Sri Lanka: Q&A — Demons in Paradise

The government just wants to put people on the bandwagon of progress and development, which is frankly little more than a rat race.

by Al Jazeera - Feb 5, 2018

( February 5, 2018, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Jude Ratnam was five years old when he fled the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, with his family.

In 1983, tensions between Sri Lanka’s majority-Sinhalese government and minority Tamils erupted in a 26-year civil war that ended in 2009. The bloody conflict claimed about 100,000 lives, displaced hundreds of thousands of people and left indelible scars on the nation.

In 2006, Ratnam enrolled to study cinema and filmmaking. Upon graduating, he embarked on what would be a decade-long exercise in filming and documenting his experience of a civil war that tore his country apart.

In his film Demons in Paradise, Ratnam ventured beyond the violence of the conflict, exploring questions surrounding the very idea of Tamil identity.

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Watch here: Demons in Paradise

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Al Jazeera spoke to Ratnam about the legacy of the Sri Lankan civil war and the possibility of true reconciliation.

Al Jazeera: Why did you choose to make a film about Sri Lanka’s civil war?

Jude Ratnam: I definitely didn’t know how I was going to tell the story, but the impulse to make a documentary about the conflict came to me when the “activist” in me grew disillusioned.

Before I got into filmmaking, I was an NGO worker. But at the NGO, I felt a growing sense of uneasiness – being awarded a big pay, driving a four-wheel and preaching reconciliation to people.

You look around the world today and it appears that identity politics permeates our day-to-day reality. It was in the name of identity politics that I saw all this brutality towards my own, Tamil identity. I wanted to look beyond the conflict to examine the perceived and experienced nature of our persecuted identity.

In that sense, Demons of Paradise asks questions that are rooted in existentialism. It prompts you to think about the human condition, especially when it comes to perpetrating and enduring acts of violence.

Al Jazeera: The civil war resulted in the deaths and displacement of thousands of people. Was there any reluctance in people to talk about this painful period?

Ratnam: Of course there was this fear of the government at that time we were making the film. During the Rajapaksa regime [2009-2015] a kind of national amnesia was encouraged and nobody really wanted to talk about the past. And especially for a Tamil to talk about the past was completely taboo, so there was this general sense of fear across the country.

To the authorities, we had to keep lying about the nature of the film we were making. We said we were filming a love story set around the railways. When we met the characters we told them what we were really up to and fortunately, they were courageous enough to talk about the past.

I think I was just there with the idea of the film and a rolling camera – at the right time.

Al Jazeera: Why was it important to tell this story from a Tamil perspective?

Ratnam: In a 30-year war, it’s very difficult to look at just one side as being the victims and the other side as the perpetrators, because the lines are always blurred in a long-drawn-out war, or in any war, for that matter.

When those lines are blurred, you don’t want to face up to the truth of what happened, and if you don’t face up to the truth then you risk transmitting a distorted view of reality to the next generation. When my son was born, I felt an overwhelming need to understand, capture and address what I felt were the truths of the war.

It was important to tell the story from a Tamil perspective because the film brings into question the very idea of a Tamil identity. Fundamentally, it also brings forth the question of what it means to be human. It asks, how do we choose to deal with all the representations of identity, of nation, of community, of family?

Al Jazeera: How would you describe the political climate in Sri Lanka today? Is there still a sense of division?

Ratnam: Yes, pretty much. While there has been a change of government after the end of the civil war, the fundamentals of the ruling class’ political ideology – to divide and rule – remain unchanged. There is an absence of political will to look back and at the past with a view to facilitate reconciliation between people. It’s just not a priority.

The government just wants to put people on the bandwagon of progress and development, which is frankly little more than a rat race. When the past emerges, both sides – whether they be the state or the Tamil ideologues – seem more inclined to add fuel to the fire in an attempt to flare up more and more hatred towards each other. So the ruling conditions have not changed at all.

What disappoints me most is the lack of political will by the government, even though they came into power by saying they would be looking into the past. In fact, “reconciliation” was one of their key buzzwords, which they used for their election campaign – alas, it has all been forgotten.

How to celebrate 71st year of our independence with national unity

By Jehan Perera-February 5, 2018, 12:00 pm 

This year’s Independence Day celebration was marked by a strong effort of the government to represent the diversity of the country’s people in the cultural expressions during the official events at Galle Face. In keeping with the new tradition set by the government in 2015, the national anthem was sung in both Sinhala and Tamil. But more than on previous occasions, the traditional dances and other cultural items that were conducted represented all the communities in their diversities. At the level of the people, this cultural expression represented the reality of the capital city, and also other parts, in which there is a strong representation of all the ethnic and religious communities who coexist in friendship and harmony for the most part.

What was unfortunately absent at the Independence Day celebration was any expression of political unity in which those of different political persuasions and belonging to different political parties could put their differences behind them to unite on at least one day. If the absence of the Joint Opposition from the Independence Day celebrations showed the bitterness of the division on party political lines, the absence of the main political party of the Tamil people, the TNA, from the Independence Day events demonstrated the reality of an ethnically divided polity that continues even 70 years after the colonial departure. Although holding the mantle of the Leader of the Opposition, TNA leader R Sampanthan failed to attend the ceremony in Colombo.

