SEE http://www.dailymirror.lk/video/38982-muttiah-muralitharan.html — Video by Sanath Desmond and Waruna Wanniarachchi) Continue reading
Nelson Mandela’s message: “let’s build a multi-racial society free of hate and prejudice,” says Obama
People are upset,” she said. “They’ve come with flowers, people are obviously very emotional about it, but they are also in a very celebratory mood as well. “It was very sombre when we arrived, (but) more and more people have gathered here and the mood is entirely different. It has changed to singing tribute songs, they’ve sung the national anthem, they’re singing a lot of songs from way back when they were pushing for democratic rights.”
One woman among the crowds told Sky News: “We’re really really sad but we show this by singing … the struggle songs all in his memory. He left a huge legacy, everybody still looks up to him all over the world.”
Crowds outside the Mandela home — SKY News Continue reading
Verbal Assault on the cricket field: ICC piss-weak, TV commentators insouciant
Michael Roberts
Ever since I began to write on cricket in the late 1980s** I held that sledging was a form of warfare that introduced imbalances into the cricket field. It enabled those better versed in verbal intimidation in all its manifest forms, whether jocular or threatening, to gain an edge over other teams less adept in the lingua franca of the field, namely, English. I argued then that it was a form of imperialism which advantaged the English-speaking sides versed in the art; and indicated that it would eventually lead the Asian sides to become a clone of the English-speaking Western imperialist “sledgers” (even sledging from Black guys originating from a Caribbean background). In brief Western power generated Westernized clones.
Thus, the argument was that sledging was a verbal killing on occasions. Jonathan Trott is a dead cricketer now – in part for other reasons, but also in part due to the sledging encountered at the Gabba. Read Michael Atherton in The Australian, 27 November 2013 or The Times. Continue reading
Jeyabālan: well-known Tamil poet and actor arrested in Sri Lanka
Courtesy of The Hindu, 24 November 2013
The Sri Lankan police have arrested and handed over Jeyabalan – a Jaffna-born Norwegian actor-poet– to the Department of Immigration and Emigration. Mr. Jeyabālan, who made a mark in Kollywood with his performance in Aadukalam, was reportedly engaged in political work in the Northern Province, while on a tourist visa. Police spokesperson Ajith Rohana told The Hindu on Saturday that Mr. Jeyabālan was arrested in Mankulam on Friday for propagating “extremist views.” Continue reading
Filed under world affairs
Channel 4 Distortions arouse Murali
Sri Lankan cricketing legend Muttiah Muralitharan said today that Channel 4 had lost its credibility in his eyes due to airing an edited clip of an interview which distorted the context he spoke in…… Video by Sanath Desmond and Waruna Wanniarachchi
SEE http://www.dailymirror.lk/video/38982-muttiah-muralitharan.html AND http://www.channel4.com/news/sri-lanka-murali-cricket-tamils-misled-forget-forgive AND http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/38826-cameron-meets-murali.html
Underdressed on Ice, Overdressed in Humidity
Pic from Getty Images Continue reading
I am batticaloa … Margaret Ootschorn and kaffrinha wedding brought to life
Kannan Arunasalam
At 92, Margaret Ootschorn is very likely the oldest living member of the Portuguese Burgher community in Batticaloa. Displaced from the Dutch Bar after the 2004 Tsunami, she now lives with her daughter in Thiraaimadu, a new settlement developed especially for the displaced community. She said she still misses her life in the Dutch Bar. We talked about the disappearing language and traditions, and how the younger generation no longer speak the language. Afterwards I walked around the small village, met members of the community who were sitting by the roadside and the beautiful new church that was being built for them. A few months later, she invited me along to celebrate the wedding of her grandniece in the unique Portugese Burgher style, with the special blend of Kaffirinha music, dancing and importantly, wine. The Burgher hospitality is legendary and while Margaret felt that modern Burgher weddings are nothing like in the old days, everyone had a lot of fun.
SEE http://iam.lk/the-matriarch/ for a Portuguese Burgher wedding with kaffrinha music … and what is best of all Margaret Ooutschorn’s, reflections in Tamil. Continue reading
Rajapaksa government fighting to win the peace
Amanda Hodge, in The Australian, 13 November 2013
JAMES Packer had not long finished his defence of why a high-end casino resort would be a boon for Sri Lanka, a country recovering from 26 years of civil war, in Colombo this week when an audience member stood to complain about the country’s persistently “bad press”. “What would be your advice about how to change the perception of Sri Lanka in Western countries like Australia?” he asked the casino tycoon, during an interactive session at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting business forum.
It is an excellent question. 
Continue reading
Filed under accountability, asylum-seekers, australian media, authoritarian regimes, governance, historical interpretation, legal issues, life stories, performance, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, reconciliation, rehabilitation, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, transport and communications, truth as casualty of war, welfare & philanthophy, world events & processes
Rule of Law continues to decline during the Rajapaksa Regime
Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena, in The Australian 15 November 2013, where the title is “Post-war the rule of law does not exist in Sri Lanka,
IT has been four years since the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam were defeated by Sri Lankan government troops following nearly three decades of civil war. Today, the absence of the rule of law in Sri Lanka has made the holding of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting an exercise in barely concealed cynicism for ordinary Sri Lankans. In many respects, the protection of basic liberties for all Sri Lankans – Sinhalese (the majority community) and the minority Tamils and Muslims – is worse off than when the war was on. Tamil people continue to be subjected to arrests, detentions and abductions. Those who lost family members during the war still vainly search for the “missing” with no answers from the authorities. Continue reading
Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, citizen journalism, democratic measures, governance, life stories, LTTE, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, reconciliation, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, truth as casualty of war, women in ethnic conflcits, world affairs
Senator Rhiannon blasts Sri Lanka after being evicted in insurrectionary triumph
Lee Rhiannon, courtesy of the Guardian, where the title is “My detention highlights why Australia should boycott CHOGM”
“I went to Sri Lanka to be the voice the Australian government has refused to be. The voice that speaks of the human rights abuses that the Sri Lankan government is allegedly involved in. The voice that is part of a growing international call for an independent investigation into war crimes allegations following a brutal civil war in which more than approximately 40,000 Tamils were killed over five months in 2009. The voice of leadership that says Australia will not reward Sri Lanka for cracking down on journalists, human rights activists, minority ethnic and religious groups. What I saw in Sri Lanka has convinced me that Australia needs to show courage and boycott the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm), as the prime ministers of Canada and India are doing. Continue reading
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