Sri Lanka's president must remember that no man - or political dynasty - is an island  

By ROHAN VENKATARAMAKRISHNAN- 4 August 2013 

The first thing you notice is that it is just 'Him.' 

I've lived in America where, for a few months after the 2008 polls, Barack Obama was the second coming of Christ; in India, where for some people Sonia Gandhi decides entire fates, and even in an Arab dictatorship. Yet in none of those places, could you start a discussion only somewhat related to politics and midway have the head of the state introduced as just 'Him,' with no underlining, qualifier or explanation - you just have to know that the pronoun refers to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. (Even Sonia doesn't make the cut, since for all its idiosyncrasy, 'Madamji' is a fairly unique epithet). 

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa is such a powerful figure that many in the country refer to the leader simply as "Him".

Ruler 

To be fair, 'Him' didn't just refer to Rajapaksa during my time on the island - LTTE chief Prabhakaran also got the he-who-will-not-be-named treatment in several conversations - and 'him' was also not the only way people referred to the president, although some of the other names might have a hard time getting into a newspaper. 

Simplistic as it may be, it's also a simple reminder of Rajapaksa's stranglehold on the country. It is also no mistake that I use the last name here, because Sri Lanka hasn't just turned into Mahinda's Raj. 

The president is himself the son of a famous politician, while his powerful brothers are, respectively, Defence Secretary and Minister of Economic Development - controlling much of the country between the three of them. 

Keeping it in the family: The president's brother Basil Rajapaksa is also his Minister of Economic Development

Sri Lanka's president must remember that no man - or political dynasty - is an island by nelvely

Sihala Ravaya to draw more blood over cattle slaughter

Details

 

Created On Monday, 05 August 2013 08:57

Category: General

The extremist Sinhala Buddhist organization, Sihala Ravaya has said that more blood would be drawn until there’s a ban on cattle slaughter.

Head of Sihala Ravaya, Ven. Akmeemana Dayarathana Thero has said the movement was willing to go as far as death to ensure that cattle slaughter is banned in Sri Lanka.
The monk’s statement has indicated that that there was a likelihood of seeing more monks immolating themselves.
Sinhala Ravaya member Ven. Bowatte Indraratne Thero on Vesak day immolated himself outside the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy.
The Sinhala Ravaya organized a protest march on June 15 From Kataragama to Temple Trees.
At Temple Trees Sihala Ravaya handed over a petition to the President calling for an end to cattle slaughter and unethical conversions.
The President assured that laws to ban cattle slaughter would be introduced.
However, Ven. Dayarathna Thero has said that the organization would give two months for the introduction of the necessary legislation and would take their campaign to the next level.

UNP claims over 7 dead

August 4, 2013

The opposition United National Party (UNP) claims, based on reports received from Rathupaswala in Weliweriya, over seven people had been killed during the clashes last week.

According to official figures 3 people had died as of today and at least two others are in critical condition.

UNP MP Mangala Samaraweera said that according to reports, six people had died by yesterday and that figure rose further today.

He said not only did the government give bullets in place of water for the public in Weliweriya, it is now trying to hide the truth from the people and the world.

“I would like to tell the Rajapaksa regime not to deceive the people and the world anymore and reveal the true figure on the number of deaths,” he said.

He said the government must respond to the question as to who gave the orders for the army to be sent in and use live bullets when it was a civil issue which should have been controlled by the police. (Colombo Gazette)

International Pressure Becomes Important In Face of National Failure

By Jehan Perera-Monday, August 05, 2013

From January to June this year, at least 155 anti-Muslim incidents
were reported by the Secretariat for Muslims

The pattern of incidents that have taken place in the recent past is an indication of the threat to pluralism, multi-culturalism and religious tolerance in the country.  Although not widely reported, the attacks on Muslim places of worship and Muslim owned businesses are continuing.

The attitude on the part of those who are aggressors that they can disrupt the activities of others is a violation of the freedom of assembly and freedom of religion guaranteed in the Constitution.  The attitude of the law enforcement agencies to permit those who break the law and get away without legal sanction undermines the credibility of the government as a secular one.  This lack of commitment has led to the fomenting of religious and ethnic tensions in post-war Sri Lanka.

