by
Greg Sheridan
FEW subjects are more difficult for a democratic politician, especially a foreign minister, than how to deal with an authoritarian regime that violates norms of democracy and human rights.
There is the ultra-idealist response: denounce every transgression and have nothing to do with the transgressors. Then there is the ultra-realist response: conduct the business that is in your national interest regardless of the internal actions of the regime.
By
K.T.Jagannathan
Bombay Jayashri
Carnatic vocalist Bombay Jayashri who has been nominated for an Oscar along with Mychael Danna in the Original Song” category for “Pi’s Lullaby” — in the film “Life of Pi” — tells K.T. Jagannathan that she hopes this will make more people listen to Carnatic music.
By
Karthik Subramanian
Actor-film-maker Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroopam will arrive at the crack of dawn in some theatres across the State on Thursday, riding heavily on the controversy surrounding it over the past two weeks.
Kamal Haasan
It is also aiming at reaching almost the entire cinema-going audience in the State, before the week ends.
Continue reading ‘Kamal Haasan’s ‘Vishwaroopam’ to Screen at the Crack of Dawn in Theatres on Thursday in Tamil Nadu’ »
By
Upul Joseph Fernando
(This is an article in “Ceylon Today”recalling the time When Mahinda Rajapaksa was detained at the Katunayaka Airport en route to Geneva to attend special meeting at the UNHRC in 1990 and its aftermath)
MP’s protest at seizing of documents at Airport
“Police seized over five hundred photographs of missing persons, burning human bodies and other documents from SLFP MP Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday night at the Katunayaka International Airport, a senior police officer said yesterday.
Two opposition members of Parliament yesterday protested to President R. Premadasa over the incident.
Mr. Rajapaksa, the Secretary of the Parliamentary Committee on human rights was on his way to attend a special meeting of the UN Human Rights Commission, the two MPs Messrs Jeyaraj Fernandopulle (SLFP) and Vasudeva Nanayakkara (NSSP) had said in their telegram to the President.
By
Sathya Liyanasuriya
The big winner in last week’s Cabinet reshuffle was neither Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi nor Anura Priyadarshana Yapa; it was Dissanayake Mudiyanselage (“Di Moo”) Jayaratne, the fourteenth Prime Minister of this country, who will complete three years in office in April.
Although the prime ministerial post has become largely ceremonial since the executive presidential system of government was introduced thirty five years ago, many are the aspirants for the position and the pre-reshuffle grapevine had it that Jayaratne’s days as Premier were numbered.
By
National Peace Council
The government held the 65th Independence Day celebration in Trincomalee in the former war zone of the East to emphasise perhaps the territorial unity of the country that had been secured after the ending of the war. The historical significance of this national day should be that it represents the collective effort of the country’s diverse peoples, including Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims to obtain their freedom from foreign rule. In his speech on the occasion President Mahinda Rajapaksa emphasised the importance of inter-community and inter-religious harmony and said he would not tolerate any breakdown in the bonds that bind the different communities together due to action by extremist forces who would do worse to the country than the terrorism from which it had emerged. The National Peace Council welcomes this commitment by the President and hopes he will follow up his words with action to prevent the deliberate spreading of communal and religious hatred.
by Col. R. Hariharan retd.
[Text of speech on “Gandhian values in participatory management” at the Gandhi Peace Foundation (Chennai Chapter) on January 29, 2012.]
A retired army veteran from the Military Intelligence who participated in wars and dealt with traffickers, forgers, criminals etc for nearly three decades speaking about Gandhian values may sound like an oxymoron.
I make no claim to be an expert either on Gandhi or on Gandhian values in participatory management the subject of my speech today. But I come from a family whose values were conditioned by Gandhian thoughts from 1930 to 1947 when my father actively participated in Gandhiji’s freedom struggle. These family values imbibed in childhood have guided me most of the times in my personal and professional life. I used these values to successfully cruise through some of the acid tests I had to face in the army – the biggest practitioner of participatory management.
by
Dharisha Bastians
“The rise of the Nazis was made possible because the elite of German society worked with them, but also, above all else, because most in Germany at least tolerated this rise. Human rights do not assert themselves on their own; freedom does not emerge on its own and democracy does not succeed on its own” – Angela Merkel on the 80th anniversary of Hitler’s rise to power
On the 80th Anniversary of Adolf Hitler’s rise to power as Chancellor, Germany declared open a new exhibit at its Topography of Terror open air museum, located at the former headquarters of the Gestapo, or Nazi secret police. The exhibition, entitled ‘Berlin 1933. On the Path to Dictatorship,’ traces the Fuhrer’s early days in power, largely through newspapers, posters and historically stunning photographs. The exhibit also showcases an iconic poster dated 1 April 1933, one of the earliest Nazi propaganda notices against the country’s Jewish community. “Germans, defend yourselves! Don’t buy from Jews,” it reads, urging Germans to boycott Jewish shops and services.
Sri Lanka, in the recent past, has seen the rise of very similar propaganda material largely targeted at enterprises run by Muslims. The posters and banners paraded through the streets of certain towns by Sinhalese extremist groups, urge the Sinhalese to stand up to defend their race by boycotting Muslim food products, clothing chains and restaurants.
Continue reading ‘Nazi Propaganda Against Jews in Europe and the Type of Paranoia Against Muslims Created by Sinhala Extremist Groups in Sri Lanka’ »
by Izeth Hussain
I believe that the Muslim factor in our politics is entering a new era because in the last few days developments of an epochal nature have been taking place. Suddenly, and totally unexpectedly, the following banner headline appeared in The Island of January 25; ‘Special PSC to look into racial, religious extremism”.
The item stated that Minister Nimal Siripala de Siva had told Parliament on the previous day that a special Parliamentary Select Committee would be set up to address growing concern about the rise in racial intolerance and religious fundamentalism in the country.
Continue reading ‘Outstandingly Moronic Anti-Muslim Hate Campaign Going on for Several Months with 19 Websites Devoted to that Ignoble Task’ »
by Kath Noble
That MPs have lost interest in democracy was clear from the impeachment of the Chief Justice. But even the rewards given to those who played important roles in that process reveal just what a state Parliament is in.
Last week’s reshuffle was very limited in scope. The major changes were the elevation to the position of Minister of Petroleum Resources of Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, who headed the Parliamentary Select Committee that investigated the charges against Shirani Bandaranayake, and the promotion of Pavithra Wanniarachchi, who led the group of five MPs who handed over the impeachment motion to the Speaker, as Minister of Power and Energy.
Continue reading ‘Ministerial Positions Given as Rewards for Service to Mahinda Rajapaksa Have Potential for Corruption,bribes and Jobs for Hangers on’ »
By
Dr.Dayan Jayatilleka
As an island, Sri Lanka’s history has been shaped by the dialectic of the internal and external, with the latter playing a decisive role for prolonged periods. These external forces and factors have primarily been the neighbouring powers and the colonial ones.
Today, no three states have greater importance for Sri Lanka’s future than India, China and the USA, though not in any inevitable order. What is alarming is that the Sri Lankan policy makers seem to understand none of these powers
Continue reading ‘The Delusion of Thinking Sri Lanka is an Israeli Type Garrison State with China as Security Patron and Diplomatic Guarantor like the US’ »
by
Dr.Vickramabahu Karunaratne
While oppositional forces are getting ready to fight back, there is a sense of frustration among those who are eager to see the Mahinda Regime being superseded by a more responsive, responsible and democratic governance. They insist that both the impeachment and sacking of the Chief Justice and her ‘replacement’ by Mr. Mohan Peries are against the law of the country.
They declare that this violation of the law of the country makes Mohan, a rogue and a cheat. Also he has been a government spokesman and a legal advisor to the Cabinet.