Ethnic polarization

In a move that will highlight the continuing ethnic polarization in the country, the TNA said its members would not participate in the Independence Day National Celebration due to local government election campaign activities in the Trincomalee District. TNA and Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan had informed this in advance to the Independence Day Celebrations Committee. Some candidates of several Tamil political parties also decided to hoist black flags in the North and North East areas to express their displeasure with the prevailing state of affairs in respect of Tamil rights stating that although the country had gained freedom 70 years ago, the Tamil people had not yet tasted true freedom. The prevalence of a high degree of ethnic nationalism indicates that it will remain a potent force for the foreseeable future.

BLIGHTED HOPES

The absence of Tamil political representation from the Independence Day celebrations this year was in contrast to three years ago. On February 4, 2015, little more than three weeks after the Tamil polity voted virtually in unanimity for the common candidate of the opposition parties, and ensured President Maithripala Sirisena a narrow win, the TNA took part in the Independence Day celebrations. The victory of President Sirisena at the presidential election was only made possible by the joining together of a coalition of opposition parties representing different political ideologies and ethnicities. There was hope of speedy reforms that would take into consideration the grievances of rights violations suffered by the ethnic and religious communities. But, this has not happened as yet, and as a result of this blighted hope, the power of narrow ethnic nationalism in the country continues to grow.

Until the declaration of local government elections two months ago, the government was making progress on both constitutional reform and transitional justice in terms of dealing with the past issues of human rights violations. These included the report by the Steering Committee of the Constitutional Assembly which presented options for the most contentious issues in the constitutional reform process, including the questions of whether Sri Lanka would remain a unitary state or move in the direction of a federal state. But with the local government elections looming and in recognition of the politically sensitive nature of the constitutional reform and transitional justice processes, and to their vulnerability to being exploited by nationalists, the government put those issues on the back burner in the run up to the local government election. Even though the solution to the ethnic conflict is a national issue of utmost importance, it remains subordinate to the other important goal of winning elections and remaining in power as necessary in an electoral democracy.

It will take more time for the Tamil leaders who have to obtain public support from the Tamil polity to attend the Independence Day celebrations. When the TNA attended the 2015 Independence Day celebrations this was the first time since 1972. There is the need for a political solution to the ethnic conflict without which such support will be difficult to generate. A political solution has still to happen, even though Sri Lankans have had 70 years to work out the answer. The hardest problem for the government is to find a solution to the ethnic conflict that is endorsed by all communities. The differences between the parties, even within the government alliance, are very great. The past three years have not been sufficient for them to develop enough trust and understanding between themselves to reach out to each other and compromise on their differences.

TNA DISADVANTAGED

The TNA has been disadvantaged by the slow progress made by the government to address the issues uppermost in priority to the Tamil polity. The TNA has undergone a break up with the EPRLF leaving to form a rival coalition with other Tamil parties. The TNA is under severe attack from Tamil parties that are opposed to it on the grounds that it is complicit with the government in failing to address priority issues of concern to the Tamil people. The criticisms are that the TNA leadership’s general support of the government has prevented it from wresting more political and economic rights from the government. These include failure to utilize the constitutional reform process to negotiate a merger of the Northern and Eastern provinces and federalism. Unfortunately, in the case of the ethnic conflict, the anti TNA rhetoric which has the potential to harness Tamil nationalism also has the potential of provoking more Sinhalese nationalism.

The formation of a new Tamil political alliance, created to challenge the dominance of the ITAK led TNA, between the TULF of Anandasangari and the EPRLF faction of Suresh Premachandra, has been a blow to the monopoly of the TNA. In his Independence Day statement TNA leader Sampanthan’s called on the government to restart the constitutional reform process after the election, and to present the draft constitution. Due to its inability to show progress to the Tamil electorate, the TNA is losing ground to the Tamil nationalist parties which are more willing to take a confrontational course with the government. The expectation therefore is that the TNA will not be able to repeat its virtual monopoly over the Tamil electorate in the North and East. It is in these circumstances that the TNA chose to keep away from the Independence Day celebrations. Like the government, the TNA chose to prioritise the forthcoming local government elections.

The TNA’s manifesto for the forthcoming local government election states that that the solution it seeks with regard to the ethnic problem in Sri Lanka is similar to what was in the Oslo Declaration. This was the joint declaration by the representatives of the then UNF government and the LTTE at the third round of peace talks between the two parties in 2002. The negotiators on the two sides agreed in the Norwegian Capital in December 2002 to "explore a political solution founded on internal self-determination based on a federal structure within a united Sri Lanka." The TNA manifesto said that the same policy framework was placed before the people at the 2013 Northern Provincial Council election and the Parliamentary election in August 2015. These are the difficult issues that have to be faced and overcome if both the people and the political parties are to celebrate Independence Day in 2019 together.

The mantra of organisations that are successful

Tuesday, 6 February 2018 

“How long employees stay at a company, and how productive they are there, is determined by the relationship they have with their immediate supervisor” – Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner (leadership challenge)

As a leader, it is our job to focus on getting things done—on time, with acceptable quality, and within the allocated budget. That requires the leader to surround himself with people who could help create the culture he desires.

At the same time, we are supposed to be leading team members to deliver top performance. It isn’t therefore surprising when managers think that their top performers perform better when left alone by their managers.