International Pressure Becomes Important in Face of National Failure by nelvely

Takeover Of Lakshman Kadirgamar’s Land: Court Issues Notice On Lands Minister

August 5, 2013

The writ petition against the Government take-over of former Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar’s land in Jaffna which is set to become a symbolic and landmark case in the ongoing struggle for land in the north was taken up before the Court of Appeal today.

Lakshman Kadirgamar

The Court of Appeal issued notice on the Minister for Lands, Janaka Bandara Tennakoon, Land Acquiring Officer of the Jaffna District A. Sivaswamy and the Land Survey Officer of the Jaffna District who have been cited as respondents in the petition filed by the former Minister’s son last week.

According to the petition, Minister Kadirgamar became sole owner of the prime property on the Keerimalai-Kankesanthurai Road in May 1968. With the Minister’s assassination in 2005 by the LTTE, in accordance with Tesawalamai laws the property passed to his son, Sriraghavan Kadirgamar.

The Minister’s son is praying the court to prevent the respondents from taking any further steps on the acquisition until the application is heard. He also seeking a Writ Certiorari to quash the acquisition notice.

In his petition Minister Kadirgamar’s son says that he is being prevented from using and enjoying his rights to his ancestral property due to barricades and barbed wire fences manned by security forces personnel and unauthorised construction taking place in the vicinity. Evoking the ancient laws of the Jaffna District, the petition says that his ancestral land is tied to the petitioner’s identity and his family’s identity, a facet recognised in the law of Tesawalamai that applies to residents of Jaffna.

Analysts say the high profile victim of an ongoing land grab in the north by the state, will lend a hitherto absent dimension to the northern peoples’ land struggles.                     Read More      

A Multiplicity Of Ministers

By Rajiva Wijesinha -August 5, 2013 

Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha MP

Political Machinations: A multiplicity of Ministers

In getting ready material for the consultations I have been having with the young people concerned about constitutional reform, I finally counted up the number of Ministers we have. In fact the figure comes to less than 100, far fewer than the number of Ministers President Jayewardene had in his heyday, with far fewer Members of Parliament, on his side and taken as a whole.

His record included District Ministers too, so that 2/3  of Members of Parliament were Ministers in the eighties, and ¾ of the Government Parliamentary Group. Contrary to the hype of those critics of the current government who have forgotten completely the excesses of the past, things are better now.

But this still does not make them good. It is quite preposterous that Sri Lanka should have 65 Cabinet Ministers (along with 2 Project Ministers) plus 27 Deputy Ministers. In addition there are 4 Monitoring Ministers, as far as I know. This is fewer than I thought, but I realize now that the claim that Members of Parliament were asked to apply for these positions was not correct. I was under the impression, when I was told that I had failed to ask when applications were called, that National List MPs had not been included in the notice, but I find that others were left out too.                              Read More

Eight people expected to face trial over Briton's murder in Sri Lanka

Campaigners welcome reports of imminent trial after Red Cross worker Khuram Shaikh was shot and stabbed on holiday

A Sri Lankan soldier on guard in the capital, Colombo, where the case of Khuram Shaikh's murder has been transferred. Photograph: Sanka Vidanagama/AFP/Getty Images

Caroline Davies-Friday 2 August 2013 

Campaigners for justice for a British Red Cross worker murdered in Sri Lanka have given cautious welcome to reports indicating eight suspects will shortly face trial 19 months after his death.

Khuram Shaikh, 32, from Milnrow, near Rochdale, was shot and stabbed on Christmas Day 2011 while on holiday in Tangalle in the south of the island after an altercation at his hotel.

Eight people, including a prominent local politician, were arrested and bailed in November.

The Island newspaper has reported that the accused will be "shortly indicted" and would be charged on 10 counts, including murder.

A spokesman at the Sri Lankan high commission said the case had been transferred from Tangalle to Colombo and that DNA testing, which had held up proceedings, had been completed and was now with the attorney general's department.

The development follows pressure from Simon Danczuk, the family's MP, who has recently had high-level meetings in Sri Lanka to raise the subject during which, he said, he was given assurances the case would go to trial.

