Telecom Chairman Used A Banned ‘Filthy’ Website To Defend Gota

By Colombo Telegraph -July 19, 2012

Gota and Welgama

Chairman of the Sri Lanka Telecom and brother of the Transport Minister,  Nimal Welgama’s news paper The Sunday Island ironically quotes a banned website to defend Sectary to the Ministry of difence Gotabhaya Rajapaka. Lanka Enews is banned in Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan government branded it as a malicious, defamatory and raw filth and stories defamatory to the characters of certain people. It is well known fact that since Frederica Jansz published famous ‘White Flag’ story Lanka Enews started to attack Jansz. Lanka enews supported Srath Fonseka in the last presidential election.  To say Jansz is a liar, under the subheading “Lankaenews envies Frederica” in political column Sunday Island says; “True to form, there was an article in one of these websites called lankaenews (Sinhala web page) which said that this story that the defence secretary had shouted obscenities at Frederica Jansz was all nonsense and that what had actually happened was that Sunday Leader sales were declining because Frederica had helped the government to convict Sarath Fonseka in the white flag case and this was a set up job where the defence secretary had agreed to blackguard Jansz in raw filth so that she could make a big issue of it and boost the sales of the Sunday Leader! They say that the defence secretary had even provided protection to Jansz and that it was highly unlikely that he would actually blackguard the key witness who helped imprison Fonseka.”

Jansz in her editorial said; There is no difference or should be none between human beings. But, is that a reality in Sri Lanka? No. Certainly not. The most recent incident where Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Defense Secretary lost his temper and used foul language brought home some truths about human behaviour, at least from some sections of our people.

The language and tone of the delivery evoked a huge outcry from journalists across the civilized world. The international press and electronic media were aghast and responded immediately. Just like humans and even animals who help each other to face, for example, a harsh winter. But, the local media true to form remained mum.  Why? We would leave that to you readers to come to your own judgment.

Bellow we reproduce the relevant part of the Sunday Island political column.

Lankaenews envies Frederica                 Read More 

Connections-Land Matters

by Young Asia TelevisionJuly16, 2012

Connections | July16, 2012 from Young Asia Television on Vimeo.

Land Matters
Over the last couple of weeks, the people of the North under the leadership of Tamil Political Parties such as the Tamil National Alliance, raise concerns with regard to land acquisitions by the Government, by holding demonstrations in the North amidst strong intimidation and opposition. Here’s a short report on concerns in relation to land in post-war Sri Lanka.

Unsuppressed thoughts on Media Freedom
Media activists are concerned by what they term as a fresh wave of suppression in the form of legislation being introduced to regulate online media. It was to highlight this and a spate of other concerns relating to media freedom, that the Collective of Media organizations organized a protest in Colombo recently. This report brings you highlights from this event as well as views from the Government and academia on the matter.

Connections-A glimpse of Home: Residents of Mullikulam attend a Special Mass

by Young Asia TelevisionJune 04, 2012

Connections | June 04, 2012 from Young Asia Television on Vimeo.

A glimpse of Home: Residents of Mullikulam attend a Special Mass
·In the Musali division in the Mannar district lies the village of Mullikulam. The village of Mullikulam, was once home to approximately 400 families-an entirely Tamil Catholic community. A significant feature in the village is the historic church of Our lady of Assumption. On the 19th of May the former residents of the village were given special permission by the Navy to hold a mass there. Here's a short report on the on the mass held and some of the views expressed.

Brigadier PR Wanigasooriya on the role of the Military in post-war Sri Lanka
·Questions on the role of the Military in post war era in Northern Sri Lanka, as well as concerns about their continuing presence in those areas have been regularly raised over the past three years. Jovita speaks to Brig. Wanigasooriya of the Sri Lanka Army to find out more.

Evicted from Ashraff Nagar : Residents seek legal redress
·The residents of Ashraff Nagar situated in the Ampara district have faced displacement time and time again due to various reasons. This time their displacement is a result of occupation in their land by the army. A few families however haven't given up the fight for their land.

Walking for a cause: Supporting war affected soldier families
·The Viru Daru Society was established by the children of disabled and fallen soldiers of the three decade long war. The main objective of this organization is to uplift the education of the children of soldiers and of the children who have been affected by the war in the North and East. A walk was organized to collect funds, and inform the public about their cause.

Lawyers in North protest against SL Minister Badurdeen following violence in Mannaar

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 July 2012, 10:25 GMT]
Lawyers and legal employees of Magistrate's Courts in North on Thursday protested against the SL Minister of Trade, Rishard Badurdeen, for inciting community violence at Koanthaippiddi jetty in Mannaar and for causing mob violence against Mannaar Court complex on Wednesday. A Muslim gang, numbering around 500 persons, incited by Mr Badurdeen's men, had threatened the Judges, lawyers inflicting damage to the court complex in the city on Wednesday. The violence was reported after the gang of SL Minister Badurdeen triggered ethnic violence against Tamil Catholic fishermen in Koanthaippiddi in Mannaar transforming a civil dispute into violence against Tamil Catholics of Joseph Vaas village. The SL Minister has been behind causing unrest between Catholics and Muslims in the district and has gone on record threatening the Bishop of Mannaar in SL Parliament, recently. 