New employees 

Most employees, when they join an organisation, they’re usually very enthusiastic, committed, and ready to be advocates for their new employer. Simply put, they’re highly engaged and motivated to contribute for the betterment of their employer. Often, that first three years on the job is their best.

Gallup Organisation research reveals that the longer an employee stays with a company, the less engaged he or she becomes. And that drop, costs businesses big in lost profit and sales, and in lower customer satisfaction and lower output. In fact, actively disengaged employees – the least productive – cost the company hugely per year in lost productivity.


Engagement 

So what can managers do to enhance employee engagement? What are the signs that employees are becoming disenchanted and demotivated, and what can managers do to reverse the slide?

One reason is that engaged employees tend to get the least amount of focus and attention from their managers, in part because they’re doing exactly what their manager needs them to do. However they are not “high performing machines.” Like the rest they need to be set goals, meet and exceed expectations, and charge enthusiastically toward the next tough task.


The mantra of organisations that are successful 
Therefore managers need to set clear expectations, give their best employees the right materials, focus on their development, and recognise their best performers – those are the strategies that drive employee engagement and performance across the organisation.


Best employees 

As discussed above some managers mistakenly think they should leave their best employees alone to get on with their work. Great managers do just the opposite. Great managers spend most of their time with their most productive and talented employees because they have the most potential to create competitive advantage for the firm.

If a manager coaches an average performance from a below-average employee, she still has an average performer. But if she coaches a good employee to greatness, she gains a great performer. Therefore there is the need to refocus on that employee – on his skills, knowledge, and talents on a continuous basis. Employees who get to do what they do best every day move toward high engagement.

And last but not least, catch them doing things right and recognise them for excellence. Recognition is personally fulfilling, but even more, recognition communicates what an organisation really values, and it reinforces employee behaviours that reflect those values the organisation is known for, by their customers, public and society.

(The writer is a HR thought leader.)

Change Independence Day To Sri Lanka Day; The Day Free Education Scheme Was Passed

By Lacille de Silva –February 5, 2018

“The spurt in education which propelled Sri Lanka to achieve a high level of social development began even before the country gained independence” It further adds – “Dr. C.W.W. Kannangara who held the portfolio of education during this whole period is one person responsible for initiating a series of educational reforms that created a lasting influence on the history of this country”. (Education First, Ministry of Education).

The ‘Education Ordinance, No. 31 of 1939’ – a comprehensive ordinance covering all aspects of education to lay the foundation for a national system of education, was initially introduced purely on the initiative of the first Minister of Education Minister C.W.W. Kannangara (1931 -1947). This remains the basic law of Education in Sri Lanka to-date. After much debate, steps had been taken by Dr. Kannangara to introduce the Free Education Scheme embracing primary, secondary and tertiary levels. Free education is the sole contributory factor that energized the social upliftment in the country.

The then Indian Government’s representative in Ceylon, who had walked up to the then Minister of Education, Dr. C.W.W. Kannangara, after he was able to get the approval for his Educational Reforms Bill, in the State Council  had said – “Sir, You would be worshiped as a God if you had been in India”. It is time we Sri Lankans start worshipping Kannangara like a God. Kannangara belonged to the old breed of true patriotic national leaders. He was popularly known as the ‘father of free education’. Let me request all of you to call him the ‘Father of the Nation’, who had sacrificed his whole life to give us ‘FREE EDUCATION’. He was virtually  the greatest benefactor, who had committed himself tirelessly for a nation-wide project, based on egalitarian principles to eradicate the unjust system that existed then and to install the free education scheme – “The Pearl of Free Education”. His goal was to ensure a genuine democratisation of education through the provision of equal opportunities for all the children irrespective of social class, economic condition, religion and ethnicity. He had stressed that a curriculum was needed for every child in the country to develop his “head, heart and hands”. Kannangara had emphasised the need to develop (1) Academic knowledge (2) Aesthetic values and (3) Practical skills.

 

As the Minister-in-charge of Education Dr. Kannangara was responsible for implementation of the following:

1. To make available to all children a good education free of charge, so that education ceases to be a market commodity purchasable only by the affluent;

2. To make the National Languages the media of instruction in place of English so that opportunities of higher education and lucrative employment, which was available only for the urban elite, would be open to all others as well;

3. To rationalise the school system with equity and equality , so that educational provision is efficient and economical and accessible to every child;

4. To ensure that every child is provided with instructions in the religion of his/her parents, and is not taught any other except with the concurrence of the parents;

 

5. To protect teachers from exploitation by owners/managers of privately owned educational institutions as the profession of teaching had to be accorded with dignity and respect if schools were to be well-staffed with dedicated teachers, and teacher training;

6. To make adequate provision for adult education;

7. Establishment of Central schools (since 1941(1941 3; 1945 – 35; 1950 – 50)) in locations outside major cities to provide high quality secondary education to the rural outstations;

8. Primary schools in every village within 2 miles;

9. Scholarship Scheme with free board and lodging in Central School hostels;

10. Established the University of Ceylon, first fully fledged degree granting university, by the Ceylon University Ordinance 20 of 1942;

11. Upgraded Pirivenas, educational establishments of Buddhist Monks;

12. Increased educational opportunities for girls;

13. Abolished the practice (two tier school system)where English was taught to privileged students and the vernacular language to rural masses and introduced teaching English to the masses. His aim was to provide English Education to the rural poor through Central Schools, without discrimination;

Dr. Kannangara always steadfastly had stood up his grounds, I quote – “……No man should be insensitive to public opinion in discharging a public trust…. I shall do nothing else; not wave one bit. I shall do my duty according to the dictates of my conscience”. Dr. Kannangara had bulldozed his way accordingly to eradicate inequality that existed in the society then. He had only been interested in everything that was beneficial to the people. Owing to this reason, Sri Lanka had been able to achieve the status of a country with one of the highest literacy rates among developing nations as a result of the free education system. This no doubt was a landmark achievement, which opened the door for lower and middle class categories to reach their upward social mobility.