In March, the Sri Lankan government said the attorney general was to forward a direct indictment to the high court. In June, the British high commission said it was deeply disappointed trial proceedings had not commenced.

Campaigners have called on prime minister David Cameron to boycott the Commonwealth heads of government meeting to be hosted by Sri Lanka in Colombo in November in protest.

Shaikh, who had just spent months fitting prosthetic limbs in Gaza, was spending Christmas and the new year on the island when he became involved in an altercation, and was stabbed and shot. A female colleague with him was assaulted and left badly injured.

His brother, Nasir Shaikh, 41, an NHS IT programme manager in Liverpool, said: "My family has waited a long time for justice. Our lives have been put on hold ever since we took a phone call on Christmas Day 2011 telling us what had happened. We all just want a sense of closure and we cannot rest until justice has been served."

Danczuk, the Labour MP for Rochdale, said: "I welcome the fact that the Sri Lankan authorities have indicated they are about to charge those suspected of Khuram's murder. But we have been here before with promises of justice being delivered swiftly and 19 months has passed without any progress. So we will wait before the charges are made. We have had plenty of warm words of encouragement. But the family and everyone associated with the campaign just want to see action."

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: "The British government regularly impress upon the Sri Lankan authorities the importance that we and the family of Khuram Shaikh attach to bringing those responsible to justice. They are in no doubt as to the seriousness with which we view these terrible events, and have assured us of the same.

"We hope that 19 months after this heinous crime the accused will soon face a fair trial, free from political interference. As the crime was committed in Sri Lanka, the authorities in that country are responsible for investigating."

Sri Lanka eyes South Asian hub with Chinese mega port    

A $500 million Chinese-built port opens on Monday in Sri Lanka, giving Beijing a vital foothold on the world's busiest international shipping lane as it seeks to secure maritime supply routes.

Channel NewsAsia

 04 Aug 2013 

COLOMBO: A $500 million Chinese-built port opens on Monday in Sri Lanka, giving Beijing a vital foothold on the world's busiest international shipping lane as it seeks to secure maritime supply routes.

Sri Lanka eyes South Asian hub with Chinese mega port by nelvely

1983, thirty years on: Teflon Mahinda and Scapegoat Ranil

Rajan Philips-August 3, 2013

Sri Lanka has had many watershed moments in the last hundred years, some quiet and positively consequential, others violent and destabilizing. To the first category belong the introduction of universal franchise in 1931, and independence from colonial rule that came in 1948. SWRD Bandaranaike’s election victory in 1956, and the Republican Constitutions of 1972 and 1978, were not violent, nor were they destabilizing in themselves, but they gave rise to violent and destabilizing watershed moments, namely, the periodical riots targeting minorities from 1956 onward, culminating in July 1983 and everything that followed including the war. The violent and destabilizing events that do not fit this schema are the 1915 Sinhalese-Muslim riots and the 1971 JVP insurrection. The second JVP insurrection of the late 1980s was not an extension of the first, but rather a part of the July 1983 aftermath.

1983, Thirty Years on Teflon Mahinda and Scapegoat Ranil by nelvely

De Facto CJ Pieris Deciding Counsel: Gota To Arrange Meetings

Pieris and Gotabaya

August 4, 2013 |

The Ministry of Defence is poised to control the Supreme Court through de facto Chief Justice Mohan Pieris, who was one time an advisor to the Ministry, the Colombo Telegraph learns. The de facto Chief Justice’s close association with the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, after the former served on various Defence boards have meant that the Supreme Court had been placed under the indirect control of Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, legal sources told Colombo Telegraph.

Information is emerging of several cases where the litigants have approached politicians in respect of cases. The politicians then refer the litigants to the  Secretary to the Ministry of Defence who in turn had gone to the extent of arranging meetings with the de facto Chief Justice.