Lawyers protesting in front of Chaavakachcheari District Court

At Ki'linochchi, protesting lawyers blocked all traffic on A9 road for more than an hour on Thursday

The gang of Mr Badurdeen, in recent times, has also threatened Muslim journalists who have expressed solidarity with the Bishop of Mannaar.

On Wednesday, the mob went amok on the High Court and the Magistrate's Court in Mannaar for having allowed the fishermen from Joseph Vaas Nakar to continue to use Koanthaip-piddi jetty until a permanent solution was found to a dispute over the jetty between the two communities. 

The dispute, being resolved by the civil officials at the divisional and district level was used by the gang of Mr Badurdeen to incite violence against the displaced Tamil Catholics, who have been using the jetty for 10 years. 23 fishing huts were burnt down and two fiberglass boats were destroyed by the mob on 13 July at Koanthaip-piddi. 

On Wednesday, the mob also targeted the riot control commandos of the SL police, who had rushed from Vavuniyaa to control the mob violence. 

The Sri Lankan Police in Mannaar is said to be reluctant in taking action to curb the culprits operated by SL minister Badurdeen.

Six persons including three police personnel were injured when the group of 500 Muslims demanded that Joseph Vaas Nakar fisher families should be sent out from Koanthaippiddi and to cancel the order by the Mannaar Magistrate's Court that had allowed the fishermen to engage in fishing from the jetty temporarily till a permanent solution is found to their issue.

Fifteen persons were taken into custody by the SL police when the mob started throwing stones at the court complex building. Later, 8 of them were released. 

Glass windows of the court complex were destroyed in the mob violence. Some vehicles belonging to Ceylon Transport Board and private owners were damaged due to stoning. The mob had also attempted to set fire to some of the vehicles. 

Mannaar High Court Judge S.Thiyagendran narrowly escaped but his office was damaged badly. Functioning of the High Court was suspended. 

The SL police opened fire in the air and used tear gas to disperse the rioters. They also baton charged to quell rioting.

The mob also demanded that the order made by the court to arrest those who were involved in riot on July 13 at Koanthaippiddi jetty should be cancelled.

Three persons injured in the rioting were admitted in the Mannaar general hospital.

Handling disasters: The man-made disaster of July 1983 (Part 2)

Handling disasters: The man-made disaster of July 1983 (Part 2)

Groundviews

Photograph by Chandragupta Amarasinghe, courtesy Thuppahi’s Blog

[Editors note: Continued from Part 1, which you can read here. The author was at the time of the 1983 anti-Tamil pogrom Secretary to the Prime Minister and Commissioner-General of Essential Services  from July 1983 to April 1984.]

Prioritization of Needs

Taking stock

An early activity of the CGES management team was the prioritization of displaced persons ‘needs’. This was based on an assessment of personal requests, complaints and, sometimes, fervent pleas by the ‘displaced’, now virtual refugees, in the hastily set –up welfare centres.

The senior management Team[1], consisted mainly of the eight Deputy Commisioners  supplemented by other staff members as required. It met daily with the CGES during the first five days and then weekly on a regular basis to assess and compile lists of needs. Numerous   telephone calls with Officers – in – Charge of the Centres (which were set up in the outstations too as the disturbances spread outward from Colombo to other main towns with mixed populations) and discussion with NGO’s active in the field (prominent among them Sarvodaya, the Sri Lanka Red Cross and Saukyadana) highlighted and sharpened specific urgent needs. Information supplied by the News media which quickly swung into action and the frequent Press meetings set up by the Press Relations and NGOO Director (Wilfred Jayasuriya) helped in the inevitably rough and ready assessment of needs which was all the circumstances permitted. Later on, a structured detailed survey of family and individual members needs – education, employment, etc was carried out with the help of voluntary observers (mainly retirees and University students). But in the very early stages of displacement the stock-taking was based mostly on verbal information and on an adhoc basis.