Continue reading ‘Bodu Bala Sena is part of the Political Crusade by the regime and is the Latest “Brigade” Operated by Agencies of State Power’ »
by Latheef Farook
Crucial Muslim support facilitated the process of Sri Lanka gaining independence from the British in 1948, and helped end almost four and half centuries of European colonial rule in the island.
Many still remember the leading role played by Muslim leaders such as Dr. T.B. Jayah, Sir Razik Fareed, Dr. M.C.M. Kaleel and Dr. Bathiudeen Mahmoud in the constitutional reforms of this country and their enthusiastic support for the demand of the Dominion Status and independence, and their vast contribution to the political progress of the country.
By Ranga Jayasuriya
Sixty five years ago on this day, when Sri Lanka, then Ceylon, received independence, our per capita income was Rs 397 (US$ 120 then), which was on par with Japan. At that time, the per capita income of South Korea was US$ 86, on par with South Sudan. Hong Kong was then, a fishing harbour. Taiwan was guarding itself from marauding Maoists.
The departing British left a flourishing economy, which then had a surplus in the trade account and a Constitution that was meant to serve as the springboard for the infant nation to launch itself into a functioning democracy. What fallowed the departure of the British is now history. But how Sri Lanka squandered, big time, its post independent prospects for the next 65 years should kindle the research interests of political scientists.
The battle by the producer of Vishwaroopam before the Madras High Court came to an end on Monday with the writ petitions filed by it being treated as closed and withdrawn. Justice S. Rajeswaran passed the order when the matter came up.
Earlier, the film producer, the Rajkamal Films International, represented by its partner, S. Chandrahasan, had filed writ petitions challenging a two-week ban on the film in Tamil Nadu.
By
G.Viswanath
Sri Lanka played bold cricket to come up trumps in a pressure match and eliminate India from the ICC Women’s World Cup at the Brabourne Stadium here on Tuesday.
Actor and film-maker Kamal Haasan has announced that Vishwaroopam, which was originally planned to release here on January 11, will finally hit the theatres across Tamil Nadu on February 7.
“Surmounting many barricades and bans, Vishwaroopam is now ready for release on 7 February, 2013, finally in Tamil Nadu,” Mr. Haasan wrote in a media statement. “I profusely thank the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, for her justice was speedier. Above all, I am grateful to the Tamil Nadu and the Indian people at large. Many peers in the trade in Tamil Nadu also reached out personally to enquire.“
Continue reading ‘“Vishwaroopam”is Ready for release on Feb 7th in Tamil Nadu says Kamal Haasan’ »
By
Sarath de Alwis
“I doubt whether we will ever witness so moving a spectacle as the people streaming in to Parliament, as they did after the election of 1956 and reverently and affectionately stroking the benches where the members they elected would sit.
The new parliamentary complex at Sri Jayewardenepura, with its sumptuousness and forbidding majesty, seems to me to typify and symbolize architecturally, regrettable processes that are going on politically and socially.
The task of bringing Parliament back to the people and of making it a real instrument of the peoples will, is likely, therefore, to be settled elsewhere.”
Pieter Keuneman ‘Looking back with no anger’ Ceylon Daily News, 29 April 1982
A recent symposium on ‘Ideas on Constitutional reform’ had parliamentarians M.A. Sumanthiran and Eran Wickrameratne and former Ambassador Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka presenting their views on ‘Separation of Powers.’ I recalled these words of Pieter Keuneman when listening to the three participants. The lawyer, banker and a political scientist were all born after the 1956 people’s revolution that Pieter Keuneman recalls in those words of Delphian despair.
(Text of Editorial Appearing in “The Island”of February 5th 2013)
Many a true word is spoken in jest. In Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales we come across this: “A man may say full sooth [the truth] in game and play ….” We find something similar in Shakespeare’s King Lear: ‘Jesters do oft prove prophets.’ However, it is not only in comic utterances that the truth is found. One may argue that the truth is often spoken in vituperative outbursts as well. Here is a case in point.
By Dharisha Bastians
The Anglican Bishop of Colombo Rt. Reverend Dhiloraj Canagasabey called Christians yesterday to be prophets who speak out against unjust systems and repent apathy and the wickedness of the nation, on the occasion of Sri Lanka’s 65th Anniversary of Independence.
BY
President Mahinda Rajapaksa
President Mahinda Rajapaksa reminded the world of the provisions in the United Nations Charter of calling on all nations to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state in their international relations.
He said that nothing contained in the present Charter shall authroize the UN to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the Members to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter.
President Rajapaksa said this while addressing the nation on the 65th Independence anniversary celebrations held at the Eastern post city of Trincomalee today(4th).
By R. K. Radhakrishnan
Sri Lanka – 65th Independence Day Celebrations, in Trincomalee, Fen 4, 2013
The solution that Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has in mind for the Tamil quest for a greater say in their own fate — which he said soon after the war in 2009 that he will reveal at an appropriate time — involves “equal rights to all communities”.
Ruling out granting minority Tamils of the North any political autonomy as a solution to the three-decades-long ethnic conflict, he said when people lived together in unity there should be no racial or religious differentiation. “It is not practical for this country to have different administrations based on ethnicity. The solution is to live together in this country with equal rights for all communities,” he said.
by D.B.S. Jeyaraj
Sri Lanka will Celebrate its Sixty-fifth Anniversary of Independence from the United Kingdom this Monday. The country then known as Ceylon obtained full freedom from the British on February 4th 1948.Completing 65 years is significant as it is the age denoting “Seniority” in most Western nations. By that yardstick Sri Lanka becomes a Senior nation on Independence day.
Students in a group work to complete their art ~ The British High Commission marked the International Day of Peace on 21 September 2011 by hosting an Art Festival in Colombo, involving over 50 school children: pic courtesy of: UKInSriLanka
Independent Sri Lanka or Ceylon has faced many challenges and problems in the past 65 years. We have had military coup attempts,communal riots,pogroms, armed revolts,external military intervention, assassinations of heads of state,terrorist violence and above all a long secessionist war that threatened to tear apart the country.
Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka at 65 Faces Unfinished Task of Building a ‘New’ Nation’ »
by Anasuya Menon
Chandana Wickramasinghe feels a deep connect with India. As a young student of dance, he came to India from Sri Lanka to learn Kathakali.
The HinduSri Lankan dancer Chandana Wickramasinghe at Kochi | Photo: Thulasi Kakkat ~ The Hindu
“It was considered the ultimate. Many of the acclaimed artists from Sri Lanka have come to India to learn the Indian traditional arts,” he says.
Continue reading ‘Sri Lankan dancer Chandana Wickramasinghe has incorporated some Indian forms into the traditional Kandyan dance’ »
By
Thelma
My darling Ma-hinder,
I don’t know if as you sallied forth in your little Lord Fauntleroy suit or mini kuarakkan satakaya in your wee days at the Medamulane Rahula pre-school, you ever encountered the little fellow who almost made it.
The young chap in class who hissed at the teacher or broke the last piece of white chalk was always seen standing in a corner for his sins.
Just yesterday I was staring into a glass of Chardonnay and thinking about this very thing and a couple of other matters as well – as Thellie is not always given to the one track mind – when it occurred to me that ever since you and your moustache donned a red scarf and sallied forth into the wide world, you m’dear have been….that boy.
By W. Siri Ananda
Former Chief Justice Sarath Nanda Silva, in a candid interview with Ceylon Today says the impeachment process was initiated by the President while the 117 signatories were simply rubber stamping it. Silva questions both the removal of Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake (CJ) from the position of Chief Justice and challenges the appointment of Mohan Peiris in her place. He also warns of serious repercussions to the country at the international level, especially at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions this March.
Excerpts:
by Karthik Subramanian
After being mired neck-deep in controversy for over a week, filmmaker and actor Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroopam emerged in the clear for a theatrical release in Tamil Nadu, where it was blocked by a State government ban.
