Why is the government sidelining the minority community concerns?

Jehan Perera in The Island, 17 June 2013

The government is getting ready to pass a 19th Amendment to the constitution as an urgent bill.  For the past several weeks, the government has been engaging in internal debate about the powers of the provincial councils and how they should be reduced. The urgency arises from the government’s much debated decision to finally hold the long-postponed elections for the Northern Provincial Council in September.  The proposed constitutional amendment seeks to take away the power of two (or more) adjacent provincial councils to decide to merge together to form one merged province.    The merger of the Northern and Eastern provinces has been a sore point for successive governments and Sinhalese opinion leaders.  They see the possibility of a merged North East province to be a threat to the unity of the country.  Such a province would have a non-Sinhalese majority, and being about 30 per cent of the country, could also become a viable independent state in which the majority of the population would be Tamil and Muslim. Continue reading

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Architecture and Nationalism in Sri Lanka: The Trouser under the Cloth

Anoma Pieris

Louis for MRAbstract: The role of the home, the domestic sphere and the intimate, ethno-cultural identities that are cultivated within it, are critical to understanding the polemical constructions of country and city; tradition and modernity; and regionalism and cosmopolitanism. The home is fundamental to ideas of the homeland that give nationalism its imaginative form and its political trajectory. Continue reading

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“The Sri Lankan Republic at 40” — Reviews & Plaudits

“There are two main reasons for welcoming The Sri Lankan Republic at 40: Reflections on Constitutional History, Theory and Practice. The work presents the detailed recollections and reflections of Sri Lankans concerned with the making of the Constitution in 1972 that explore legal, political and social dimensions. Moreover, it contains much cogent analysis by scholars from across the globe of current thinking on the difficult path for constitutionalism in face of the power-struggle that has been, or is still being, waged in many diverse states and nations. These volumes are thus not only an important aid to a deeper understanding of the history of Sri Lanka; they are also a valuable addition to the growing literature on comparative constitutional law. A fine standard of editing is evident throughout and can be seen, for instance, in a remarkably full bibliography. The publishers are to be congratulated on the attractive design and printing of the work, which do full justice to the rich quality of its contents.”– Anthony Bradley, Q.C., Emeritus Professor of Constitutional Law of the University of Edinburgh; Barrister, Cloisters Chambers; co-author of A.W. Bradley & K.D. Ewing (2011) Constitutional and Administrative Law (15th Ed.) (Longman). Continue reading

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Creeping Totalitarianism? Eran Wickramaratne speaks out against Government Moves on Press Ethics

Eran Wickramaratne

The reactivation, of the Press Council Law and the government-proposed Code of Ethics for journalists have to be viewed with great suspicion for many reasons.  Ethics is beyond the realm of legal codification. Ethics is about moral principles that govern a person or a group’s behaviour. While some philosophers suggested that it should exemplify justice and charity, and benefit the person and society, others later introduced the idea that ethics entrains one’s duty towards others and respect for others. The attempt to encourage better ethics or behaviour amongst journalists, while being laudable cannot become coercive.  Attempts to legalise ethical systems have been made by religious orders from time to time the world over empowering clergy to become the ethical police.  Such systems have universally failed.  A Code of Ethics for the media imposed by a government will of necessity make the relevant government ministry the ethical police.  The recent Island newspaper editorial made the point “There is no difference in our book, between politicians extolling the virtues of ethics and prostitutes pontificating on chastity.” Continue reading

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To meddle or NOT to meddle? The 13th Amendment in the Gunsights

ONE: Kumar David: “Racists abhor breathing space for Tamils: Constitutional panic and proposals,” …. Sunday Island, June 15, 2013, 6:53 pm
There’s no need to hold the punches, let’s say it straight. Vermin who gladly enjoyed and exploited the Provincial Council system for 25 years, JHU, JVP, SLFP and an assortment of Councils included, are now up in arms at the thought of Tamils in the Northern Province having an elected council of their own for the first time since 13A was enacted! What is the mental makeup of these rats? I do not hold back in declaring them racists. If you belong in this bunch of bigots that want to deprive the NPC of rights other PCs enjoyed for a quarter century, well you now know what I think of you. I hope it makes your distilled chauvinist blood boil to hear me reckon that one reason may be that you fear a Tamil led PC (led by TNA, Douglas or anyone else) could achieve more than the other eight! Continue reading

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Usha S-S boxed in from All Sides: A Singular Tamil Spokesperson

Padraig Colman, in the Sunday Island, where the title is “Who speaks for Sri Lanka’s Tamils?”