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SRI LANKA LOCAL AUTHORITY ELECTION 2018: STATS, ACTORS, ISSUES AND PROSPECTS

05/02/2018

Sri Lanka Brief Update/ 05 Feb 2018:  Sri Lanka Local Authority Election  2018: Stats, Actors, Issues and Prospects .
Stats

1. Local authority elections will be held on the 10^th February 2018, in the 341 Local Authorities of Sri Lanka (that consists of 24 municipal councils, 41 urban councils and 276 divisional councils). 15.8 million Sri Lankans are eligible to vote at this election and 8293 (or more) members are expected to be elected to run the councils for the next 4 years.
2. Elections will be held under the recently reformed electoral system, whereby 60% of the members will be elected according to the first-past-the-post system and the remaining 40%, through closed list proportional representation.
3. Under the new electoral system, a minimum of 10% and 50% of total candidates must be female, respectively, under the first nomination paper and the additional nomination paper. The amended Local Authorities Election Act mandates that at least 25% of members in each local authority consists of women.
4. The previous local authority election was held in 2011 and this is the first election held after the 2015 presidential and general elections in which the incumbent president Rajapaksa was defeated by the common opposition candidate Maitripala Sirisena.

Actors

5. Four national parties are contesting countrywide; namely Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) led by President Sirisena, United National Party (UNP) led by PM Wickremasinghe, Sri Lanka Freedom Peoples Front (SLPF) led by former president Mahinda Rajapaksa and People’s Liberation Front (JVP) led by Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
6. In the Northern Province where Tamil people make up the majority, Tamil National Alliance, which has dominated North- East electoral politics for years, is confronted by two alliances; namely the TULF- EPRLF combination and Tamil Civil Society Forum.
7. In the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress which has traditionally dominated Muslim politics is challenged by Sri Lankan People’s Congress of Minister Rishard Bathurdeen and SLMC’s former General Secretary Hassen Ali. Eastern Province has roughly equal number of Tamil, Muslim and Sinhalese populations and therefore, the TNA as well as mainstream political parties based in the South too, are contesting.
8. Many other numerically smaller political groups and independent groups also have entered the play.

Issues

9. Although local authorities are supposed to address issues on the ground locally, almost all campaigns of South-based mainstream political parties are exclusively based on national issues. Political corruption occupies a central place in the election campaigns.
10. President Sirisena has taken the anti-corruption campaign as his party’s main slogan and his foremost mission. The President continues to attack his coalition partner PM Wickremasinhe and his former leader Rajapaksa, over allegations of large scale corruption. Sirisena has openly accused PM Wickremasinghe and the UNP of purposely delaying legal action against former president Rajapaksa and former defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.
11. PM Wickremasinghe is campaigning for economic development and ‘taking the country forward’. Some of the party loyalists of UNP are asking for a mandate to form an UNP-only government. PM Wickremasinghe has refrained from attacking his coalition partner, President Sirisena and has assured that regardless of the outcome of this election, the UNP will be governing the country till the next general election in 2020.
12. Former president Rajapaksa has taken up the issues of defending war victory and war heroes and corruption of the present government. The coalition he leads, calls on the voters to make Rajapaksa the PM.
13. Tamil National Alliance demands that the Government enacts a new constitution within this year and campaigns on transitional justice issues. The TNA continues to defend its relationship with the Government.
14. Although this local authority election has become a national level political contest, the issues of democracy, human rights and accountability are completely lost in the Sinhala majority Southern discourse. Anti-corruption drive dominates the platforms which were anti-Rajapaksa – good governance platforms in 2015.
15. In the North, election campaigns are based on much delayed reconciliation, accountability and Transitional Justice process. Opponents accuse the TNA of betraying Tamil aspirations to Sirisena – Wickremasinghe government.

