By Tisaranee Gunasekara “The returning hero risks carrying the seed of violence into the very heart of his city”. René Girard (Violence and the Sacred) Heroes are like double-edged swords. Sane nations use them, with caution, and send them into honourable retirement once their deeds are done. The nation, which is seduced by the hero [...]
Archive of entries posted on 11th August 2012
Is Sri Lankan Airlines Board Unable to Stand up to its Chairman Because Nishantha Wickremasinghe is the Brother of the First Lady?
by Frederica Jansz It has been a few weeks now since we highlighted the blatant disregard and violation of procedures at Sri Lankan Airlines by the Chairman of Sri Lankan Airlines, Nishantha Wickremasinghe. He was responsible for awarding the contract for the supply of Wine and Champagnes which is valued at approximately US$ 750,000 annually [...]
Indian Establishment Fears about Sri Lanka’s Growing relations with China are Unfounded – Mahinda Rajapaksa
In the strongest reaction yet to India’s contentious support to a US sponsored resolution at the UNHRC against Sri Lanka earlier this year, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has broken his silence by calling upon the Indian government to have a relook at its dealings with its neighbors. I n a freewheeling interaction with Times of India [...]
Detention and Torture of Vijitha Yogalingam from Vavuniya by the Police in Negombo
by Kishali Pinto Jayewardene Public debate is rife with heated opinions in regard to the virtual breakdown of the law and order process in Sri Lanka. The government continues to deny that there is a steep rise in crime and quite absurdly blames the media for reporting on crime. The root causes for this deterioration [...]
Sri Lanka Snubs India by Re-allocating Prime property Earmarked for it in Colombo to China
by Our Diplomatic Editor India has lodged a strong protest with Sri Lanka over the allocation of a prime Colombo property to a Chinese company though it was earmarked for India.The protests were delivered both in New Delhi and Colombo, an External Affairs Ministry source said yesterday. He was speaking on grounds of anonymity since [...]
Lankan Envoy Godage recalled from Malaysia appeals to Minister Peiris
(Text of letter sent to External Affairs minister Prof. GL Peiris by Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to Malaysia) “Dear Minister, “I cannot quite believe it that you of all people had me ‘Recalled’. Trust you would recall what I wrote about you when you took over from Rohitha Bogollagama, yes I was delighted because I [...]
“Rex non Potest Peccare” – The King Can Do No Wrong – Has Been Revived and is in Full Force in Sri Lanka
by Gamini Weerakoon The Editors’ Guild and some other powerful associations of journalists have got hot under the collar over the statement of the new Secretary to the Media Ministry Charitha Herath that the government wouldn’t be introducing the Right to Information Act in the interests of national security and other sensitive matters. The ire [...]
Owner Accuses Douglas Devananda of Illegally Occupying Sridhar Theatre in Jaffna for 16 Years
by Nirmala Kannangara Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Minister Douglas Devananda has been accused of unlawful occupation at Sridhar Cinema at 45, Stanley Road, Jaffna since 1996 which belongs to R. Mahendraraviraj. Sridhar Cinema, which was one of the leading cinema halls in Jaffna had to shut down in 1991 during the height of [...]
General Denzil Kobbekaduwe drew respect and affection from civil population in conflict areas
by Brigadier (Retd) Sri Mudannayake It is hard to imagine that 20 years have passed since General Denzil Kobbekaduwa, along with some of his senior commanders, fell victim to a buried explosive device in the Jaffna Peninsula. That fateful day was August 8, 1992. The incident shook the nation to its core and plummeted military [...]
Police deny permission for TESO Conference but Karunananidhi says he will take legal steps to hold it
The city police have denied permission for the pro-Eelam TESO meet, convened by the forum’s founder leader and DMK chief M Karunanidhi in Chennai on Sunday. The police have denied permission on various grounds but they cannot be divulged as the matter was sub-judice, Chennai Police Commissioner J K Tripathy told PTI on Saturday. Sources [...]
‘There is a lack of Professionalism in the way the Ministry of External Affairs works’
Rajiva Wijesinha Interviewed by Ranga Jayasuriya Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha, MP and presidential advisor on Reconciliation blames the Ministry of External Affairs for the lack of professionalism within the ministry and says it has not even bothered to find out who the members of the visiting delegation from the Office of the UN Human Rights Commissioner [...]
Nation-building in Sri Lanka was Turned into a Political war with the Majority Against Minorities
by Tisaranee Gunasekara “….the purpose is not really to indict the past, but to summon it to the attention of a suicidal, anachronistic present”. Wole Soyinka (Nobel Speech – 1986) Independent Ceylon was just a few months old when she won her first ever silver medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. For the [...]
Strong National Identity Cannot Be Built by Suppressing Different Individual Identities
by M.A.Sumanthiran M.P. (text of Speech made in Parliament by M.A. Sumanthiran on 10th August 2012) Thank you sir I am glad to speak on this motion moved by the Hon. Member for Colombo and I am further glad to speak at the time when you are in the Chair, and quite unusually, after a [...]
Talks Continue But FUTA Encouraged By Basil Rajapaksa’s Positive Approach
By Namini Wijedasa Striking academics emerged from a late-night meeting with Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa saying some progress was made—but not enough to call off their five-weeks-old trade union action. The government had agreed on principle to several of the demands raised by the Federation of University Teachers’ Association (FUTA). This includes the formation [...]
Life and Times of Ketheeswaran ‘Ketheesh’ Loganathan
By D.B.S. Jeyaraj Ketheeswaran Loganathan called generally as “Ketheesh” was assassinated Six years ago on August 12th exactly one year after Lakshman Kadirgamar was killed. With his departure one more Tamil who wanted his people to live with equal rights in a united Lanka and championed that cause in the face of danger was done [...]
Essentials of Post-Conflict Reconciliation & India’s Concerns
INDIAN CONCERNS OVER ESSENTIALS OF POST-CONFLICT RECONCILIATION IN SRI LANKA by Dr.Subramanian Swamy (text of speech delivered by Dr.Swamy at Defence seminar 2012 in Colombo) Introduction The world witnessed a historic event in May 2009, when in a final assault of the Sri Lankan armed forces, a treacherous and murderous terrorist outfit called the Liberation [...]
“Let us Bring Victory to our Party and to our Nation”-Karu Jayasuriya
UNP MP Karu Jayasuriya yesterday exposed various ills of the Government, its ulterior motives in going for Provincial Council elections as well the failure to restore law and order in the country. “The attempt of the Government has come to light, to win the forthcoming Provincial Council Election by whatever means and to show that [...]
Delhi Neighbours dont want N-E ex-Chief MinisterVaratharajaperumal in their midst
BY OUR CHENNAI CORRESPONDENT The residents in the affluent Sarvodaya Enclave in New Delhi have on 8 August filed a petition at the New Delhi High Court, asking for the removal of former Chief Minister of Sri Lanka’s North-Eastern Provincial Council, Annamalai Varatharajaperumal and his 25 men-strong security contingent from the enclave, as they have [...]
