nirmal
Q. The new government was elected on certain core promises. The main cause around which all of you united was the abolition of the executive presidency. Now more than three weeks into the new regime, we are hearing less and less about the abolition of the executive presidency, especially from the newly elected president. There are various street shows being enacted by activists of the new government to fill TV news bulletins while constitutional changes have been pushed into the background. What we are hearing is about limiting the term of the president to five years. That’s not quite what you had in mind is it?
A. There are concerns about that among people who supported this government. This has been discussed among the various bodies of the National Movement for Social Justice (NMSJ) as well. What the NMSJ envisaged was a complete abolition – a return to the pre-1977 system. The proposals brought by the JHU are different. There was a discussion the other day with Dr Jayampathy Wickremeratne and though there may be some differences in the timeframe it appears that the process is on track, but it appears that it will not be a complete abolition. We have to watch the situation. The government exists on a certain equilibrium among political forces. There is the UNP then there is the Chandrika-Maithri camp and the JHU within the government’s decision making circle. If we look at the vested interests involved, Ranil would like to see presidential powers being reduced. He needs to enhance the powers of the prime minister. The UNP has a lot of bargaining power and, therefore, I believe the executive powers of the presidency will be reduced to a great extent. Continue reading
Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, constitutional amendments, cultural transmission, democratic measures, discrimination, economic processes, education policy, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, Left politics, legal issues, life stories, modernity & modernization, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, propaganda, Rajapaksa regime, rehabilitation, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, unusual people
Constitution Maker flyer 2015 – 2
Harshan Kumarasingham ed., Constitution Maker: Select Writings of Sir Ivor Jennings, vol 46 in the Camden series of the Royal Historical Society 2014. All rights reserved. University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT | 020 7387 7532
Pic from Sunday Observer
Sir Ivor Jennings (1903-65), Downing Professor of Law at Cambridge, was one of the 20th century’s most famous and significant constitutional scholars and the author of numerous well-known texts. Beyond his prestigious roles in Britain, Jennings was also very influential internationally as an advisor on constitutional questions between the 1940s and 60s. This volume brings together for the first time previously unpublished letters, memoranda, diaries and confidential evaluations of constitutional issues, political elites and critical events in territories including Ceylon, Ethiopia, Gibraltar India, Malta, Malaya, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Rhodesia, Singapore, South Africa and Sudan. Also included are Jennings’ candid and forthright assessments on Britain’s constitutional influence abroad and his direct experience of constitution making. The introduction provides a guide to this English Professor’s remarkable international role and his scholarly value. This collection sheds light not only on Jennings’ work and influence, but also on British ideas about democracy and on institutions across the globe during the climactic era of decolonisation. Continue reading
ONE: Jehan Perera, “Teamwork and Measured Approach to meet Challenge of 00-day Programme,” 28 January 2015
The government is proceeding with its 100 Day programmme that President Maithripala Sirisena presented as part of his election manifesto. This plan promised a national government and new cabinet with UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe as its Prime Minister after the presidential election. It also contained a promise to change from a presidential to a parliamentary system, to repeal the 18th Amendment, to come up with a 19th Amendment to the Constitution, restoring independent commissions, setting up a national advisory council and also presenting an interim budget. The detailed plan also included setting up a special investigatory mechanism to probe corruption and passing legislation on right to information and a new health policy. Continue reading
Padraig Colman, courtesy of Ceylon Today, 28 January 2015, where the title is “Britain Teaches the World to Torture“
There was a time when the British army adopted a somewhat superior attitude to the US army’s conduct after the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Much was made of Britain’s experience in conducting a war against insurgents in urban conditions in Northern Ireland. To boast about that suggests either supreme arrogance or selective memory. British tactics were not successful in Northern Ireland or Basra and certainly did not have the “moral authority” to which David Cameron referred in his statement about the US Senate report on torture.
