Global Parliament; Amplifying The Crisis Instead Of Seeking The Solutions
Upul Wickramasinghe
At present, concepts of ‘Global Parliament’ and ‘world citizen’ are frequent themes in many academic discussions of West and Europe that there are instances of such topics go beyond mere academic discussions and enter the practical political arena as well. Considerable economic support and involvement of the renowned ‘intellectuals’ are also visible in this regard. This text is a political analysis of the session of the ‘Model Global Parliament’ held at Canberra, in Australia recently (27th of July) with the presence of political leaders, university lecturers and university students representing several countries.
This is the link to the Bob Brown’s speech at National Press Club, Canberra, 29th June 2011;
A Memory On Election Related Violence Valid Still Today
By Thrishantha Nanayakkara -September 20, 2013
Dr. Thrishantha Nanayakkara
Jan. 26, 2010 was an auspicious day for the people of northern Sri Lanka. They were eagerly waiting to vote in the first presidential election since the Sri Lankan Civil War between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan Government came to an end in May 2009. But what followed was a crisis that requires international attention.
The ruling party candidate, Mahinda Rajapakse, asked the people to show gratitude for bringing the 30-year war to an end, and to strengthen his mandate to continue his policies. A coalition of opposition parties offered former Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka as their common candidate and asked for a mandate to start a reconciliation process with the Tamils in the north. They also demanded the abolishment of the executive presidency, which is powerful enough to overrule decisions made by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, in order to empower the Parliament to be more responsible to the people by enacting new laws to fight state corruption, foster democracy, and promote freedom of expression. These demands stemmed from the fact that Sri Lanka has already had three armed uprisings after independence because of a rigid system of government.
Following unprecedented levels of abuse of state media by the ruling party candidate, the election commissioner demanded that all media follow ethical guidelines. Upon the state’s failure to enforce law, on Jan. 16, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka ordered the media to follow the guidelines of the election commissioner. This order fell on deaf ears. Violence escalated, and by Jan. 26, four people had died.
The violence did not stop there. On election day, people in the camps for internally displaced people in northern Sri Lanka waited in vain for the buses that were supposed to bring them to their polling stations. Thebomb blasts that rocked some areas in the north reminded them of the horror of the war that ended just few months ago and scared many voters away. Fear brought voter turnout down to 20 percent in the north. But 70percent out of those who ventured out to vote chose Fonseka’s cause. That sent the south a strong message that people in the north were thirsty for reconciliation, democracy, and freedom.Read More