Prospects

16. UNP led by PM Wickemasinge is expected to win majority seats of the councils in the South, as the voter base of its main and traditional opponent SLFP has been divided. Wherever UNP fails to obtain absolute majority of the seats, there is a possibility of Sirisena and Rajapaksa groups coming together to form councils.  UNP and PM Wicremasinghe’s image has been considerably damaged due to the Central Bank Bond scam.  UNP has, to some extent, been able to galvanise its traditional voter base to counteract President Sirisena’s attacks.
17. Meanwhile, PM Wickremasinghe has emerged as the most diplomatic campaigner, promising not to break the coalition with President Sirisena and work together to strengthen national peace and reconciliation.
18. SLPF led by the former president Rajapaksa has gained considerable popularity in some areas of the South, mainly due to Rajapaksa’s war victory politics. SLPF has been able to attract large crowds and is expected to do well in the Southern Province.
19. President Sirisena and his party started the electoral campaign at number 03, but lately, the campaign led by Sirisena has made some headway. SLFP led by Sirisena is also expected to do well in some areas, like, Colombo and the suburbs, Uva and North Central Province.
20. If SLFP led by Sirisena obtains more votes and wards than the Rakapaksa led SLPF, Sirisena will be in a strong position to bargain with its major coalition partner UNP and see the end of Rajapaksa’s attempt to make a comeback. If the reverse occurs, Sirisena will be faced with an uphill task to command the SLFP as defections may take place.
21. JVP has received considerable sympathy from the politically active middle class. However, due to its dogmatic politics, it has not been able to become a national level alternative. If the JVP obtains over 8% of votes nationally, it will be able to expand its political base. So far it’s vote based has remained around 5%.
22. TNA needs to obtain a clear majority in the number of votes received and wards it captures to continue its critical collaboration with the Government. Anti-TNA groups have failed to come forward as one front, leaving TNA the best choice for Tamil people.
23. Support for Sri Lanka Muslim Congress will be weakened as Sri Lankan People’s Congress led by Minister Rishard Bathurdeen & SLMC’s former General Secretary Hassen Ali will eat in to the traditional SLMC vote base.
24. In any case, this local authority election will leave the coalition government weakened from within and outside. The developing political situation may adversely affect the transitional justice and constitutional reform process.  There will be a strong push for accountability on large scale corruption and the Rajapaksa camp will be facing the brunt of it.
25. After the 10^th February 2018, political configurations in Sri Lanka will change drastically causing the emergence of a new balance of forces.

Sri Lanka Brief Update:  Local Authorities Election 2018: Stats, Actors, Issues & Prospects
Compiled by Sunanda Deshapriya ; Edited by Uda Deshapriya

70 Years of Independence | Dr Farzana Haniffa

GROUNDVIEWS-02/05/2018

What does it mean to be Sri Lankan?

70 years after independence, our identity is defined mostly along majoritarian lines, which can be traced back to the divisions created under British rule. These divisions have contributed to violence and war, in the years since 1948.

To this day, there are communities who feel that what is commonly projected and defined as the Sri Lankan identity does not reflect their reality, or themselves.

Looking at this, Groundviews produced a series of videos exploring identity and belonging in a country emerging from war, but not yet out of conflict.

Senior lecturer and academic at the University of Colombo, Dr Farzana Haniffa talks about the emergence of a well-organized, anti-Muslim movement, post-war. She goes on to outline how this has translated to violence, under successive Governments.

Editor’s Note: To view another video from the series, click here. Click here for more content around Independence Day.

5 reasons why Sri Lanka is not a real democracy

Tuesday, 6 February 2018

The real meaning of independence is the freedom we the people of this land gained from the British Empire. What we must really celebrate is the victory of democracy over monarchy. The rule of the people over the rule of kings and queens. The rule by the people over the rule by a few aristocrats. The rule for the people over the rule for a few rich business people. For a nation to be independent is for it to be democratic. But we seem to have forgotten that democracy. Here’s why:


1. We are confused between ruling and governing

Words matter, because they have meanings; and meanings make understanding. We often use the words, ruling and governing interchangeably. But they have a very important distinction between them. A thermostat simply governs temperature, but it does not rule heat. Kings rule. Queens rule. But in a democracy only the people rule. Which essentially means there are no individual or group of rulers. It is categorically incorrect to use phrases like the “ruling class” or “ruling party” in a democracy.

And because there is no one person or group of persons ruling anybody, the people need a common device to rule themselves. And that is called the Constitution. But even the constitution is not a ruler, because the people ultimately rule the constitution by changing it from time to time.

Then who are these so-called politicians? They are simply the representatives of the people appointed by the people to serve only for the people (for a set period of time). The only words we should use to call them is “people’s representatives” and that’s it. Nothing more, nothing less. They are no “rulers”. They have specific jobs and deliverables clearly defined in the constitution which also spells out how to do their job. That whole process of them doing their job can be loosely called as “governance” and those representatives together is called the “government”. It does not mean governing the people.

(I believe the Sinhala words “Palanaya” suggests the concept of “ruling”; and “Palakaya” suggests the “ruler” and therefore should not be used in the context of governance. Yahapalanaya is more like ‘Good Ruling’ than ‘Good Governance’. We need to find a better word for ‘governance’ in its modern sense of regulation or management or maintenance than the notion of control.)


2. We venerate people’s representatives

The first principle of democracy is equality. Whether you are man or woman, rich or poor, graduate or not, all of us are equal. Which essentially means there are no superiors like kings, queens and aristocrats, or inferiors like slaves and subjects in a democracy. That is why democracy is the height of human civilisation. It took us thousands of years of social and cognitive evolution to finally accept that we are all equal. There is nobody with divine power given by some god or any authority to rule over the people.

Then why do we treat the “people’s representatives” as our rulers? It is an obscene remnant of the social conditioning over thousands of years of our own monarchical history followed by the British rule and practiced to date through our hierarchical school system and public administration.

No man or woman should kneel before any people’s representative including the president, the prime minister, ministers, members of parliament, provincial council members, municipal council members or any elected representative. None of them are any bit greater than any other citizen of this country. They are liable to the people and that’s the only reason they’re given some constitutional privileges. Not because they are superior to others.