Action during Belfast riots, late 1960s — Pic from www.rorymerryphotos.com
Britain’s torture laboratory in Northern Ireland: In 1971, Operation Demetrius involved the mass arrest and imprisonment without trial of people suspected of connections with the Provisional IRA. Fourteen of those imprisoned were interrogated at a site formerly known as RAF Ballykelly, which was handed over to the British Army as Shackleton Barracks on 2 June 1971. On their way to the interrogation centre in 1971, the British army hooded the men and threw them to the ground from helicopters. The captors told the hooded men they were hundreds of feet in the air, but the helicopters were actually just a few feet from the ground. Granted, this was better behaviour than that of the Argentinian junta who threw prisoners to their death from helicopters at high altitude. Continue reading
M. L. Wickramasinghe, courtesy of the Sunday Island and http://dbsjeyaraj.com/dbsj/archives/37708 where the title is “It is Because of Mahinda “Mahattaya” that we can now walk Freely on the Roads Like this”
I am persuaded to write this short opinion piece due to a short dialogue a shop assistant had with me last week at a suburban town. I kept a small parcel including two newspapers in a transparent cellophane bag on the shop counter and went in looking for a few items. On returning, I saw a person reading the newspaper through the cellophane bag. He smiled apologetically. I smiled back in a relaxed and empathetic way indicating non-verbally (hopefully), that he could finish reading if he wished to do so.
Saying ‘a menna sir’ (‘here it is sir’), he handed the parcel back to me. As he handed back the parcel he said “Basil mahattaya penala gihilla kiyala kiyanne? Apahu enna kiyala niyoga karanavalu neda”? (‘it is said that Mr. Basil has run away? He’s been ordered to come back isn’t it?’) I was taken unawares, but said, “Basil mahattaya apahu eyi; parajayata wagakeema bara gannawa kiyala Basil mahattaya kiyala thibuna ne” ( ‘Mr. Basil would come back. Mr. Basil had said that he is taking responsibility for the defeat’).
Pic from dbsjeyaraj.com
Then he got into a short dialogue with me and said that the way ‘some of them’ treat the Rajapaksa Pavula and Mahinda mahattaya is not quite good; how they talk about them is not in good taste. I said that I tend to agree, and that type of talk would gradually stop. “Sir, Mahinda mahattaya hinda ne den apita mehema nidahase pare behala yanna puluwan” ( ‘Sir, it is because of Mahinda mahattaya that we can now walk on the roads freely like this’). I walked away reflectively. Continue reading
Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, cultural transmission, democratic measures, historical interpretation, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, reconciliation, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, suicide bombing, Tamil civilians, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, vengeance, violence of language, welfare & philanthophy, world affairs
Dr. Malcolm Jansze with his adopted family in Horana, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Burgher Family Genealogy – Research and data collection done by Dr. Malcolm Jansze in Sri Lanka
His Story: I was interested in genealogy at about age 8 years when my grandmother chatted to me about hers and grandpas large families. From then I drew up charts and went to the church to confirm my grandparents births and dates etc. By age 14 years I was drawing up charts for our families. Continue reading
A Mass of People from all walks of Life assemble at Galle Face Green in Colombo Continue reading
The Editors of Bloomberg, in where the title is “Is Sri Lanka the next Myanmar?”…..
After the stunning ouster of strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa in last week’s elections, another small, strategically vital Asian nation would appear to have rejected China’s embrace. Whether the U.S. and India can exploit this opportunity, however, will depend on whether they recognize what’s unique about Sri Lanka.
The first thing to appreciate is that voters weren’t necessarily driven by resentment of China. They elected Maithripala Sirisena as president because they had tired of the opacity and perceived cronyism of Rajapaksa’s administration, symbolized in part by multibillion-dollar projects handed out to Chinese companies with little oversight. Elites had begun to fear that Beijing would soon demand more political and military influence as part of its largesse. Yet, unlike Myanmar, which shares a land border with China, such concerns remain somewhat theoretical. Sri Lanka has vast infrastructure needs — and therefore good reason not to reject Chinese money entirely. Continue reading
Filed under accountability, american imperialism, disparagement, economic processes, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, modernity & modernization, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, transport and communications, truth as casualty of war, welfare & philanthophy, world events & processes
Kabir Taneja, 25 January 2015, in The Diplomat, where the title is “A Game Changer for China and India in Sri Lanka?”
India may be celebrating the election result in Sri Lanka, but China is in the region for the long haul.
On January 18, a Reuters reported claimed that Sri Lanka’s now former president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, had expelled the station chief of India’s intelligence agency in Colombo after accusing him of working against his government and supporting the opposition. India denied the claim, but the report serves as an example of Rajapaksa’s thorny attitude towards New Delhi, irrespective of the face presented by public diplomacy. Continue reading
Filed under historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, military strategy, nationalism, politIcal discourse, power politics, Presidential elections, Rajapaksa regime, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, transport and communications, world events & processes
thuppahi