Out of this welter of information it was clear that what the involuntarily displaced (100,000 in Colombo Municipality area alone, and growing in numbers outside) chiefly needed was the assurance of personal safety for the family, information about, and where appropriate, reunion with those family members who had presumably fled to other points of safety, clothing – since many had escaped from their homes with barely the clothes on their backs- and urgent medical attention, (very often burns), for those who had suffered injury during the attacks. Shelter of some kind, food and water and immediate additional sanitation at the temporary centres were also high in priority. Evacuation, back to Jaffna, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, the Vanni  and Mannar also figured high especially where the displaced had been living as weekly ‘boarders’ in the city.   Concern for material belongings – houses, business establishments, vehicles, jewellery, household equipment and books/documents which had been lost to arson and pillage took, not unexpectedly, a secondary place and was therefore left to be dealt with by the CGES subsequently. Security and ‘relief and rehabilitation’ of the person, being of primary interest. However the question of personal belongings and hard – earned livelihoods and businesses ranging from the ‘corner plantain – boutique’, the roadside cobbler, to hundreds of small and medium sized shops and large industrial units which had also been looted and set on fire, could not be long delayed.  The issue of material belongings lost and destroyed assumed great importance as the extent of damage inflicted became known. It was clear that the CGES could not, with its given powers, address this need as well. The Cabinet was advised to establish a separate institution to manage affected property, businesses and industry and Emergency Regulations were promulgated under the Public Security Ordinance to handle the many issues which had arisen in this area.  I have dealt with this under the sub-heading REPPIA – (Rehabilitation of Persons, Property and Industries Authority.)

Family Reunion           Continue reading »

Nelliyadi protest urges coherence in Tamil politics

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 18 July 2012, 16:51 GMT]
Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, the leader of Tamil National Peoples’ Front (TNPF), addressing the peaceful protest on Wednesday at Nelliyadi, which was organised against the slaying of Nimalarooban in Sri Lanka’s prison, urged the people to see things in the context of Sri Lankan government’s systematic annihilation of the existence of Tamils as a Nation in the island. “Until we fail to establish the recognition of the Tamil nationhood and its distinct sovereignty, we will be failing in our political work,” he said. In the meantime, TNA MP S. Sritharan, addressing the protesters at Nelliyadi said Tamils are not a defeated Nation. “What has happened to our youth in 2012 in Vavuniyaa is nothing different than what had happened to our youth at Welikade prison in 1983,” he said adding that until the injustice continues, the struggle for liberation would continue. 


Mr Gajendrakumar, alluded that it was the time-bound duty of the Tamil people to course-correct their politicians towards the right path in addressing the fundamentals of the Tamil cause instead of deviations focusing on isolated issues and side-effects without a coherent strategy.


Political activists of TNPF, TNA and activists of New-Democratic Marxist-Leninist Party (NDMLP) together with the representatives of the political parties from South, the United Socialist Party (USP), Nava Sama Samaja Party (NSSP) and Democratic Peoples Front (DPF) took part in the protest. Trade union representatives and grassroots activists from different parts of the island also took part in the event. 

Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam at Nelliyadi by TamilNet

TNA MP Sritharan at Nelliyadi by TamilNet

Following are the remarks of Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam:

Today, we protest against the slaying of Nimalarooban in the prison. 

We protest against the killings of the political prisoners and the Prisoners of War. 

Our lands are being appropriated. 

The economy of the Tamil nation is being destroyed.

All our fundamental rights are being suppressed. 

We can continue our protests till our demise, identifying and isolating every single violation, everyday [without focusing on the underlying core issue.]

In reality, the [Sri Lankan] government also wishes that we spend our lives protesting at the side-effects. As far as the government is concerned, what they fundamentally attempt is to end Tamils existence as a Nation. 

At every juncture, they attempt at suppressing all our basic components of the nationhood. We need to have a clear perspective on this [larger issue]. 

We need to act in a manner to put an effective full stop to the move of destroying the very existence of the Tamil nation.

Until we fail to establish the recognition of the Tamil nationhood and its distinct sovereignty, we will be failing in our political work. This is the reality. 

We can stage a protest here today, at another location tomorrow, and we can continue staging protests to the end as we get destroyed. 

You should understand that, until we realise this in the right context, we will not be succeeding. 

We are not enemies of the Sinhala Nation. On the contrary, we seek to live in parity and equality with the Sinahal Nation. 

The Tamils didn’t start with the demand for separation. It was when the Sinhala Nation was engaged in a planned annihilation of the Tamil Nation, we were pushed to voice for our rights. 

Even today, while on one hand you have bans and denial of democratic rights, on the other hand the Tamil nation is being subjugated. 

Even at this juncture, when we have said that we are prepared to live together in dignity, given that Tamils are recognised as a Nation in parity with the Sinhala Nation, our democratic rights are being suppressed in a systematic and planned way. 

Dear friends, this is not a struggle being waged by a political party. Until it remains a struggle of political parties the Sinhala Nation will be succeeding in its racist approach. This struggle is about the rights of our people, not about our individual disputes. So, the people should raise their voices very clearly [with the right perspective].