This is the core reason why we believe that an individual whether it is a president or a prime minister or some candidate will magically bring good governance, economic prosperity, and solutions to social-environmental problems. In a democracy it is a fallacy to believe that one person or a group of people are the saviours of the people. That’s called monarchy or oligarchy, but certainly not democracy. Only a well-designed democratic system can do so, not an individual by him or herself.

(I believe it’s a misnomer to call the President as “Janadhipathi” in Sinhala because it suggests a kind of a “ruler” of the people. Presidency is merely another tool of governance, ruled by the Constitution i.e. the people. We need a better name for presidency more in the line of “Sabhapathi”.)


3. We act and think as majority vs. minority

We often confuse equality with freedom. We are free to identify ourselves as man or woman or any gender, but we are still equal. We are free to speak in Sinhala, Tamil, English or any language we like, but we are still equal. We are free to practice Buddhism, Hinduism, Catholicism, Christianity, Islam or any religion we want, but we are still equal. We are free to believe in any political ideology, but we are still equal. We are free to identify as Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim, Burgher or as any ethnic identity but we are still equal. Freedom is a function of equality, not the other way around.

And democracy can only thrive in equality. If we see ourselves as, and act in the interests of our own gender, ethnic, religious, lingual, and political identities, we completely fail in democracy. Because that’s when representative democracy is turned into identity politics. In Sri Lanka there is not much difference between identity politics and party politics because the political parties simply abuse identities. In a democracy, it is counterproductive to have parties that act solely for the interest of a certain ethnic, religious or any group of people. In true democracy, all parties should represent all people.

Political parties in Sri Lanka are solely responsible for creating all ethnic, lingual and religious conflicts. It is the age old “ruling” technique – “divide and conquer”. That’s another reason why the people see certain individuals or parties as their god sent saviours. Instead of fighting for THE People, many of them fight for segments of people. Until the people of Sri Lanka denounce all divisive parties and their leaders, we will not be able to fully realise democracy.


4. We live in poverty

And by poverty, I mean both financial poverty and intellectual poverty, both of which are interdependent. When the people are poor, they become dependent. And dependency is the key to “ruling” anybody. The very first strategy of any invader throughout the history is to break the economy and take away the wealth and the ability to generate wealth.

In this celebratory week of independence, I believe it is appropriate to remember how the British “rulers” in the early 1800s destroyed the entire Uva-Wellassa region, which then powered most of the country. By the orders of the “Governor” Robert Brownrigg the British Army burned down the granaries, houses and paddy fields, and massacred the farmers and their children. That region is the most impoverished region to date.

Financial poverty makes people stand in mud through rain for hours in political party rallies, while intellectual poverty makes people pay for the 100-foot cut-outs of election candidates. Financial poverty makes people walk behind party leaders for hours under the scorching sun, while intellectual poverty makes people pay for lunch packets and alcohol.

Financial poverty makes university graduates stand in queue to get a job from a minister, while intellectual poverty makes people suck-up to ministers to get a chairmanship or a directorship in a public enterprise. Financial poverty makes people elect thugs, teledrama actors and corrupt businessmen as their representatives, while intellectual poverty makes people appoint thugs, teledrama actors and corrupt businessmen to public institutions like for example the Central Bank...

The richest 1% banked 82% of the entire wealth created in the world last year (Oxfam 2017). That’s enough money to end global poverty seven times over! In Sri Lanka in 2016 the richest 10% enjoyed the same amount of income as the poorest 70% of the country’s people (DCSSL 2017). As I always say, “there is no such thing called poverty, only inequality”.

We need radical solutions to tackle the poverty issues. The Social Enterprise movement which we started a few years back is a pragmatic way to change the socio-economic system and future-proof it. But until Sri Lanka’s banking and finance, telecommunications, manufacturing and service sector giants truly understand the need for inclusive economic growth, we will continue to struggle in realising full democracy.


5. We use old, broken, corrupt systems

Democracy is a living thing. It is born by the people. It is nurtured by the people. It is protected by the people. It is saved by the people. And every time it dies, democracy is reincarnated by the people. We are using 19th century tools to practice democracy today. The system of casting votes against party symbols every four to five years to just elect representatives is such a gross simplification of the vast and beautiful democracy.

We need to innovate how we practice democracy in the 21st century. Democracy shines when the people are engaged with it every moment. We need to adopt new technologies to inform, discuss and debate about any and every matter that is of interest to the people. We already see such discussion and debates happen on social media. But we need to find ways to make those people’s opinions heard in real decision making.

The Liquid Democracy movement and the Sovereign Blockchain project is pioneering that innovation around the world. Liquid Democracy will give the “sovereign power” of the people back to the people. It will breakthrough so many psychological and physical systems of power. It will gradually remove all of the above challenges, even the artificial borders within countries and between countries. The eventual borderless world, the “Democracy Earth” is in the making. And it is time we start that journey in Sri Lanka.

We invite all interested people for a free and open discussion on Thursday 8 February starting at 6 p.m. at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf at the Orion City premises in Dematagoda (facing the Baseline Road). For more information please visit website www.chandaya.org or contact me on eranda@democracy.earth.

(The writer is a Social Entrepreneur and Ambassador for Democracy Earth.)