In one such case, involving the Ceylon Tobacco Company (case regarding the pictorial warnings on  packets), Mohan Pieris  gave an audience to a few representatives of the  CTC, who were told by the de facto Chief Justice to change the Counsel (Romesh de Silva, PC) and retain one of the more regime friendly lawyers.Read More

The TNA must be explicit about the dangers posed by the forthcoming NPC Election

Sunday, August 4th, 2013 

Having accepted that the Thirteenth Amendment cannot fulfil the legitimate aspirations of the Tamil people, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has nevertheless decided to participate in the forthcoming election for the new Northern Provincial Council. In light of this decision, British Tamils Forum seeks reassurance that the TNA is fully aware of the significant risks posed to the Tamil people by its decision to participate and that it has taken all reasonable steps to mitigate these risks. Furthermore, British Tamils Forum calls on the TNA to set out clearly and accountably how it intends to use its participation in the council for the benefit of the Tamil people.

It has been widely acknowledged that the forthcoming first ever Northern Provincial Council cannot meet the legitimate political aspirations of the Tamil people and resolve the root causes of conflict on the island. The Provincial Council is merely an advisory body under the control of a Governor, appointed by the President of Sri Lanka. All powers are vested in the Governor, within a unitary state; the Provincial Council system is in no way an exercise in power sharing. Even in its advisory capacity, the Council will be largely ineffective within the deeply majoritarian Sri Lankan state. For these reasons, Tamils have time and time again rejected the Provincial Council arrangement.

Indeed, the Eastern Provincial Council, established following the atrocities committed against Tamils in Mullivaikkal in 2009, provides a salutary lesson on the failings of the Provincial Council system. It has not enhanced the political or socio-economic status of the Tamils in any meaningful manner. It has failed to comprehensively assess or meet the needs of the war-torn Tamil populace of the Province. Instead, the human rights of Tamils in the Eastern Province are continually being violated and their lands and properties expropriated or colonised by the Sinhala population. By trumpeting small, token acts of assistance as enormous achievements, the Eastern Provincial Council enables the Sri Lankan state to project the image that it is faithfully devolving power to the war-affected people, when it is really doing nothing of the sort.

The TNA’s decision to contest the Northern Provincial Council election cannot even be described as a low-risk, speculative venture – harmlessly undertaken on the off-chance that it succeeds. Rather, TNA participation in the Council poses significant risks. Complicity in propping up a Provincial Council system that provides token benefits – perhaps a bicycle here and a rice sack there – while perpetuating the Sri Lankan state’s structural genocide of Tamils, could strike a devastating blow to the decades-long struggle by the Tamil people for their rights and freedom. There is a real danger of unwittingly playing stooge in the Sri Lankan state’s campaign to regain legitimacy on the world stage: if Tamil participation in the Provincial Council is used to provide a distraction that undermines global campaigns for an international independent inquiry into the crimes committed by the Sri Lankan state and recognition of the Tamil people’s right to self-determination.

Despite the significant pitfalls and unlikely benefits of participation in the Northern Provincial Council, British Tamils Forum acknowledges that – by standing for election – the TNA provides the Northern Tamil voter his or her only legitimate choice at the polling booth. However, the onus is on the TNA to reassure the Tamil people that it has taken the decision to participate in full knowledge of the risks described above – and that it has contingency plans in place to ensure that it never ends up harming the very people it seeks to represent. The TNA must also clearly spell out in a manifesto how it seeks to benefit the Tamil people by participating in the Provincial Council System, so that it may be held to account by Tamils following the establishment of the Council.

By contesting the election, the TNA does have an opportunity to demonstrate to the international community the true aspirations and demands of the Tamil people. Hence, British Tamils Forum hopes that the TNA’s manifesto will reflect these aspirations – including, in particular:

1.     The need for a political solution that recognises the Tamils as a nation, with the right to self-determination in their homeland, which comprises the combined North and East;

2.     The call for an international independent inquiry into crimes committed against the Tamils;

3.     The call for national and international action against the grabbing of Tamil land in the North and East and the dismantling of Sinhala settlements installed by the Sri Lankan state;

4.     The campaign to establish an interim administrative mechanism in the North and East to facilitate relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction for the benefit of Tamil war victims, with the direct participation of homeland Tamils, Tamils living abroad and the international community.