Sumanthiran spinmeister of ‘past’ times?
Sunday 15 July 2012

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP M. Sumanthiran says, genuine reconciliation is about ‘dealing with the past in a truthful manner’ and self-determination ‘does not mean negating the rights of the majority…’

By Sulochana Ramiah Mohan

You had addressed the audience at the ‘Platform for Freedom’ in Matara recently, and you were quoted as saying it’s the first time a Tamil politician got an opportunity to speak in the South.  Do you advocate in everything there should be a 50-50  share for Tamils and the Sinhalese? If not, what does it mean?
I was introduced as the first Tamil politician from the North to have come to address a meeting in Matara. Therefore when I started, I said I am not sure whether that claim is correct or not, but that I too cannot recall such an instance after independence. I cannot see what relevance this comment has to do with 50-50 or anything like that!

You had said, Tamils want self determination and it does not mean negating the rights of the Sinhalese or not admitting that the majority are the Sinhalese. But don’t you think the words ‘self determination’ also could mean much more than that which you address here? Those same words were used by the LTTE and they went to the extent of asking for a separate state. At a time peace is prevailing, why do you have to use those same words the LTTE and many people who spoke of Eelam used? 
Self-determination means self-determination, nothing more or nothing less than that. I used the word to mean exactly what it means. The fact that others may have abused that word does not mean that I can’t use it to convey its correct meaning.

Sinhalese and Tamils are living far more  peacefully than the people of South Africa, where apartheid caused great discomfiture to the whole world? Don’t we enjoy unity and dignity among all races in Sri Lanka than in many other countries?  
Self-determination is a term of art in international law. The UN and the Human Rights charters are based on this foundational principle. All peoples are entitled to it, and the Tamils in Sri Lanka cannot be denied it merely because LTTE also used that claim. Oppressed Peoples are everywhere, and it will not be possible to compare and pronounce that a particular situation is better than the other. The different peoples in Sri Lanka certainly do not enjoy  equality or dignity that they are entitled to in law.

You are saying words such as federalism and transparency are dirty words only in Sri Lanka. But in so called countries you talk of, the US, Canada, India and Australia, none attempted to destroy each other like it happened in Sri Lanka in the past 30 years. That way federalism is much appreciated in other countries. Do you agree with that?
Yes, I agree, and that is precisely my point! If there is federalism, there is less chance for the different peoples to try to destroy each other. If we accept a federal structure of government, we too can live like the peoples in the US, Canada, Australia and India.

Talking about the LLRC report, you know that the LLRC is mainly for reconciliation process between the two ethnic groups but you dig and drill into the past. Past cannot heal the present or the future, do you disagree? True, there were unfortunate and grave mistakes made, but can that be a stumbling block for the reconciliation process if you keep drilling and digging? 
No genuine reconciliation can ever take place without properly and fully dealing with the past. You cannot tell the mother who is still looking for her son who has disappeared to just forget it and be ‘reconciled’.

Many say you are one of those who advocate separatism lately. You want the National Anthem also sung in Tamil. Tell me if you prefer singing the song which already has lengthy verses and repeating it in Tamil too? How could that bring harmony among everyone? Isn’t that a weak attempt to prove that Tamils have the right to sing it in Tamil,  like the Sinhalese do it in Sinhala?  
A prejudiced mind will see a ghost behind every bush! I never said that singing the National Anthem in two languages will bring harmony. All I said was that this was only a symbolic recommendation of the LLRC, but that the government is not ready to implement even a symbolic recommendation.

What do you think of Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s claim that the LLRC has some ridiculous recommendations and one of it is singing the national anthem in Tamil too? What do you really want for the Tamils from a national anthem? How  do you want to incorporate the Tamil version; what is your suggestion?
Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s pronouncement tells us that if even the symbolic recommendation that involves nothing extra, since the Tamil version of the National Anthem is already in the Constitution, is considered ridiculous, none of the substantive recommendations will ever be implemented.
You spoke of an incident in Kilinochchi where school children were stopped from singing the national anthem in Tamil and were asked to sing in Sinhala. Tell us exactly what happened there?
When the school children were singing the National anthem in Tamil, the army personnel went in and stopped them from singing the national anthem.

So, do you think being a minority -- the achievement of self determination is only by doing things ‘equally’ with the majority?
This question just demonstrates the total lack of understanding of the National problem in this country.

You had said that a man in Vanni in 2010 approached you and asked you to find his two daughters who went missing two days before his two sons were shot dead when they refused to join the LTTE. You said the father is in search of the two daughters and want the govt to investigate.  How is it possible to investigate now what the LTTE did? You mostly suggest impossibilities in your speech. True, some faced horrendous moments in life. Again isn’t that digging the past when we are cracking our heads on how to reconcile?
I did not ask the Government to investigate. I only told a real story. We don’t need to crack our heads, but just do the right things if we want reconciliation. The fundamental requirement for reconciliation is the ascertainment of truth.

We have a few Sinhala political chauvinists existing among us and why do you have to be like one of them? Your statement that you are very much pleased to speak in the South and respect the majority and their rich culture and traditions is admirable; why not remain a person who does not advocate separatism and self determination and look forward to living in harmony with all communities?
Firstly, I am not a Sinhala political chauvinist! Nor am I a chauvinist of any kind. As I have indicated earlier, self-determination is the fundamental right of every people. You cannot have harmony among different peoples by denying their fundamental rights.