Stepping out from a five-hour-long deliberation with Muslim organisations opposed to the film’s release, at the Secretariat on Saturday evening, the actor said he had agreed to carry out a list of cuts to the content and would apprise the Central Board of Film Certification of the changes, and then decide upon a release date.
“I thank the State government for facilitating the talks and allowing both sides to reach an amicable settlement. After the talks with the Muslim groups, we have mutually agreed on certain changes to the content. I have also explained to them the technological challenges in agreeing to certain requests. Everything has been sorted out.”
By Dharisha Bastians
Muslim groups warned yesterday that anti-Muslim sentiments propagated by certain extremist elements in the country were causing pain of mind and a feeling of insecurity for minority communities in the island, but expressed confidence that the Government and law enforcement authorities would act to prevent a deterioration of the situation.
The Sri Lanka Muslim Council, which held a media briefing yesterday, said they had met with Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Police and Intelligence representatives two weeks ago, and a clear assurance was provided that none of these anti-Muslim groups would be allowed to take the law into their own hands.
Continue reading ‘No Danger of Muslims Becoming the Majority in Sri Lanka in the Future -Sri Lanka Muslim Council’ »
By
Kithsiri Wijesinghe
Sandya Ekneligoda wife of disappeared journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda-pic courtesy of: Amnesty International
Three years ago, on the 24th of January, journalist and political cartoonist Prageeth Ekneligoda went missing without a trace. His disappearance sent ripples across the human rights circles compelling many rights groups to raise concerns about his fate.
In November 2011, appearing before the United Nations Committee against Torture, legal advisor to the President Mahinda Rajapaksa and former Attorney General Mohan Peiris said : ‘our current information is that Mr. Ekneligoda has taken refuge in a foreign country. It is something that we are reasonably certain of.’ But six months later, when he was summoned before a Sri Lankan court to testify about the information he has on Prageeth Ekneligoda, he recant his statement to the UN : ‘I don’t know if he is alive or dead, only god would know if the information that I received about him is true’ he said.
Ironically, coinciding with the third anniversary of the disappearance of Prageeth Ekneligoda, the former Attorney General Mohan Peiris has being appointed as the head the judiciary of the country, to replace the impeached chief justice Shirani Bandaranayake.
The JDS’ Kithsiri Wijesinghe spoke with Sandya Ekneligoda about her courageous and tireless campaign to trace her husband.
Continue reading ‘I am Happy I am able to Continue the Struggle and Keep Prageeth alive in spite of his Physical Absence-Sandya Ekneligoda’ »
By
Prof.Rajiva Wijesinha M.P.
Ideas for Constitutional Reform 1 – Electoral Reform
I believe it is essential to reform Parliament, to establish fixed terms to avoid elections being manipulated for the advantage of the ruling party, and to have a Second Chamber based on equal representation for all provinces, so as to promote the consultation of regional interests in legislation. Many of our problems have sprung from hasty legislation, while international experience teaches us that a second chamber, with powers to go through legislation calmly, can often save government from the excesses of emotional responses to particular situations, whether economic or political or social.
By Salma Yusuf
It is that time of the year. As the heat builds up in an otherwise wintry Geneva, capital cities of the world are abuzz with preparations for the forthcoming UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions to be held in February-March 2013.
While UNHRC sessions in general are important for Sri Lanka, the upcoming sessions in February-March 2013 are uniquely important for Sri Lanka for four reasons: first, it is the first time that Sri Lanka will come before the UNHRC after the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) review meeting; second, it is the first time that Sri Lanka sits at the UNHRC after the first ever UN Resolution has been adopted and passed on Sri Lanka; third, there continues to be intense international scrutiny and mounting national criticism on a variety of post-war issues; and fourth, diplomatically speaking, Sri Lanka will have to confront for the first time an unusual combination of forces that have lobbied against it.
By S L Gunasekara
Theoretically we are and have been an `Independent’, Sovereign’ State that is equal to all others – i.e equal in all respects to the International Thug, [a.k.a. the United States of America], its `lap-dog’ the once `Great’ Britain, India, our giant neighbour and `Regional Thug’, [now castigating Pakistan for allegedly sending armed thugs to murder its citizens in Mumbai] and all others. That, is the `theory’, but how is it in `practice’???
By
Tisaranee Gunasekara
“Hitler is not Germany,
He’s Germany’s destroyer….”
Rolf Hochhuth (The Deputy)
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa ~ File photo: S. Subramanium: courtesy of: The Hindu
Post-impeachment, the Rajapaksas have entered a new phase in their fanatically single-minded pursuit of absolute and permanent power. They are abandoning all pretensions and acting with total disregard for appearances; not even a fig-leaf is being retained. With the judiciary conquered, the Siblings obviously see no cause for pretences of justice, no reason for charades of fair-play.
Of that many-hued cloak which was used to cover the dystopian reality of Rajapaksa rule, only a few threadbare lies remain.
At last, the Emperor is naked. The Emperor will remain naked not because he is unaware of his nudity. The Emperor will remain naked because that is the way he wants to be; feeling omnipotent and unchallenged, he no longer sees any purpose in the costly and time-consuming business of garbing himself.
Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka
[Remarks delivered at the discussion on the Separation of Powers in the series “Ideas for Constitutional Reform” organized by the Liberal Party of Sri Lanka]
President Barack Obama (44th President of USA) with President Lula da Silva (35th President of Brazil-2003-2011)-pic courtesy of: independenciasulamericana.com.br
While I see the need for constitutional reform, I do not see a need for a replacement of the Constitution. My stance remains that which I took during the Liberal Party’s discussions contained in the volume of 1991, namely, that the Constitution of ’78 was an advance over the Constitution of ’72.
Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka Needs a Lula or Obama and not an Arab Spring to Reverse the “Deep State”Matrix Through Enlightened Electoral Change’ »
By Namini Wijedasa
(Britain will do its utmost to ensure that Sri Lanka is able to recognise the principles on which the Commonwealth works and takes the right course, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the United Kingdom’s (UK) Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Alistair Burt said last week in an exclusive interview with the Sunday Times. )
British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, H E John Rankin, hosted a Burns’ Night reception at his residence on Thursday, 31 January, 2013, to welcome visiting Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt and mark the birthday of the Scottish poet, Robert Burns (a day celebrated annually in January all over Scotland)-pic courtesy of: UKinSriLanka
Excerpts from the interview:
Q:
The UK has regularly expressed concern over negative developments in Sri Lanka—whether during the war, over other human rights abuses or, most recently, the Chief Justice’s (CJ) impeachment. Yet, transgressions continue. Are you worried that the concerns of the international community are being ignored?
Continue reading ‘Sri Lankan Govt will not be Excused even if it Implements LLRC Recommendations Because LLRC Report Does not Address Accountability- Alistair Burt’ »
(Questions at the dinner meeting for national newspaper editors and electronic media heads were answered by President Mahinda Rajapaksa sometimes with interceptions by External Affairs Minister Peiris)
Here are edited excerpts:
By Namini Wijedasa
For three days a week, ten months of the year, Sri Lanka’s fishermen in the North are forced off the seas by a swathe of hefty Indian trawlers for which their fibreglass boats are no match. Residents of Pesalai and Talaimannar in the north-west coast can often see the trawlers bobbing on the horizon during evening hours. They cross into Sri Lankan waters by nightfall, haul their nets over the seabed and leave unhindered before dawn, with catches of fish, succulent prawn and pricey sea cucumber.
Indian trawling in Sri Lankan seas is a longstanding issue. But researchers warn it has reached such overwhelming proportions that a serious conflict is looming. The Indian fleet has burgeoned to nearly 2000 vessels. Discussions between the two governments have not helped.
By
C.A.Chandraprema
Over the past week, we have seen front page news items in English newspapers to the effect that several factories have closed down due to their inability to compete in the European market due to the loss of the GSP+ facility in 2010.