Sack Uva CM: CaFFE tells President

2018-02-05

Referring to the incident where Uva Province Chief Minister Chamara Sampath Dassanayake is alleged to have attempted to assault a Buddhist monk three months ago, Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) Executive Director Keerthi Tennakoon today urged President Maithripala Sirisena to sack Chamara Sampath with immediate effect.

He told Daily Mirror the incident, which had taken place at the Chief Minister’s office, was swept under the carpet because of insufficient evidence on the incident.

“The Uva Province Chief Minister, who is charged with forcing the Badulla Tamil Girl's School Principal to kneel at his feet and attempting to assault a Buddhist monk, is no longer eligible to hold the post of Chief Minister.The video clip which clearly shows the latest incident is now circulating on social media websites,”Mr. Tennakoon said.

He said this latest incident too should be investigated and sack the chief minister without delay.  (Sheain Fernandopulle) 

Video by Sanjeewa

SIS polls survey predicts victory for executive president only in 3 local bodies out of 341 ; Flower Bud -42; UNP -238 !

(Lanka-e-News - 03.Feb.2018, 9.45AM)  On 10 th of February ,local  government elections for 341 local councils is to be held , and president Maithripala Sirisena after betraying the national government wholesale is (ab)using his full executive powers while uttering all the possible lies in his characteristic style during the election campaign. Despite his dastardly and desperate  efforts , according to the final round of the latest survey conducted by the State Intelligence Service (SIS) had revealed , the Maithri- SLFP group will win only in three local councils based on reports reaching Lanka e news. 

This report had already been handed over to the chiefs of of the security council including the minister of law and order  , the president and the  Prime Minister . 

The SIS report predicts  , the UNP will emerge victorious in 238 of the 341 local councils ,  the Flower Bud will secure victory in   42 councils , and as regards the  remaining number of councils , the victories will be shared between the Tamil and Muslim political parties . The report also states the JVP will not win even  in a single local  council .

The president after receiving the report had said ,’ what matters to me is the percentage of victory of the SLFP Miathri  group.’ However the SIS has intimated to the president the Maithri-SLFP group will only  secure  less than 10 % victory.

The electorate where the Maithri –SLFP group will win  is   Polonnaruwa district  , and that will be in 3  local Councils although there are 8 local bodies this time. (Earlier there were only 7 councils until a new council was established )  .In other words in 5 councils in the fortress of Sirisena ‘raja’ , the latter is going to face defeat .

Meanwhile , based on unofficial reports  , most postal votes of the three forces under the president have been cast in favor of Flower Bud , while a majority of the votes of the police have been cast for the UNF elephant symbol .

Fundamental theory of Democracy

The fundamental theory of Democracy which applies following  elections is , the new mandate overrides and negates  the old mandate .In accordance with that , president Maithripala who is  carrying the leadership of the Maithri SLFP group on his shoulders like a coffin to all the districts across the country will be able to secure victory in only  3  out of the 341 local bodies in  which circumstances he cannot truly continue as president of the country.

If he has an iota of  shame in him , this is the opportunity for him to prove that by resigning  honorably . The opportunity is also knocking at his door to refute the widespread allegations against him that he is a most ungrateful  ‘talking animal’ only.

It is well to recall how a former  prime minister of England when he lost at the referendum ‘Brexit’ led by him , he  immediately resigned of his own volition the following day because the opinion he steered forward  was defeated,   without anybody requesting him to do so ,even when he had three years more to go on as P.M. ( and his party too  was still in power in  Parliament)

If President Sirisena is truly  introducing a new political culture , he must set an example by tendering his resignation  following the humiliating defeat without disgracefully clinging on to the exalted post like a blood sucking leech .

Besides , Sirisena’s SLFP  will be facing defeat for the third time on this occasion. This time if it is going to be a crushing defeat , it is while he himself had been the president for three long years !  In the circumstances , it is high time he realized his limitations and instead of trying to do things which are beyond his capacity , resigns the post of leader of the SLFP , at least for  its  betterment.

A mean Machiavellian leader like Sirisena who is faceless ,rudderless , unscrupulous and mendacious has only demonstrated so far he has  no  means or methods to earn victories for the country or his party ,let alone his family. A modern family hopes that their children will succeed in education. They do not hope , no not for all the world ! their elder daughter should elope with a fisherman or the younger daughter should play ‘games’ with a sand miner to ultimately be buried with him in shame . 

The other members of the party should therefore understand ,because of capricious and   crooked leaders of the SLFP, its members had to resort to all the villainies and treacheries in their own search  for secret and safe berths in others’ camps .

53 years old JVP

If leader of the JVP ,Anura Dissanayake who always says , ‘’In  2020, the country will be JVP’s’’ cannot win a single local body election , let alone winning over the country , that party should take a decision against that failed leader. Otherwise , while bragging  about a socialist revolution for the past 53 years , the vicious cycle of violence which include their committing murders , seeking elections and again committing murders and so forth will continue. Until Anura Dissanayake loses his mental equilibrium (unless he is not already) and dies, he will have to go on with his seeking elections , committing  murders , forming  alliances and putting through sordid deals in the future too in the same way as were done before. Nowhere in the world there exists a 53 years old decaying party which captured power after becoming that old. In the future too , there can never be. 

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by     (2018-02-03 04:31:20)

Are Muslim Men Against Equality?

By Rizani Hamin –February 5, 2018

As a Sri Lankan Muslim woman working on women’s rights issues, this is unfortunately a question that my sisters and I ask ourselves almost everyday. 