Over sixty years of oppression at the hands of the Sinhala state has provided ample evidence that the Tamil people will not gain their political and human rights through political representation alone: this is effectively impossible within Sri Lanka’s majoritarian political system. Therefore Tamil leaders must also focus on mobilising the Tamil people at the grassroots level. These leaders are far more likely to reap benefits for the Tamil people by building a mass movement and organising innovative non-violent resistance across the North and East against the occupation of the Tamil homeland by the Sri Lankan state – than by solely focussing on political participation within the Sri Lankan unitary state, where the odds are stacked wildly against them. Such a mass movement, combined with the broad influence wielded by Tamils across the globe, would present a formidable force to fight against the Sri Lankan state’s genocide of the Tamil people.

Sri Lanka: Letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay regarding Her Impending Visit to Sri Lanka on 25-31 August 2013

Tuesday, 30 July 2013

Ms. Navanethem Pillay
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais Wilson, 52 rue des Pâquis
CH-1201 Geneva, Switzerland
Fax: +41 (0)22 917 9008
Email: npillay@ohchr.org

CC: Mr. Hanny Megally, Chief of the APMENA Branch, OHCHR
Mr. Rory Mungoven, Head of the Asia-Pacific Division, OHCHR

The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) is a regional human rights group with 47 member organisations from 16 countries across Asia, and we write to you in the light of your impending visit to Sri Lanka on 25-31 August 2013, in preparation for your update to the 24th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council (Council) to be held on 9-27 September 2013.

Since the adoption of the Council’s resolution on Reconciliation and Accountability in Sri Lanka (A/HRC/RES/22/1) at its 22nd regular session in March this year, civil society groups have noted that meaningful and concrete steps or measures have yet to be taken by the government of Sri Lanka to implement either this resolution or the recommendations from its own Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission. Your report to the Council’s 22nd regular session (A/HRC/22/38) noted a culture of inadequate consultation with civil society and the lack of an inclusive approach in decision-making in the country. We are dismayed to find that this is still prevalent. Engagement with the UN and its human rights mechanisms has also put in danger many human rights defenders in the country as highlighted by the UN Secretary-General in his report on Cooperation with the UN, Its Representatives and Mechanisms in the Field of Human Rights (A/HRC/21/18). Furthermore, your report and the Council’s resolution 22/1 expressed concerns at allegations of enforced disappearances, extra-judicial killings, torture, threats to the rule of law, religious discrimination and intimidation of civil society activists and journalists.

It is within this context, where a climate of fear and intimidation prevails in the country, that we urge you to make all efforts during your upcoming visit to reach out for meaningful dialogue and consultation with all the diverse civil society groups that work in all parts of the country and consider their valuable inputs in your update to the Council. We stress that meetings with civil society groups in the country be inclusive of geographical and sectoral representation as well as all minority groups and marginalised communities. We believe it will be important during your visit to publicly show solidarity with human rights defenders under threat including victims, dissidents and their families. In this regard, we call upon you to conduct visits to all parts of the country including the North and the East of Sri Lanka and directly interact with a variety of local and community leaders, civil society representatives, journalists and victims.

Furthermore, we urge your office to solicit the necessary assurances from the government of Sri Lanka for a substantive visit, which include:

• Permission for all interpreters to be appointed by the UN;
• Safeguards for your schedule to be flexible enough to allow ample opportunities to interact with individuals and groups confidentially;
• Security arrangements for your mission that are designed to prevent, where necessary, government, military and police officials from accessing the content of discussions during your visit and intercepting those who meet you without credible reason;
• Guarantees to prevent reprisals against human rights defenders, victims and others who engage with you and your office during and after the visit;
• Clear commitment by the government of Sri Lanka to not denigrate the legitimate work of human rights defenders during and after your visit;
• Full access for you and your office to crucial places including detention facilities, villages/land allegedly occupied by military and for which there are pending court cases; and
• Full access, publicly or confidentially, to you and your office to documents including court records, prison records, commission of inquiry reports and internal government communication records.

Following the visit we request that your office keeps a database of those who have interacted with you and monitor their safety. Should there be any attempts of reprisals we urge you and your office to press upon the government to remedy the situation through open, credible and speedy investigations. We further request you to include any such monitoring information in your updates and reports to the Council.