This has been raised in parliament and political parties including the JVP have released statements about the closure of factories. Two factories Crystal Sweater Lanka (Pvt) Ltd and Firefox (Pvt) Ltd have been specifically mentioned in these news reports as having shifted their production facilities to Bangladesh to make use of the zero duty concessions available to that country. This is seen as the fallout from the withdrawal of the European GSP+ facility to Sri Lanka in 2010.
Continue reading ‘Why Inability to Compete in European Market is Forcing Sri Lankan Factories to Close Down’ »
By
C.A.Chandraprema
Alistair Burt MP
Alistair Burt, the UK Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs delivered a guest lecture on “Sri Lanka 2013 and Beyond” at the Lakshman Kadirgarmar Institute on Thursday.
After praising what Sri Lanka has achieved in terms of economic growth and infrastructure development in the first part of his speech, Burt mounted the usual Western hobby horse and started making a very prescriptive speech about what SL should do.
Continue reading ‘British Under-Secretary Alastair Burt “Lectures” to Sri Lanka to which Minister-Professor GL Peiris Responds’ »
By
N.Sathiyamoorthy
In its working plan on the LLRC Report, the Army’s Board of Officers has said that there could be no question of shifting military camps out of the North and the East.
Defending the Government’s ‘absolute right’ to maintain its armed forces ‘anywhere in the Island, according to the country’s strategic and security needs,’ the Board has also noted that ‘military bases are located causing minimum inconvenience to the public’ in the regions impacted by the ‘Humanitarian Operation,’ which others however call the ‘ethnic war.’
Continue reading ‘Civilian Demands on High Security Zones are Based on Expediency while Military Positions rely on Experience’ »
By
C.A.Chandraprema
John Kerry assumed duties as US Secretary of State on last Friday. It was also last week that three officials of the US State Department visited Sri Lanka and declared that the US will be sponsoring a procedural resolution against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council, plunging US-Sri Lanka relations to a new low.
Kerry has been a critic of the manner in which his predecessor Hillary Clinton handled Sri Lanka. In December 2009, he signed along with his colleague Senator Richard G.Lugar a US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations report titled, “Sri Lanka: Re-charting US Strategy after the War”. This report stressed among other things, the following points:
Continue reading ‘What Happens if US Policy Towards Sri Lanka Does not Change Even After John Kerry Becoming Secretary of State?’ »
By
Kishali Pinto-Jayawardene
If an objective perspective is brought to the calamitous events of the past few months precipitating Sri Lanka even deeper into a yawning abyss of disorder and non-governance, there is much to marvel at.
For example, even though a new found activism on the part of lawyers in this country was, to borrow Hobbes’s injunction in a different context, ‘nasty, brutish and short’, the very fact that such activism was evidenced at all, was a pleasantly welcome surprise. Such cynicism is natural. During the past decade, it was the Bar which genuflected most unbecomingly before the executive and equally unforgivably, reneged on its duty in the public interest to raise warning signals over the obnoxious 18th Amendment to the Constitution among other pieces of legislation.
Lawyers and retired judges were jostling for positions, perks and privileges when the President made direct appointments to important constitutional commissions disregarding the 17th Amendment This is a history that is difficult to forget or to forgive.
Former Parliamentarian Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra;s daughter Miss Hirunika Premachandra said that there is a conspiracy in the case relating to her father’s murder to change the evidence, as reported in the www.noc.lk website.
Hirunika Premachandra
The main witness of the Bharatha Premachandra murder case, his drive, got his evidence changed recently through an affidavit. Accordingly the witness who claimed that the shooting was carried out first by parties of suspect Duminda Silva has now changed it to say that initial shooting was carried out by the parties of Bharata Lakshman.
Continue reading ‘Conspiracy on to make my Murdered Father the Guilty Person Alleges Bharatha Lakshman’s Daughter Hirunika Premachandra’ »
by Austin Fernando
Background
Environmentally the Trincomalee (TCO) Harbor is the second best natural harbor in the world. Its available water and land area is about ten times larger than the Colombo Port.
Trincomalee Inner-Harbour ~ pic: Doctorandus Sarajevo
TCO has its history with European powers vying for mastery of TCO harbor and the Portuguese, Dutch, French, and the English, each holding it in turn.
Continue reading ‘Politics and Economics of Trincomalee Port Development’ »
by Dr.Reeza Hameed
In a speech made at the ceremony to welcome him, the new appointee to the Chief Justice’s post had quoted ‘the moving finger’ verse from Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyyat and had said that Providence had brought him to the temple of justice.
Illustrated edition of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayam – pic: Oliver Hammond
Khayyam was a brilliant mathematician, a philosopher and a poet. Khayyam comes out as a fatalist – as well as a hedonist and an agnostic- at least in Fitzgerald’s translation, and it is in Fitzgerald’s translation that Khayyam’s fame has endured. Other translators such as Swami Govinda Thirtha have recognised the spirituality in Khayyam’s poetry and there is much more to his poetry than fatalism even in Fitzgerald.
Continue reading ‘Ousting of A Chief Justice and Appointment of Another: Was it Fate or a Fait Accompli?’ »
The proposed formal tripartite meeting to break the deadlock over the screening of Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroopam in Tamil Nadu failed to take off on Friday, as Muslim outfits reportedly insisted on the presence of the actor in the meeting.
(Full Text of Announcement in “The Hindu” About Launching The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy)
On the occasion of the 134th anniversary of the founding of this newspaper, Kasturi & Sons Ltd., publishers of The Hindu group of newspapers, have pleasure in announcing the launch of The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy – to encourage research and discussion on critical political and public policy issues.
Minnows Sri Lanka caused the biggest upset of the ICC Women’s World Cup as they defeated defending champions England by one wicket off a last-ball six in a thrilling Group A encounter at the Brabourne Stadium here on Friday.
By Maheesha Mudugamuwa and Franklin R. Satyapalan
Traditional Industries and Small Enterprises Development Minister Douglas Devananda said yesterday that a mid-sea protest, against Indian fishermen poaching in Lankan waters, would be staged if the bilateral talks over the issue, between Sri Lanka and India, failed.
Indian fishermen, mainly from Tamil Nadu, are poaching illegally in Lankan waters on a massive scale and on a daily basis posing a serious threat to the livelihoods of local fishermen, Minister Devananda said.
By
Lucian Rajakarunanayake
“The spirit of India is written in stone” – President Pranab Mukherjee on the eve of the 64th Indian Republic Day – January 25, 2013
“I’m a Muslim Indian and I’m with Kamal Hasaan”, is the heading given by well known Indian blogger Mohd Asim, to his January 30 piece on the moves to ban Kamal Hasaan’s latest film “Vishwaroopam” by the Tamil Nadu authorities.
This is how the blog begins: “I have not yet seen Kamal Hasaan’s Vishwaroopam. I was waiting for its release since the promos went on air. I like Hasaan films. They generally make a political statement. Today, I am all the more eager to watch the movie after the unfortunate controversy and bad publicity over the last week”.
I share his thinking, and I am sure they are many more, including Muslims too, who would like to see Vishwaroopam, unless they are like those pro- Jayalalithaa political catchers and some Muslims in Tamil Nadu, and other Muslims here in Sri Lanka too, who think it should be banned.
by Susitha R. Fernando
Former Colombo District Judge Sisira Rathnayake has been appointed as the new Secretary of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC). He replaces Manjula Tillakaratne who is transferred as the Supernumerary District Judge of Ratnapura, it is learnt.
By
S.S.Selvanayagam
The Supreme Court today dismissed with costs a fundamental rights petition that challenged the integrity and honesty of the former Attorney General Mohan Peiris and the Treasury Secretary P.B. Jayasundera.