In the LLRC inquiry was there no truth? The UN advised the govt.There are several truths in the allegations -- and to probe. Will you explain what is swept under the carpet by the government? Can we talk about the reconciliation process rather than the past which is the need of the hour?
Genuine reconciliation is about dealing with the past in a truthful manner.

Do you think the Tamil politicians and politics are sufficiently realistic, rational and moderate?
Of course they are!

Do you see Sri Lanka as a Sinhala polity and wish to carve out a Tamil polity which will have an equal status?
Sri Lanka is not a homogenous society. It consists of different peoples. Unless we acknowledge this reality and re-arrange our governance structures to accommodate this reality,  we will not solve the National problem.

Attack on two courts - It is time for judges and lawyers to fight back

Thursday, 19 July 2012 
According to reports we have received a group of criminals sponsored allegedly by a minister has stone and attack the High Court and the Magistrate Court of Mannar yesterday 18 July.

According to the report a Fishing Vadiya has been attacked by a group and on the basis of reports received by the Magistrate he has directed the police to apprehend the culprits. Thereafter a minister is reported to have contacted the Magistrate with the view to influence the Magistrate to decisive from taking any action about the incident of attack on the Fishing Vadiya. The Magistrate has declined to listen to the Minister and has insisted that the court order to be carried out. It is thereafter that a group of criminals have attacked both the Magistrate Court as well as the High Court. The judges of the lower courts are expected to meet to discuss this issue.

The incident comes as no surprise. Political attacks on the courts, direct and indirect have been continuing for long time now. The politicians in the ruling parties are resisting the attempts by courts to maintain the rule of law when their supporters are the allege culprits of crimes. In the overall political stream of the country subordination of the courts to the politicians has become a rule. This subordinations is popularly known in the country as politicization. Limited attempts to counteract such politicization taken by the parliament by way of the 17th amendment to the constitution were resisted by the government by passing the 18th amendment to the constitution.

The recent incidents relating to Julampitiye Amare glaringly exposed the depth to which political interferences have sunk in the country. A man allegedly accused of 24 murders and fifteen arson attacks and other serious crimes was able to move freely while the courts were issuing warrant after warrants for his arrest. This instant mealy one among tens of thousands of cases where legal process have been touted due to political influence.

It is time for the judges and for lawyers to fight back to protect the law, judicial process and also the judges themselves. The cost of failure to fight back would be to let the easy completion of the down slit of the law and the legal system of Sri Lanka. If lawyers and the judges will not fight back there is no one else to take their place.

The warning that comes from the incidents in Mannar need to be taken seriously, if the law and legal process are not to perish altogether.

The allege rape of a girl by about 17-20 individuals

The new about a rape of 13 year old girl by about 17-20 men in Tangalle have been reported in several news channels and incident have sent shock waves in the whole area. Several of the suspects have been arrested and the investigations into the case continue. Meanwhile the victim’s mother has made a complaint to the police that the family has been receiving death threats from the culprits in this case. The main suspect is and Alliance member of the Tangalle Municipal Council. According to the complaint the family has been threaten to the effect that after the prime suspect get release he along with his family and neighbours will come to the complainants house and will murder the entire family of the victim. The family now lives in fear.

While complaints about widespread rape and other crimes spread the government reaction is to deny that there is increase of crimes. One of the ministers went on records saying that crimes have not increase by it is the reporting that has been increased. The government response by way of denial is one of the major factors for lawlessness spread throughout the country.

The government’s inaction is not a surprise as the government can react only through the Ministry of Defence which is militaristic in its approach. The civilians policing system has been ignored and it has lost credibility about its capacity to investigate into crime.

When government’s politician are implicated into crimes the ministry of defence which itself is a highly politicized agency cannot be expected to play an effective role in control of crimes. When investigative function into crimes is crippling there is nothing else that can replace it.

Again real threat is to the very existence of law and the legal process in the country. Only agencies that could lead a fight against this situation are the lawyers and the judges themselves. If there is no fight arising from the Bar Association of Sri Lanka and the Judges Association of Sri Lanka there is nothing to stop the catastrophic down sliding of law and legal institution in Sri Lanka.

“Trapped In Constituency Politics”

By Laksiri Fernando -July 19, 2012

Dr. Laksiri Fernando

Raj Gonsalkorale’s recent article titled “Sri Lanka trapped in constituency politics; A point of view” (Asian Tribune, 16 June 2012) merits serious thought both by the Sinhala and Tamil intellectuals and those who wish to promote reconciliation in the country. By subtitling the article as “a point of view,” he has shown that his views are not rigid, but subject to change and debate. As far as I know, Gonsalkorale is one of the pioneers of the Sri Lanka Reconciliation Forum in Sydney, Australia, formed in 2009, and therefore his efforts are not merely theoretical but practical to see some progress in the reconciliation front in tangible measure.