Madam High Commissioner, we wish the best of success in your mission to Sri Lanka and look forward to its contribution towards accountability for allegations of violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. We stand ready to assist and support your good office in this endeavour.

Sincerely,

Giyoun Kim
Acting Executive Director
FORUM-ASIA

British Tamils reiterate call for UK Government to boycott CHOGM in Sri Lanka

Created On Sunday, 04 August 2013 10:46

 

In a recent meeting with Rt. Hon Alistair Burt MP – the Foreign Office Minister responsible for South Asia, British Tamils expressed their disappointment at the Prime Minister David Cameron's decision to visit Sri Lanka in November 2013, for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

In the meeting, which was facilitated by the British Tamils Forum, Tamil representatives from a number of Tamil groups based in the UK explained to the minister the reasons why the UK Government should reconsider its decision to attend CHOGM in Sri Lanka. They further reasoned that this Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka would be against the fundamental political values of the Commonwealth and the Commonwealth charter signed by the Queen on Commonwealth Day this year.

The delegation explained the culture of impunity, lack of accountability and continuing structural genocide against Tamils in Sri Lanka - describing both historical and current events and discussing their moral and legal ramifications. They criticised the UK's role in the failure to protect Tamils in 2009 and the failure to bring Sri Lanka to account ever since – a failure that sets the conditions for continued abuses with impunity by the Sri Lankan state. The Minister was sympathetic to the concerns expressed by the Tamil representatives but differed on the suggested course of action to address these concerns.

The delegation also pointed out to the minister the failure of the UK’s strategy: soft diplomatic engagement and influence has still not delivered justice to the victims though the war ended over four years ago.

The Minister, in his response declined the delegation's suggestion for a boycott or venue change for CHOGM 2013 stating that the UK Government has made a decision on attendance which  reflects the importance of the Commonwealth as well as the opportunity for attendees to see the situation on the ground.  The Minister underlined that the  CHOGM meeting and attention it attracts, would shine a spotlight on Sri Lanka and highlight progress or the lack of it.  The UK Government had been clear on its concerns for example supporting the resolution at the March Human Rights Council and would remain so in the run up to CHOGM.

The delegation raised the following questions for the UK Government to consider on behalf of the British Tamils;

·      Is the Prime Minister's decision to attend unconditional, whatever the outcome of UN High Commissioner Navi Pillay’s report in August and Northern Provisional Council Election in September?

·      What are the UK government's plans, post-CHOGM?

·      Why doesn’t the UK include charge of genocide in their discourse?

British Tamils Forum will continue to engage with the UK Government and will seek justice through an International Independent Investigation into war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide in Sri Lanka.

Bullets For Water: Militarization Comes Home

By Tisaranee Gunasekara -August 4, 2013

“We asked for water tanks; they sent army tanks” -A woman resident of Weliveriya[i] (BBC – 3.8.2013)

They had every reason to feel confident and safe, to expect consideration and justice.

They were almost exclusively Sinhalese and predominantly Buddhist. They would have supported the military wholeheartedly (quite a few would have kith/kin in uniform) and rejoiced in the defeat of the LTTE. Many would have done the victory-tour, eating shellfish inJaffna, worshipping at Nagadeepa, laying flowers at the monument to their war heroes and inspecting Vellupillai Pirapaharan’s bunker. Most would have voted for the Rajapaksas, believing that their present was safe and their future assured in the ‘caring’ hands of the Tiger-vanquishers.

A victim - A protestor against the ground water contamination scandal in the Gampaha

When they realised that the water from their familiar wells had turned toxic, they would have believed that ‘their government’ will succour and protect them. After all, they were not asking for devolution or land/police powers. They wanted free pipe-borne water – a just request given that they were not responsible for releasing pollutants into the waterways. They also wanted the closure of the factory believed to be responsible for contaminating their groundwater.

They did not understand that the Rajapaksas, who waste billions on themselves, turn extremely miserly when it comes to addressing the ordinary problems of little people. And they did not know that the controversial factory belonged to a the premier economic-avatar of the Rajapaksas.