The Supreme Court Bench comprising Justices P.A. Ratnayake, Sathya Hettige and S.E. Wanasundera refused leave to proceed with the fundamental rights application filed by a Customs officer who claimed that former Attorney General AG (present Chief Justice) Mohan Peiris had prevented the Customs from obtaining Rs.619 million from a company.
by Cameron Stewart and Paul Maley
THE surge in asylum-seeker boats to Australia may have been quietly sanctioned at senior levels of the Sri Lankan government as a political payback for Australia’s attempts to make Colombo answer for alleged atrocities committed during its civil war.
The theory has been discussed by Gillard government officials.
It follows a widely asserted belief within the Australian government that a powerful Sri Lankan government official may be “complicit” in the people-smuggling trade and has facilitated the passage of dozens of boats to Australia during the past 10 months.
By Kelum Bandara
United Nations Human Rights High Commissioner Navi Pillay has sought to dispatch ten special rapporteurs to Sri Lanka to assess the implementation of the recommendations by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), the Daily Mirror learns.
An International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) delegation has been forced to postpone a planned visit to Sri Lanka to assess the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary due to the last minute withdrawal of permission to enter the country.
by Cameron Stewart and Paul Maley
A SENIOR Sri Lankan government official is suspected by Australian authorities of being personally “complicit” in the people-smuggling trade, directly undermining Canberra’s attempts to stop the surge in asylum-seeker boats.
The Australian can reveal that Australia’s intelligence agencies have identified the official, who has a high profile and is known to be close to President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The agencies believe he is responsible for authorising numerous boats in the past 10 months, fuelling the surge of asylum-seekers from Sri Lanka that has threatened to overwhelm Australia’s detention system.
Continue reading ‘Senior Sri Lankan Govt Official Close to President Rajapaksa Suspected by Ausssie Intelligence of Being Involved in People Smuggling to Australia’ »
By
N Sathiya Moorthy
Among the various issues agitating the Tamil Nadu Government with and at Delhi, some have longer and larger consequences for the health and future of Centre-State relations and the federal polity evolved in post-Independence India. While incumbent Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has been shooting off letters after letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on various issues on which the State Government feels aggrieved and/or feels that its people have been wronged, it is neither the first time, nor will it be the last time, that such demands and memorandums will be received at Delhi.
Tamil Nadu has a unique place in the politico-constitutional history of the nation. Constitutional guarantees – or, the lack of them – political accommodation and electoral realities, acknowledgement of existing socio-economic realities that the rest of the nation was slow in catching up, all contributed to an avowed ‘separatist’ entity mainstreaming itself without effort and emerging as the elected ruling party, as far back as 1967. The State has since been ruled by either the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) or the breakaway Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
(London, February 1, 2013) – The Sri Lankan government continued its assault on civil society and failed to take meaningful steps towards accountability for war crimes during the country’s armed conflict that ended in 2009, Human Rights Watch said in its World Report 2013 released today.
In its 665-page report, Human Rights Watch assessed progress on human rights during the past year in more than 90 countries, including an analysis of the aftermath of the Arab Spring.
By
Dharisha Bastians
Former Chief Justice of India Jagdish Sharan Verma will arrive in Colombo today(feb 1st), leading a high-level international fact-finding mission that will study the impeachment of Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, Daily FT learns.
The delegation has been commissioned by the International Bar Association and will include a member of the House of Lords, Baroness Usha Prashar and several others.
By
Chamitha Kuruppu
Vasudeva Nanayakkara
Human rights violations have been part of this country’s history particularly in recent times, says Minister of National Languages, Ethnic Affairs and Social Integration Vasudeva Nanayakkara.
The Minister pointed out that the West targets countries like ours citing concern about human rights violations while turning a blind eye to what is going in Saudi Arabia and any other countries they consider as friends. He pointed out that Western countries are looking towards a change of regime and therefore continue to pressure Sri Lanka with various charges.
The Minister explained that although we respect universal laws and universal agreements, we are also free to practice and observe our own laws and implement them in terms of our needs, which are determined by a democratically-elected government.
Following are excerpts of an interview:
By Uditha Jayasinghe
The Government is confident of India’s support in facing a second US-backed resolution despite the powerful neighbour voting against it in the first round last year and is resolute it will not affect foreign investment.
Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella was insistent that India would side with Sri Lanka despite Indian media reports to the contrary.
Continue reading ‘India Will Support Sri Lanka to Defeat US Sponsored Resolution Against it at the UNHRC in Geneva this March -Keheliya’ »
By
A Special Correspondent
Making her position public for the first time on the row over Vishwaroopam, a film made by Kamal Haasan, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Thursday said the decks could be cleared for the screening of the movie if leaders of Muslim organisations and the actor arrived at an amicable agreement and he agreed to delete objectionable portions.
By Karthik Subramanian
Rajkamal Films International, Kamal Haasan’s production house, and the primary opposition to the film Vishwaroopam – the Federation of Tamil Nadu Muslims Social and Political Organisation and the Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamaath – have agreed to sit and negotiate terms for the release of the movie. Both sides have requested the State government to oversee the discussions.
Till late night, both sides were waiting for a green light from the government circles to set the talks into motion.
By Shoumojit Banerjee
June 4, 2011 photo shows Kamal Haasan with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa during a meeting in Chennai – pic: PTI-vi The Hindu
Thanking Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa for offering to break the impasse over the release of his film Vishwaroopam, actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan on Thursday virtually ruled out moving the Supreme Court on revoking the Madras High Court order that stayed the film’s release.
“I thank the Chief Minister. I am grateful to her. She has been kind enough to offer her help… now that she has helped us why should we go [to the Supreme Court]…I do not want to carry coals to Newcastle,” he said at a press conference here after the premiere of the Hindi version of the film, which was released here.
“She is an artist, she has understood, she has come forward. I am grateful,” he said.
By
Gibson Bateman
So it looks like the US will bring another resolution on Sri Lanka at the next session of the UN’s Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva this March. Quite frankly – I am shocked.
US foreign policy as it relates to Sri Lanka has been confusing and is replete with complications and contradictions.
One can’t help but wonder: Where is all of this heading? Is this a road to nowhere?
Continue reading ‘If Washington is Really Concerned Obama Should Prove it by Diplomatically Isolating Sri Lanka Regime’ »
By Tisaranee Gunasekara –
“…a regime of rare destructiveness”. Michael Burleigh (The Third Reich: A New History)
Constitutions cannot resist tyranny. People do; or don’t.
Preventing the formation of a critical-mass capable of resisting the Rajapaksa- Behemoth would be of paramount importance for the Ruling Siblings.
An opposition which unites Lankans across ethno-religious/class-caste divides would be the ultimate Rajapaksa nightmare. The Siblings would be able to deal with a Sinhala opposition or a Tamil/Muslim opposition. But a Lankan opposition can mount an insurmountable challenge to Rajapaksa power. Consequently the Siblings would want to prevent any collusion between the Sinhala poor/middle-classes (impoverished by Rajapaksa-economics) and the minorities (disempowered by Rajapaksa-politics), against the one common enemy.
A wilfully blind, ignorant and phobic Sinhala nation is a sine-qua-non for an opposition fragmented along ethno-religious lines.
By
Dr.Dayan Jayatilleka
However bad things are in Sri Lanka today and however bad things may get, there is almost nothing that cannot be reversed in three years when elections come around. That election may however be the last chance at reversal of the negative aspects, preventing their cumulative growth from embryonic structure to stable system.
Sri Lanka is not under a dictatorship today, though there may be a dictatorial project or latent tendency towards dictatorship. If dictatorship is ever erected in this country it will be as much by default as by design.
Continue reading ‘Four Basic Points Must be Understood by Those Offering Democratic Resistance and Desiring Democratic Change’ »
By P.K. Balachandran
The US$ 272 million (Rs 34.4 billion) Indian Government project to build 50,000 houses for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, and for plantation workers of Indian origin in the Central and Uva Provinces, is proceeding apace with the Indian authorities confident of completing the task by 2 October 2015.