The basic premise of the article perhaps is indisputable that Sri Lanka is unfortunately trapped in constituency politics. While he admits that there can be some inevitability in this constituency formation in the country, the main thrust of the argument is that ‘the trap’ perhaps is the main reason for the conflict, engineered and exacerbated by the politicians. Although in the latter part of the article, he has paid some attention to the Muslim constituency in the country, the main theme of the article rotates around the bi-polar conflict or the polarization between the two major constituencies, the Sinhalese and the Tamils.

Interpretation of History       Read More

Anura Senanayake gets a gift from Mervyn

Public Relations Minister Mervyn Silva has gifted a two and a half acre land on the Thelangapatha Road between Peliyagoda and Wattala to Senior DIG in-charge of Colombo Division, Anura Senanayake, it is learnt.

The two and a half acre land is said to be a land that had been filled on a marsh and the DIG is reportedly planning on setting up a container yard on the land. Minister Mervyn Silva has given this gift to the DIG as a token of appreciation for his help in suppressing any opposition to the Minister in the Kelaniya electorate.

The arrest of Kelaniya Pradeshiya Sabha member Hasitha Madawela on false allegations was one such step.

It is also learnt that the Public Relations Minister had given a 40 perch land near the Kiribathgoda Town to the Superintendent of Police in-charge of the Kelaniya area, Mathurata.

Mathurata had been a close friend of Minister Silva since he was a sub inspector (SI) in the police and he was got down to Peliyagoda by Silva by making a special request from the IGP.

Sri Lanka: A Mirror Image Of Sri Lanka’s Political Culture

July 10, 2012 | Basil Fernando

W. J. Basil Fernando is a Sri Lankan born jurist, author, poet, human rights activist.

The interview of the Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse with the editor of the Sunday Leader on the airlifting of a dog deserves comment not because of anything surprising contained in the interview. Its importance lies in its banality. It reveals something that has come to be quite common and ordinary in the day-to-day experience in Sri Lanka.
Threats about killings, killing by the people, reference to journalists as “shit eating pigs”, use of dirty words (kunuharapa) and the statement that he does not care about the courts, are all too common things people have all got used to. It all reveals what has come be today’s political culture in the country.
About the threats about killing, how often and how many people have faced such threats? That people will be avengers! The ‘people’ is euphemism for underground elements and of the state agents working under cover. Thus, ‘people’ attacked the JVP rally and killed two persons. Later, the ‘people’ turned out to be Mr. Julampittiye Amare and his associates. The ‘people’ killed Mr. Lasantha Wicramathunge, the ‘people’ attacked Mr. Baratha Lakshman Premachandra, the ‘people’ went inquiring where about of the FUTA President. This list could be a very long. Every one having a dissenting view and everyone participating in protests have learned to expect that ‘people’ will come in search of them. When they sleep they are likely to see nightmares about the ‘people’ coming for their blood.
The fear of white vans and fear of those who come chasing on motorcycles, are all modern day versions of ‘billas’. Taking precautions to avoid such billas has become a day-to-day pre-occupation. Those who live with such fears are not only journalists, but also people who live in high places. In a recent meeting where the speaker spoke about white vans, a high court judge present at the meeting told the speaker, “we are also afraid of such things”.
As for Kunuharupa, who really expects any polite conversations with authorities anymore? Only way to avoid such words been hurled at oneself, is to retire to private life and not to bother about public affairs. What is disappearing really is the idea of citizenship. The respect owed to the citizen, comes from the democratic notion of the citizen and the state. Who expect such kind of respect any more?
Not caring about courts is nothing surprising either. One time a minister was sent to jail for two years for saying a similar thing for contempt of court. Today, even a constable dares to defy the court and not execute warrants issued by it, if the person avoiding arrest enjoys political patronage.
Nothing need to be said about journalist been referred to as pigs. So much has already been heard about the flight of journalists, for anyone to be shocked by such insults hurled at them. Journalists in Sri Lanka need to wear a special dress on which such attacks will not leave a trace. Anyway those who govern seem to think they are ruling over pigs. This is Sri Lanka’s political culture in the 21 century.

See the Sunday Leader article at: www.thesundayleader.lk/2012/07/08/gota-goes-berserk/

Is it Wonder of Asia or mania?

THURSDAY, 19 JULY 2012 




By Vijitha Herath
The Rajapaksa Government echoes that Sri Lanka is stepping towards the Wonder of Asia. The definition of the term Wonder of Asia does not seem to have circulated within the government itself. In the absence of a clear-cut definition on Wonder of Asia it appears that the characters within the government have resorted to pronounce their definitions as they deem fit.