They did not realise that their demand for clean water would transform them from patriots to anti-patriots, from members of the Volk to stooges of the Tamil Diaspora and NGO-lovers. Read More

“The Law,This Violent Thing”: Dissident Memory And Democratic Futures

By Vasuki Nesiah -August 4, 2013 

Dr. Vasuki Nesiah

2013 Neelan Tiruchelvam Memorial Lecture[1]

“The law, this violent thing”[2]

dissident memory and democratic futures

Neelan

In 1999 I was a graduate student in the United States. That summer I returned to Colombo to work with Neelan at the International Center for Ethnic Studies (ICES). As was the case for many young people who went abroad for their studies but returned to Sri Lankain the summer, for me ICES was a magnet. ICES was our institutional summer home, but it was also much more. Neelan had created a utopic place that provided intellectual community and political camaraderie. Our conversations leapt from Tamil poetry to Swiss federalism, from ethnographies of Baila to the Habermasian public sphere, from caste discrimination to free trade zones. Whether we were engaging with Edward Said or with Kumari Jayawardena, whether we were discussing the political economy of the Mahaweli dam or Sinhala teledrama, constitutional reform or dowry, these debates and their stakes were—often implicitly, sometimes explicitly—calibrated with justice struggles in Sri Lanka. Thus our own intellectual and political maturing was shaped through an investment in Sri Lanka’s future. The ICES thatched patio was the enchanted place from which, in a very personal sense, we knit the political and intellectual bonds and commitments that showed us how to “abide by Sri Lanka” in the sense that Qadri Ismail has invoked.[3] Undoubtedly many of us were less radical than we thought we were; moreover, class and social location insulated us from what the majority of our contemporaries were experiencing in the rest ofSri Lanka. Yet even in that privileged space, Neelan, through his own example, taught us how to conduct our lives in ways that gave and risked everything.      Read More

Govt. looking for scapegoats on Weliweriya protests: JVP

By Maheen Senanayake-August 3, 2013

JVP MP Vijitha Herath yesterday rejected government claims that the incidents leading from the Weliweriya protest were politically inspired, with a minister implying that the JVP had a hand.

"The government is busy looking for scapegoats without resolving the issue at hand," Herath said.

He is a Gampaha district MP but his name was not among those mentioned as having attended a meeting of elected officials convened on Friday by Minister Basil Rajapaksa to discuss the water pollution problem. He was not available when we tried to reach him a second time to check whether he was invited.

Herath said it was correct that some members of the Inter Company Employees Union branch at the Venigros factory had been dismissed about seven months ago as stated by Minister Dallas Alahapperuma at a press conference at SLFP Headquarters on Friday.

"This was an industrial matter and for the record it must be stated that not all members of the Inter Company Employees Union are members of the JVP," Herath said.

He said that the problem was the increase in the acid content of well water in an entire village. The JVP certainly did not have the technology to do that, he remarked.

Herath said that villagers had to seek medical attention en masse when they developed a skin disease. The doctors realized that all those with the problem came from the same area – something the villagers themselves had noticed. The villagers have then had the water independently checked and found that the pH value was low indicating increased acidity in the well water.

The villagers had met the Divisional Secretary along with the Chairman of the Mahara Pradeshiya Sabha and they were promised that the matter would be raised with Deputy Minister Vasantha Alagiyawanna.

As there was no follow up, the villagers began protesting and requested a meeting with Minister Basil Rajapaksa which was promised. When they went for the meeting at the Kachcheri last Monday expecting to meet Rajapaksa, only Alagiyawanna was present and that aggravated the situation.

At that time they were told they had to wait for a couple of weeks for the test results. The villagers made two demands – that the factory be closed temporarily and arrangements made to speedily supply them with water.

They also sought relief through the justice system which they realized was not forthcoming. They wanted the wells inspected to identify those that were safe for drinking water and those that were not.

"These are the facts," Herath said. "We understand that the factory is owned by a company whose shareholders include Dhammika Perera, the EPF and the NSB."

He accused the government of trying to politicize the matter which was a health hazard to an entire village and alleged that Minister Mervin Silva had visited the area a few nights ago with some of his supporters and attempted to remove two containers despite protests from villagers.