By
Anishka Perera
My family and I have come from Australia for a holiday and we paid a visit to your zoo. From a tourist’spoint of view, I thought it was my duty to advise you to fix some major problems. I am writing this letter of complaint to express my grievance at the condition that the Dehiwala Zoo is in.
Continue reading ‘Animals are not Happy due to Appalling Condition of Dehiwela Zoo’ »
By
Dharisha Bastians
“I received information from a third party. Either myself or the Government does not know anything about Eknaligoda – it is only God who knows” – Former Attorney General Mohan Peiris, in a statement before the Homagama Magistrate on 5 June 2012
On Tuesday, 29 January 2013, three years and five days since her husband disappeared without a trace, Sandhya Ekneligoda tied a black cloth over her mouth and took her place at the front row of the Black January protest in Town Hall.
Tireless and unyielding in her quest to discover what became of her husband, Sandhya Ekneligoda has become a crusader for Sri Lanka’s ‘disappeared’ and the face of a small but vocal campaign against impunity and media suppression in the island that media rights watchdogs say has seen nine journalists murdered and one disappeared since President Mahinda Rajapaksa came to power in 2005.
Continue reading ‘Growing Divide Between Buddhist and Muslim Communities with the Monk-Led Bodhu Bala Sena Campaign of Agitation’ »
By
D.B.S.Jeyaraj
It was in January 2006 that some employees of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) were abducted and later killed by members of the breakaway faction of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) led by Vinayagamoorthy Muraleetharan alias Karuna.
While the Karuna faction later became known as the Tamil Makkal Viduthalaip Puligal (TMVP) Karuna himself along with a section of his loyalists has joined the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and is now a vice-president of that party and a Deputy minister in the Rajapaksa Government.
I wrote an article on this on the first anniversary of two separate abductions of TRO employees by the Karuna faction then coordinated by Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillaiyaan. Seven TRO personnel were killed. One was a woman. She was gang raped before death.
Continue reading ‘Tragic Fate of Seven TRO Employees at the Hands of the TMVP Seven Years Ago’ »
Kamal Haasan Speaks his heart out
Jan 30, 2013
Continue reading ‘Video: Kamal Haasan Becomes Emotional at Press Meet on “Vishwaroopam” film ban’ »
Veteran actor Kamal Haasan has agreed to modify his film Vishwaroopam following objections from certain Muslim organisations.
by Karthik Subramanian
Putting up a brave front in the wake of reports that the screenings of Vishwaroopam were cancelled abruptly in several parts of the State on Tuesday morning, actor and filmmaker Kamal Haasan said he is likely to face the third complete bankruptcy of his life and that if he found no place in Tamil Nadu to continue his profession, he may have to look for a place in any other secular State in the country.
On a day of dramatic developments, actor Kamal Haasan suffered a setback on when the Madras High Court stayed the release of Vishwaroopam in Tamil Nadu even as he agreed to make changes in deference to Muslim sentiments while threatening to exile himself from the State.
The relief given to the actor by Justice K. Venkataraman late Tuesday was short lived as a division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Elipe Dharma Rao and Aruna Jagadeesan quashed it, effectively stalling its release on Wednesday.
By
Prof.Carlo Fonseka
(The following is an extract from the address delivered by Prof Carlo Fonseka at the launch of Edward Gunawardena’s book ‘Memorable Tidbits Including the Jaffna Library Fire’)
Ladies and gentlemen, the striking front cover of Edward Gunawardena’s Memoir proclaims that among the tidbits of his memorable, eventful life of some seventy-eight years is the story of the Jaffna library fire. It seems to be that calling the Jaffna Library fire a tidbit is a bit like calling Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth the Second, ‘miss’.
Edward was our man on the spot and he was an eye witness to the event. His clear, authoritative, comprehensive account of the Jaffna Library Fire bearing the title ‘Who Burnt the Jaffna Library?’ occupies thirty seven pages of this 390 page book. It comprises chapter 11 of the book.
Continue reading ‘“Who Burnt the Jaffna Library? Edward Gunawardena has Demonstrated that it was the LTTE Which Masterminded this Crime Against Civilization’ »
By Patali Champika Ranawaka
The fate of Rizana Nazeek, languishing in a prison of Saudi Arabia, made headline news during the past few weeks.
Based on optimistic utterances of certain ministers, organizations and news reports, I was of the view that Rizana would be freed without being paid any blood money to relevant parties. Minister of Eastern Province and the Deputy leader of Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), Nazeer Ahamad who was instrumental in building the SLMC headquarters with generous donations provided by Saudi government was one of those who had expressed optimism about Rizana’s release.
Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka Like India and Bangla Desh Must Ban the Sending of women as Unskilled Workers to Foreign Countries’ »
January 29, 2013
Washington, DC- Today, U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) called for an independent, international investigation into potential war crimes committed by the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE during the civil war in Sri Lanka. In a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Senators said such an investigation is needed because the legitimate concerns of the Sri Lankan people have not been answered by the government.
“The Sri Lankan people deserve better,” Senator Casey said. “Sri Lankans have legitimate concerns about war crimes committed during the civil war that are not being addressed by the government, and an independent, international investigation is needed to get answers.”
“The Government of Sri Lanka has made many promises to bring to justice those responsible for atrocities during the war, but nothing has been done,” said Senator Leahy. “The defeat of the LTTE was widely welcomed, but an opportunity to bring real peace by upholding the rule of law and promoting reconciliation is being missed.”
The full text of the Senators’ letter to Secretary Clinton is below:
By Sulochana Ramaih Mohan
Sri Lanka Muslim Media Forum (SLMMF), which was entrusted with the task of giving a final report on whether South Indian actor Kamal Hassan’s film Vishwaroopam is suitable for screening in Sri Lanka, said the movie should be banned because it depicts Muslims as ‘barbarians,’ the ‘most hated,’ ‘notorious people’ and basically filmed to ‘please’ the West.
Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka Muslim Media Forum Wants “Vishwaroopam” Movie Banned After Watching it in Special Screening’ »
By
Dr.Vickramabahu Karunaratne
The article of the leader of opposition, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has become an item of discussion among those who are interested in Sri Lankan politics. Many have praised it as an essay that explains many things from a liberal point of view.
On the other hand there were those who blamed him for inaction and inability to launch a mass agitation. I am amused to read these comments. In the past, the Left parties together with the opposition organised many campaigns against the government. This was done under terrible conditions where people were killed or disappeared, and some others were injured. Organisers faced state terror and thuggery. But the response was poor.
The main reason for this was that the people got carried away by the Sinhala chauvinist propaganda of the government. Not only the Sinhala village masses but also the urban proletariat was mesmerized by the war efforts of the government. True, they were oblivious to the bloody massacre and the destruction of a civilisation in the north. They did not care for the project of global powers that supported the repression with specific intention of subverting the country and the people.
by Nanda P Wanasundara
In a pre-screening article the film is said to be “an attempt to chronicle the heart wrenching and mind challenging story that lies as the centerpiece of Buddhist faith”. It claims modestly to be an attempt. The film is a success, no doubt about that. Not only will cinema goers of the Buddhist faith appreciate the film and sink deep into it emotionally and religiously, but even film goers of other religions will benefit by seeing a very worthwhile film. It carries English sub titles and thus we presume, very creditably, it is prepared for international screening. We wish all luck to it at various film festivals.
by
Kath Noble
As I said last week, it is easy to become disheartened with the way that things are moving in Sri Lanka. One disappointment follows another, and each is more extraordinary than the last.
The impeachment of the Chief Justice was particularly disturbing. It demonstrated just how little space there is for dissent. Even the mild disturbance created by Shirani Bandaranayake when she ruled that the Divi Neguma bill had to be referred to the provincial councils or passed with a two thirds majority was intolerable to the administration. She had to go. It didn’t matter that there was no evidence of actual wrongdoing on her part. She was removed on the grounds that she might try to cover up the corruption of her husband, which is what Mahinda Rajapaksa claims to have done himself!