In terms of the definition outlined by the Urban Council Chairman of President’s very own hometown Tangalle, it is the liberty of shooting and killing UK borne fiancé and raping a Russian beauty. A member of Provincial Council, Tangalle spells  it out as the freedom of raping a 14-year-old damsel who approached in search of a way of living. When it is drilled further by the Chairman, Akuressa Pradeshiya Sabha it appears to have unearthed as an opportunity enjoyed by raping a girl at a cock-tail party which is said to have been conducted to mark the abusing of hundreds of women. To Julampitiya Amare, who haunts the Medamulana area it is the liberty of the murdering, extortion, assaulting opposition political rallies and shooting, it is a futile effort to keep on defining Wonder of Asia furthermore in this context as it paves the way only for an unnecessary length of this note.

Deputy Minister, Sarana Gunawardana was seen on a TV programme while he was associated with a function at ‘Temple Trees’ at a time when he was charged with an allegation of abduction of a girl. The Chief Minister Western province Prasanna Ranathunga made a complaint to the President that Sarana Gunawardana has solicited an extortion of Rs. 50,000 from a businessman in Gampaha to issue a permit for a filling station and Prasanna Ranatunga is not from the opposition. It is a different story that the request for extortion was made through his official telephone. It is also a well-known fact that Sudharman Radaliyagoda functions as a head of a certain state television channel and also he is the SLFP Organiser Colombo (Central) but on the other hand has been issued with a warrant for his involvement in a scrapped iron transaction case and also absconding without encountering those persons who gave him money for sending personnel abroad. Murder charges against Chandana Kaththriarachchi who is Kesbewa SLFP organiser was withdrawn under the patronage of the Attorney General. The adviser to the President on trade union affairs, Bharatha Lukshman Premachandra was assassinated. Duminda Silva who is suspected of shooting has not yet been cited as a suspect is receiving treatment safely in a foreign land. Even as a joke, no one has heard under whose direction some Special Task Force soldiers were permitted treasure hunting. The STF soldiers were taken into custody by the villagers. It is an exhaustive exercise to expose more details of cadres who have been blessed thus.

What is the example set by the government to its supporters, well-wishers and neighbours of the supporters through all those incidents? The only example set is that impunity waits always for the support that violates laws of the land.

A person learns a lot through a passage of experience than going through books. The example set by the Rajapaksa government from top to bottom is of this sort. Very recently, a journalist was threatened with death and scolded using inappropriate language by the Secretary to the Defence Ministry Gotabaya Rajapaksa when he was contacted by this particular media person seeking clarifications on a certain matter. One may have his own reservations on news items published in this particular newspaper and also the journalists have the right not to comment on reports they published. Scolding a person using slang and declaring oppressive action is completely a different matter. At a time, the behaviour of such a government officer comes to light in such a way there is no reason for someone to be surprised over the utterance of Julampitiya Amare to stab the journalists and get bowels out of belly, exceeding the limits of “wonder.” Setting a media organisation on fire, assault on a journalist and disappearance of a journalist also should be understood by the public in this context.

It is not by chance that even politicians at ground level assume that they can get away if they become a suspect after committing any kind of an unlawful act by merely giving a telephone call to the Attorney General or Inspector General of Police, as they were already provided with enough instances.

They are well aware about the fact that the Attorney General’s Department is under ‘their president’ and even the Police Department was taken under the direct purview of the President under the 18th Amendment.

Former Attorney General Mohan Pieris at a UN human rights body claimed disappeared journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda is safely living in a foreign land just to salvage the government. Then again when he was asked to appear before the Homagama Magistrate, he claimed to have forgotten the name of the intelligence officer who disclosed the earlier information.

The director of the Media Centre for National Security Lakshman Hulugalle tried his level best to project the killing in Katuwana was not committed by Julampitiye Amare. However, at the end Amare surrendered to the courts probably because he was ashamed of what happened! Most of the government officials attempt to protect the government setting aside the dignity of the posts they are holding because, that is their notion of the Wonder of Asia.

While those attached to the government from the top brass to grassroots are losing track of the concept of the Wonder of Asia, the general public viewed it as the collapse of social ethics and law and order in the country.

Crucible Of Conflict: Tamil And Muslim Society On The East Coast Of Sri Lanka

July 19, 2012

By Imtiyaz Razak -

Dr. Imtiyaz Razak

BOOK REVIEW: Dennis B. McGilvray, Crucible of Conflict: Tamil and Muslim Society on the East Coast of Sri Lanka (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2008), ISBN 978-0-8223-4163-1, xiv fl 425 pp., $US99.95 hdbk., $US24.79 pbk.