Tamil refugee stream -beach-tank-sea Pic from Ministry of Defence

An article I posted on Groundviews on May 28 elicited many responses —http://groundviews.org/2013/05/28/sri-lankas-numbers-game/ On May 16, a seminar was held at the Marga Institute to launch a publication by the Independent Diaspora Analysis Group – Sri Lanka (IDAG-S) – The Numbers Game: Politics of Restorative Justice — http://www.scribd.com/doc/132499266/The-Numbers-Game-Politics-of-Retributive-Justice

Dr Godfrey Gunatilleke, Chairman Emeritus of the Marga Institute, opened the proceedings by answering the question: “Do numbers matter”. He acknowledged that, while even a low number of civilian casualties was cause for anguish, citing large and inaccurate figures could only inhibit the healing process. Continue reading

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A Seed germinates: Ian Botham to walk for FOG Charity at Mankulam

Faraz Shauketaly, with Mike O’Shea, in The Sunday Leader, 16 June 2013

KBumar + bothamEnglish cricket legend, Sir Ian Botham has confirmed that he is embarking on his most daring walk ever – all in aid of raising funds for sport in Sri Lanka. ‘Beefy’ whose love for Sri Lanka has matured ever since he first arrived here for the first test that Sri Lanka played, at the Sara Stadium – The Oval Colombo – way back in 1982. The former English Captain and one of England’s most beloved cricket all-rounders, will walk from Mankulam in the former conflict zone to Seenigama in the South, an area that suffered particularly badly during the Tsunami 2004. Announcing the event at a function on London earlier this week, Sir Ian was joined by Sri Lanka’s own star player, Kumar Sangakkara and Indian cricket legend Kapil Dev. They were all present when the well  known sports foundation, Laureus Foundation made the announcement that Sir Ian Botham’s walk will raise funds for a sports complex and school to be built in Mankulam. Continue reading

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Reconciliation in Sri Lanka: Evaluating the “Numbers Game”

PADRAIGPadraig Colman, courtesy of Transconflict, an online web journal

An End to Terror in Sri Lanka? Sri Lanka’s bitter and brutal thirty year conflict ended in May 2009. The government’s victory over the separatist LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) was decisive and the rebel leaders, including Vellupillai Prabhakaran, were killed or co-opted. There have been no terrorist incidents in Sri Lanka in the four years since the end of the war. The formerly war-torn Northern Province has been enjoying an economic growth rate of over 28%.

In spite of all this, the government has come under unrelenting criticism, mainly orchestrated by members of the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora who supported the cause of a separate Tamil state in Sri Lanka, Tamil Eelam. Continue reading

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Nandasiri Jasentuliyana’s ‘odyssey’ in space law: “Same Sky, Different Nights”

Ishara Jayawardane  in Daily News, 5 June 2013

NJasentuliyana Cover “It dawned on me how vast the length and the enormity of the journey was that I have travelled. From those early years when the sky had fascinated me to the present when I have taken part in creating laws and regulations to tether the infinite plains of outer space.” Young Jasentuliyana looked up at the sky and its myriad stars from Ambalangoda. So many stars! It seemed as if he could rise up and be one with them. And as he looked at them, he had no idea that his fate was already being carved out in the Universe.

Award recipient: The light from these stars reaching him, as he stood mesmerized by them. Perhaps these stars were already dead, their light reaching him only then. A little boy on a lonely planet in the Milky way in such a vast universe, how could he know what the cosmos would have in store for him? For one day, he would not only be a proud son of Sri Lanka but a gift to the world of academia and science. Continue reading

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Peradeniya University in full bloom — AGAIN

PERA 1 PERA 9 courtesy of I LOVE KANDY

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