By K.T. Sangameswaran and R. Sivaraman
The Madras High Court late on Tuesday night stayed the Tamil Nadu government’s ban on the screening of actor-director Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroopam, paving the way for the film’s release in the State.
Justice K. Venkataraman stayed back late and passed the interim order after 10 p.m. after hearing marathon arguments for over six hours on the validity of the two-week ban.
by
DBS Jeyaraj
The recurring phenomenon of orchestrated demonstrations against “Halal”labelled foods, Muslim owned businesses and Muslim places of worship by organized groups of Buddhist Clergy and Laity took a different turn in Sri Lankas Northwestern Province of Wayamba on Thursday January 24th.
A protest demonstration was staged by a group of around 150 persons at Kuliyapitiya, a multi-ethnic,multi-religious town situated 82 Km away from Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo in broad daylight.It is home to the Wayamba University.
Continue reading ‘“Hela Sihila Hiru” Stages Provocative Anti-Muslim Demonstration with Placards and Effigy of “Allah” in North-Western town of Kuliyapitiya’ »
By
Nirmala Kannangara
Following the arrest of Kanagasabai Ranjan, Director (Preventive), Prevention Division Directorate, Sri Lanka Customs on January 3 for an alleged bribery charge of accepting Rs.1 million to release five containers of full car units, he was given bail by the Colombo Chief Magistrate Rashmi Singappuli on Thursday, January 24.
Kanagasabai was to be appointed as an Additional Director General of Customs on January 11, 2013 but was deprived of the promotion on January 3 – just one week ahead. He was arrested on Thursday January 3, 2013 for an alleged bribery charge for accepting Rs.1 million to release containers of cars as full units.
Continue reading ‘Senior Tamil Customs Dept Official Alleges Ill-Treatment at Hands of Sinhala Speaking Bribery Dept Officers After Being “Arrested”’ »
By Ranga Jayasuriya
The United States would sponsor a resolution on Sri Lanka at the forthcoming United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) session in March, the visiting US Government delegation told the media, yesterday. The resolution is expected to ask the Government of Sri Lanka to live up to its own commitments, including the implementation of the recommendations made in the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) report.
By
Dharisha Bastians
Undeterred by mounting pressure on a bloated Cabinet, criticism over poor governance, rising costs and inefficiencies, President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday figuratively scored a century making it a team of 102 Ministers following a fresh round of appointments.
The much anticipated reshuffle which analysts described largely as an act of rewarding those who played a key role in the impeachment of Shirani Bandarnayake as the Chief Justice, saw change of portfolios for several in addition to the appointment of five new Ministers, two Project Ministers and six Deputies.
The overall tally of 102 includes 67 Cabinet Ministers, 30 Deputies, two project Ministers and three Monitoring MPs. Monitoring MPs are also granted ministerial rank.
By
Tharindu Muthukumarana
Recently, Sri Lanka Customs seized a massive quantity of illegal ivory. The container which the ivory was transported in was being shipped to Dubai from Kenya via the port of Colombo. Probes revealed there were 600 raw tusks which would have been worth millions of dollars. Today, officials have decided to donate those tusks to Buddhist temples but the question is, should that be the end of the story?
Continue reading ‘Smuggled Ivory Confiscated by Customs Should be Burned and not Given to Temples’ »
By Sumanasiri Liyanage
There is an unusual and unexpected calmness in Hulftsdorp in the post-impeachment days in spite of the fact that all traditions and conventions were put aside in the appointment of the new Chief Justice in place of Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake. At the time of appointment as the CJ, Mr Mohan Pieris was a director of many private companies and the legal advisor to the Cabinet. Previously, of course with rare exceptions, it was either a most senior Supreme Court Judge or the Attorney General who was appointed by the President as the CJ.
The present appointment is totally outside the legal system. This is somewhat a hilarious occurrence. Previously, a retired CJ was appointed as an advisor to the President; this time a legal advisor was promoted to the position of CJ. Karl Marx would have added, first time as a tragedy and second time as a farce. The system of making CJ after retirement political was replaced now by pre-CJ political training. Hence if he comes up with pro-government and pro-private enterprise verdicts, it would not be a matter to be surprised.
by Daya Sirisena
(Daya Sirisena is President Board of Trustees Sirisena Dharmamandiraya Meditation Centre, Moratuwa)
Sri Lanka customs confiscated blood ivory from Kenya last year. The tusks were being smuggled to Dubai from Kenya. The tusks weighting over 1,500 kilos have been valued over Rs 400 million. More than 200 African elephants had been massacred to obtain these tusks.
The Presidential Secretariat has decided to donate these poached tusks to the Dalada Maligawa and many other Buddhist temples.
by
K.Hariharan
Mani Ratnam Directed ~ Nayagan
The ushering in of liberalisation in the Indian political economy under the leadership of Rajiv Gandhi and the emergence of Mani Ratnam as a filmmaker in the mid-1980s are eerily simultaneous.
However, trying to study the resultant impact of Rajiv Gandhi’s so-called liberal politics on the films of Mani Ratnam would be too simplistic and uni-dimensional.
Continue reading ‘Maniratnam: The Liberal Voice of Indian Mainstream Cinema’ »
by Vasundhara Chauhan
I’d heard that Sri Lankan food was a cross between that of our South, and of South East Asia; that ingredients, processes and spices (pepper, cinnamon, cloves, turmeric) were like ours. But that a twist of freshness came from a slightly different store of aromatics like lemon grass and pandanus. So choosing it as a holiday destination was easy, especially given the grey grimness that is Delhi in January.
Continue reading ‘Sri Lankan Food Savoured by a North Indian Visitor’ »
(Veteran playback singer S. Janaki declined the Padma Bhushan, saying the honour had come too late to her. S. R. Ashok Kumar catches up with her)
S. Janaki
S. Janaki, whose name is synonymous with music, has been singing for more than five decades. She has been in the news for the past few days following the announcement of the Padma awards by the Central Government. She has decided not to accept the Padma Bhushan for which she has been chosen this year. When the award was announced, the legend was in Kerala visiting the holy shrine of Guruvayoor. In a telephonic interview, she stated the reasons for declining it.
(Text of an Editorial Appearing in “The Hindu”of January 25th 2013)
In banning the screening of Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroopam for a period of two weeks, the Tamil Nadu government has recused itself from a fundamental responsibility — that of protecting the right to free expression. It has relied on the old chestnut — maintenance of law and order and public tranquillity — to justify the indefensible.
That a clutch of fringe Muslim organisations had protested against the film, claiming to be offended by its alleged depiction of the community in a negative light, hardly justifies restraining its screening.
Continue reading ‘Protests by Fringe Muslim Organizations Hardly Justifies the Restraining of Screening of “Vishwaroopam”-The Hindu’ »
By a Special Correspondent
After a stoic silence, support grew for Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroopam on Saturday from both the political arena and the film fraternity in Tamil Nadu.
In a statement here, similar in tone to actor Rajinikanth’s remarks made on Friday, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president and former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi advocated an amicable resolution to the controversy through talks.
Continue reading ‘Support Increases for “Vishwaroopam” From Tamil Nadu Political Leaders and Film Fraternity’ »
By a Special Correspondent
The ban on actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan’s magnum opus Vishwaroopam threatened to spread from Tamil Nadu to neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka on Friday, even while it ran in several screens in the smaller towns of Kerala.
Continue reading ‘Opposition to “Vishwaroopam”Film Spreads to Kerala,Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka’ »
By a Staff Reporter
The eagerly awaited outcome of the hearing on Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroopam did not materialise on Monday, as the Madras High Court adjourned the case by a day.