The ethnic conflict between the Tamils and the Sinhalese entered into another crucial phase in May 2009, when Sri Lanka’s Sinhala-dominated security forces disabled the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, the separatist Tamil organization established in 1976). Sri Lanka’s post-war policies are a hindrance to reconciliation between the country’s disillusioned Sinhalese and Tamils, who share the land and culture with the ethnic Moors or Muslims of eastern Sri Lanka. Dennis B. McGilvray’s study attempts to understand the complex issues and myriad problems of the ethnic Tamils and Muslims of the Eastern Province. There are very few studies
on Sri Lanka that employ anthropological tools to understand ethnic conflict and the cultural identities of the ethnic groups in that country. The book under review progressively fills that scholarly gap and offers thoughtful insights to readers. It provides a combination of anthropological narratives and analytical information, thus making the volume appealing to both general readers and scholars of Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict.

McGilvray aims to unpack the complexities behind the ethnic relations between the Tamils, who speak Tamil and claim they are being discriminated against by the Sinhala-dominated government, and the (Eastern) Muslims, who also speak Tamil with some borrowed Arabic words, but who seek a social formation based on religion
o win a distinct ethnic recognition—distinct from the Tamil ethnic group. McGilvray assertively attempts to explain why these groups, who speak the same language and share elements of culture, often hate each other. In answering this question, he adopts an ethnographic approach, paying close attention to interactions between the Tamils and Muslims at the plebeian as well as elite levels observed during his fieldwork conducted between 1970 and 1980. McGilvray explores a number of primordial as well as constructed ethnic identities of Tamils and Muslims (p.11). He easily guides readers to understand social and religious institutions such as temples and mosques and how they bear upon the Muslim and Tamil publics in their
respective ethnic territories. His accounts pensively explain the degree of influence these institutions hold over the political institutions and the actions of the local communities of Tamils and Muslims in eastern Sri Lanka.
In patriarchal societies, ethnicity plays a central role in sharing or negotiating power. Social-political forces attempt to use ethnicity when they seek an easy passage to power. Such social and political mobilisations could lead to suspicion, tension and violent conflict when ethnic leadership provides strong networks for a particular community. Moreover, when rival communities expand their farming or grazing into already-occupied land, this often leads to sharp competition over land, which is likely to take on an ethnic colour and can develop into outright confrontation. Understanding this helps us grasp the situation of the Muslims of the Eastern Province, who claimed that their lands were being forcibly confiscated by the LTTE. These Muslims often complained about being harassed by the Tamils: for instance, when they passed through adjacent Tamil villages, their vehicles were waylaid, or they were robbed of their paddy and cattle. In fact, a recent study of the Eastern Muslims suggests that competition for resources and security was a key source of tension between the Tamils and the Muslims. Elites aggravate such tensions among the people, rather than seeking political-social solutions.

McGilvray’s study also acknowledges these dynamics of the Sri Lankan political formation (pp.325–9). The book guides readers to a comprehensive understanding of the century-old divisions among the Tamils and Muslims along caste and class lines. Importantly, McGilvray challenges the putative stereotype of the Muslims of Sri Lanka, particularly those in the
Eastern Province, as a business community. The author states that ‘66 percent of the Muslims are cultivators (versus 54 percent of the High Caste Tamils) while the Muslim category of laborer (2 percent) is much smaller than among the Tamils (20 percent)’. He further states that ‘landlessness was nearly the same in both communities (41 percent of Tamils, 38 percent of Moors)’ (p.268).

As for the sources of existing tension and deep mistrust between the Tamils and Muslims, as an anthropologist, McGilvray provides some rational explanations. But the question is whether this mistrust was engineered by the elites for political mobilisation or it was inborn among the people. Somehow, McGilvray fails to fully appreciate the key logic of constructivism in the ethnic morass in eastern Sri Lanka. In
my view, ethnic identities, relations and moves are a product of human actions and choices and, thus, they are constructed and transmitted, not inherited from the past.
Careful observation of the Muslims and Tamils in Akkarapathu, a town in Ampara District, and the larger Batticaloa region of eastern Sri Lanka, would explain how ethnic identities are being methodically constructed by the elites of the different ethnic groups for political gain.

McGilvray clearly explains the complexities of the primordial values of Tamil and Muslim relations at the popular level and the way difficulties between the Tamil and Muslim masses are constructed by the elites of both communities for political purposes, as well as power struggles at the elite level itself. In so doing, his book investigates what is ‘ignored in most journalistic accounts of the Eelam conflict [which] . . . will affect the prospect of interethnic peace and economic development throughout the eastern region (p.11)’. McGilvray’s book is a major work by a Western scholar on the Tamils and Muslims of eastern Sri Lanka and is a valuable
resource for students of anthropology in general, and students of ethnic conflicts in particular. His book adds an important dimension to the analytical framework of Tamil–Muslim relations and conflict.

(Dr. A.R.M. Imtiyaz’ research and teaching are mainly focused on ethnic politics. He has published widely in peer-reviewed international journals. He currently teaches at the Asian Studies/Department of Political Science, Temple University, Philadelphia, USA.