WikiLeaks: Sri Lanka’s Recent Efforts To Decriminalize Homosexual Behaviour Led To A Public Backlash: US
January 24, 2014
“Though Sri Lanka is still considered a low prevalence country for HIV/AIDS, most local HIV/AIDS experts agree that interventions must shift from general awareness campaigns to behavior change approaches targeted at vulnerable and at-risk populations. Government bureaucracy, lack of systematic data on risk behaviors, low knowledge levels, infection rates of at-risk groups and limited financial and human resources, however, inhibit this shift. Stigma and related discrimination further complicate interventions towards at-risk groups by making them ‘hidden.’” the US Embassy Colombo informed Washington.
The Colombo Telegraph found the related leaked cable from the WikiLeaks database. The unclassified diplomatic cable dated May 17, 2006, details the HIV/AIDS awareness, prevention, and stigma reduction activities in Sri Lanka.
Under the subheading ” Stigma and discrimination permeate Sri Lankan society” the US Embassy wrote;
Accompanying limited knowledge about HIV/AIDS is widespread stigma and discrimination within the health sector, the workplace, current legislation, and the media.
Health Sector: A recent Center for Policy Alternatives (CPA) report documents high levels of stigmatization within the healthcare sector, but respondents noted a marked improvement at the National STD clinic and at the Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH), the national referral hospital. Caregivers’ lack of experience and a severe lack of resources of dealing with the disease are often blamed for feeding discriminating sentiments.
Workplace: High levels of discrimination in the workplace have resulted in 98% of those infected with HIV losing their jobs, an issue currently being addressed by ILO’s HIV/AIDS in the Workplace Program, which was launched on July 8th, 2005.
Legislation: No laws exist to protect the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs). Homosexual behavior is illegal in Sri Lanka under Section 365A of the Penal Code. Recent efforts to decriminalize it led to a public backlash and even more stringent anti-homosexual provisions.
Media: The media has been critiqued in the past for “numbers-oriented” reporting, breaches in confidentiality, casting moral judgments on mode of transmission, and sensationalizing AIDS as a “killer disease.” Leno suggested that the media can play an important role as an outlet for PLWHAs to begin speaking out publicly so that the disease becomes “normalized.” Therefore, incorporation of the media into future work would help reduce stigma and discrimination.
Placing a comment the Embassy said; “Considering the limited impact of previous HIV/AIDS awareness, prevention, and stigma reduction activities, it remains to be seen if the recent policy turn of using more targeted behavioral change strategies towards at-risk populations will have a greater effect. The small numbers and areas currently targeted in pilot projects speak to the need for greater financial, human, and technical resources to expand programs to reach the threshold necessary to change attitudes and behaviors. Difficulty in follow-up for at-risk groups due to stigma and discrimination pose greater challenges for impact assessments. Such evaluations are necessary for policymakers to assess the ability of their programs to hinder the spread of HIV through behavior change.”
God And The Buddha
By Rajindra Clement Ratnapuli -January 24, 2014
Rajindra Clement Ratnapuli
This brief note highlights some differences that many authors tend to overlook when trying to compare Buddhism with the Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity and Islam). The views expressed are those of a lay Buddhist and the author does not claim to be a religious scholar. The subject of God is nothing new and is unlikely to disappear from our midst any time soon. However, the number of non-believers of God is on the rise especially in the Western countries. Buddhism started to take off in the West probably in the late 19th century after the “birth” of what some authors called the “Scientific Buddha” associated more with the science of the doctrine. Only time will tell whether this will eventually push the conventional “Asian Buddha” to backstage.
The origin of God, according to published literature, can be traced back to primitive cultures. God is basically a mental product created by the early primitive ignorant man as a means to overcome fear. The fear arose perhaps out of the evolutionary predator-prey survival instinct, coupled with the fear of natural disasters (floods, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, droughts) as well as disease and death. The caveman, some thousands of years ago had attributed these calamities to supernatural beings or things called ghosts and spirits. Later on came the living God, Satan, spirits, devils and angels. These concepts were used by the primitive man to explain the unknown, for he had no knowledge of the complexities of nature and how nature worked. Ignorance led to superstition, and God eventually got lodged in man’s head. This was believed to be an almighty being with enormous constructive (and destructive) power. Even today there are billions of people worldwide who believe that all things in this universe and everything that happens in nature are God’s work. This is obviously a very simplistic approach to understanding the intricacies of nature, or even to address man’s everyday life problems.