Continue reading ‘Madras High Court Defers Hearing on “Vishwaroopam”Film by a Day’ »
Poem by Dr. M. Ashaq Raza
(Dr. M. Ashaq Raza is an Academician, Peace worker, Human Rights Activist, Poet and volunteer based in Jammu, India.His Poem addressed to fellow Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir is applicable to all Oppressed Groups in all parts of the World)
Continue reading ‘You Are Oppressed and Distressed but NO Violence Please – A Word to Muslims’ »
(As the missiles and tanks are geared up to be paraded at the India Gate on the country’s 64th Republic Day, people’s faith in the promise they did to themselves is missing. Is it just a government discredited by corruption and inability to ensure basic safety and freedom to its people, or the very idea of citizenship itself is under question? Last year, people in Koodankulam marked 26th January as Black Day. Earlier, children had come out in Jaitapur questioning the legitimacy of the republic. Is it the people who are challenging the republic or the state has abandoned its people? With more than 10 thousands people booked under sedition and war against the Indian state in Koodankulam, it is time we as a country face the issue head-on.)
We interviewed Dr.S P Udayakumar, leader of the massive non-violent protest in Koodankulam:
1. What is the status of sedition charges in Koodankulam?
Some 19 cases of sedition (IPC 124A) have been filed against us involving 8,456 people. Some 92 people have been arrested so far and most of them except 6 have been released on bail. Those six are imprisoned under the Goondas Act and cannot come out at least for a year. Most of us, the leading members of PMANE, face 19 cases of sedition and 19 cases of ‘waging war on the State.’
By Rosslyn Hyams
The International Commission of Jurists and a group of senior judges and legal officials from Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America have called on Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, to reinstate the country’s Chief Justice, Shirani Bandaranayake, sacked and replaced Bandaranayake after the parliament impeached her.
Continue reading ‘Executive-Judiciary Tussle in Sri Lanka is more Structural Than a Personal issue Between Mahinda Rajapaksa and Shirani Bandaranayake says Dayan Jayatilleka’ »
By Stanley Samarasinghe
The ceremonial sitting on 23 January to welcome the newly appointed Chief Justice, Mohan Peiris, began on an inauspicious note, which along with 2,000 odd lawyers of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka boycotting the sittings also saw the fundamental rights of the Fourth Estate, being violated.
More than 30 journalists from the private media, both print and electronic, who arrived in Hulftsdorp to cover the event, were prevented from entering the Supreme Court premises. The police, standing sentinel at the main gate, ensured photojournalists and TV camerapersons did not pass the main portal until such time the ceremonial sitting was concluded.
By Arjuna Hulugalle
The Anglican Bishop of Colombo has called his fold to observe Sunday the 3rd of February as a “Day of Lament” as he is unhappy with the turn of events in Sri Lanka.
Will this act or his message make any contribution to making Sri Lanka a better place to live in or will it give further fuel to division and recrimination instead of heralding Peace and Brotherhood among the different religions and communities in a multi- religious and multi- cultural democracy.
Continue reading ‘“Grama Rajya”Must be Constituted with Strong National Philosophy to Enable People to Deal with their own Problems in Their own Localities’ »
Text and pix by Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai
Bullet wall with bullet marks
Jallianwala Bagh is a picturesque public garden in Amritsar in the State of Punjab of India, and houses a memorial of immense national significance.
Continue reading ‘Jaliyanwalabagh in Amritsar: Massacre of Innocents by British During Indian Freedom Struggle’ »
By
Tisaranee Gunasekara
“This frenzy of stupidity….”
Ernst Toller (Wotan Unchained)
Bodu Bala Sena campaign in Sri Lanka to ‘Save Buddhism in Bangladesh’
Are we, the Sinhala people, so addicted to war, that we cannot do without one? Or are the Rajapaksas trying to manufacture a new threat and a new conflict as camouflage for their dynastic project?
A well organised and financed anti-Muslim campaign has burst into destructive life over the last several months.
Continue reading ‘Does Organized Anti-Muslim Hate Campaign Mean the Muslims are Replacing the Tamils as the “New” Enemy Target?’ »
By
M.A.Sumanthiran MP
‘Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake was purportedly removed from her post under the process set out in Standing Order 78A’
On 15th January 2013, by no less than violent means, Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake was de facto removed from her post. This was done despite a ruling by the apex court of this country that the purported process by which she was sought to be removed was illegal and unconstitutional.
The purported removal of Chief Justice Bandaranayake resulted in various responses by governments, political groups, the legal fraternity and Human rights groups both here and abroad.
Continue reading ‘Instead of Righting a Wrong This Govt has Chosen to Elevate a Wrong to the Status of That Which is Right’ »
By
Chris Kamalendran
A Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Member of Parliament has called on the Inspector General of Police to conduct an impartial probe on a raid carried out on his office in Kilinochchi by the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID), where they claim to have recovered explosives, pornographic CDs and condoms.
Sivagnam Shritharan, dismissing the claims by the police, told the Sunday Times he was calling for an impartial probe, as he believes that the motive for making false allegations was to get his office closed down.
By
Chris Kamalendran
The Government has withdrawn more than Rs 560 million allocated for development work to Northern Province local councils controlled by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).
The move comes in a year during which Northern Provincial Council elections will be held as pledged by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The report on recommendations of the Board of Officers appointed by the commander of the army, on implementation of the recommendations made by the the LLRC was officially handed over to the Secretary of Defence and Urban Development Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa today morning (24th January) at the ministry premises.
Taking cognizance of the recommendations made by the LLRC, the commander of the Army had appointed a board of officers to study the LLRC report and identify areas which are relevant to the field of Army, and to formulate a viable action plan to address the specific areas as depicted said an army press release.
By Dhaneshi Yatawara
Today, the transformation in Mullaitivu is in full swing. Roads that were once dirty have been fully carpeted. Shops, banks, investment institutes, saloons, eating houses and tailorshops are coming up as the towns turn into commercial centres. The haunted feeling that prevailed three years ago is no more. Marks of the battle against ruthless terrorists are disappearing.
A total area of 1,160 square kilometres is cleared and released for cultivation, 12,035 cattle were released for farmers and more poultry farming facilities are provided. Today, 66 schools function in the district. Six hospitals and several medical centres are functioning to treat patients. There are 35 kovils, 41 churches, 10 mosques and a temple for the people to worship. Electricity is available for all DS divisions and 4,120 households are illuminated. Major parts of the minor roads are upgraded. All major roads are developed with 85 percent of work being completed.
By
Ranil Wickremesinghe
(In this exclusive article to the Sunday Times, Opposition and UNP leader Ranil Wickeremesinghe insists that adherence to Commonwealth principles and core values is important to avoid being labelled a pariah state by the international community. “It is time for President Rajapaksa and his government to think of the country and its people: not only of themselves and their power ride. We have no wish to ride with him in this Lamborghini to disaster,” the opposition leader says in this article where he also points out the flaws in the impeachment process which the government resorted to remove Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake.)
Latimer House, widely talked about in recent times, located in Buckinghamshire, England, has a remarkable history of its own. In the mid 17th Century, a civil war took place between England’s King Charles I and Parliament. The King’s army lost. Thereafter in 1647, Charles I was imprisoned in Latimer House before he was taken to London.
Continue reading ‘President Rajapaksa Imprisoned by Latimer House Principles is on a Lamborghini Ride to Disaster’ »
by Randima Attygalle
When five French resistance fighters after failed action against the Vichy occupying forces are tortured, we in the audience flinch. When Lucie, a young woman among the captives, is raped, we weep in our minds with her.
When she returns with the lifeless body of her young brother, Francoise, we endorse the bitter truth – the agonizing attempt to live amidst shadows of looming death.
Continue reading ‘Dharmasiri Bandaranayake Stages Satre in Sinhala at New Delhi Drama Festival’ »