More so in light of information surfacing about drastically contradicting viewpoints on key issues amongst members of the 2009 government appointed Committee, which was set up to recommend reforms to the 1951 Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA). 

The debates surrounding the MMDA in Sri Lanka – similar to the debates around issues involving Muslim women globally – have become, to put in simple words – a gender war. 

The division between men and women on opposing sides of the debates is becoming more and more distinct. Muslim women have been at helm of advocacy and activism for MMDA reforms for decades, amidst everyday allegations of ‘feminist, western, Zionist, anti-marriage, anti-Muslim and anti-Islam agendas’ and despite repeated risk, threat and intimidation faced by women from members of the same community. 

 

The number of supportive Muslim men who truly believe in equality of men and women and are willing to articulate and advocate for it – we can literally count on our fingertips. 

The split of opinions within the 2009 Committee is no surprise, as indicated last year with ACJU’s alternate report. In fact it is well documented that the biggest opposition for progressive MMDA reforms has been from Muslim men who are considered religious and community leaders and who supposedly hold the ‘best interest of the Muslim community at heart’. However it is the limited reaction from some and absolute silence from other ordinary Muslim men, whom we hoped are more in touch with everyday realities, that has been more appalling. 

So what is it? What is so wrong about Muslim women asking for a law that will guarantee rights for both husbands and wives and promotes a marriage based on mawaddah wa rahmah (love and compassion), rather than harm and fear?

What is so impossible about a law that will guarantee legally, that Muslim children get the same protection of their rights as the rest of their non-Muslim peers? That having the minimum age of marriage as 18 means children have more opportunity for education and skill development so they have more options in life and are able to pursue them if they choose to do so? Will this hurt or help the Muslim community if our children have more time and chance to develop their potential?

What is so satanic about Muslim women upholding their belief in a humane religion of Islam and demanding for a MMDA that will limit the possibilities of discrimination and injustice against women and instead safeguard marriages?

Read More

Welikanda SLFP woman candidate sexually abused

2018-02-05 09:

Welikanda Police said that it has received a complaint on Saturday (3) from a SLFP woman candidate that she had been sexually harassed by four political opponents.

She is contesting for Welikanda Pradeshiya Sabha in Polonnaruwa District in the up-coming local government elections. According to the complaint, she had been harassed on Saturday night. The Police said that no suspect has been taken into custody so far and that the investigations were being made in this regard.

The Police officers of the Welikada Police are investigating the incident under the directions of the Polonnaruwa Senior SP Laksiri Wijesena. (K. G. Karunarathna)

Reservoir sedimentation is on the rise with climate change

Tuesday, 6 February 2018

Climate change has posed many threats to the world and these threats seem to be increasing gradually. Increased frequency of floods and droughts, rising atmospheric temperatures, rise in sea level due to glaciers melting are widely accepted as real consequences of climate change and the list goes on. Sri Lanka has not been spared this fate and during the past few years, even we have observed unusual weather patterns creating massive floods. Kelani, Gin, Nilwala and Kalu Ganga generated recurrent floodwaters causing significant damage to the economy. The list goes beyond just these four rivers as many other rivers also overflowed during heavy downpours, causing damage to lives and property. Conversely, the frequency of prolonged drought periods in certain parts of the country has also increased. The agriculture sector suffered greatly due to these droughts either through crop damage or reduced yield. The soaring price of coconut in the current market is one such example. Export agriculture products such as tea faced quality issues. Scarcities of drinking water were also reported in some districts.


Effects of reservoir sedimentation

Although we are focusing on floods and droughts, very little attention is currently being paid to reservoir sedimentation caused by catchment soil erosion. One reason behind that is the difficulty of sediment quantification as it involves costly methods like bathymetric surveys. According to sources at the Mahaweli Authority, the entity in charge of Mahaweli system reservoirs, a bathymetric survey has so far only been carried out for the Randenigala reservoir. Reservoir sedimentation is an issue faced the world over. However, as a country which heavily depends on reservoirs for a multitude of uses, the question is whether we can take our reservoirs for granted. Flood mitigation, reliable water supply for agriculture and human consumption and hydropower generation are some of the main benefits we obtain from our reservoir system.

Although sedimentation cannot be completely avoided, the rate of sedimentation is of vital importance as it is proportional to the decrease of active storage capacity of a reservoir. Higher the sedimentation rate, shorter will be the active life of a reservoir. According to a recent study done by the writer, the soil erosion rate in the Mahaweli upper basin indicated an increasing trend. With the climate change, rainfall intensities have increased and higher intensity rainfall escalates the soil erosion process. This issue is further aggravated by improper land use and other human practices taking place in reservoir catchment areas. Overall, the consequences of reservoir sedimentation would affect many sectors of the country. Therefore, it is imperative that we focus on the issue of increased soil erosion and the resultant reservoir sedimentation as the consequences if we do not take timely action are potentially devastating.

Constructing reservoirs is one of the most effective structural measures that can be taken to mitigate flood risks for most rivers. Simultaneously, they would help mitigate the impact of droughts. With the implementation of the Mahaweli development program, major reservoirs like Kothmale, Victoria and Randenigala were constructed, together with some other medium scale reservoirs. This helped prevent the area downstream of the Mahaweli River from being one of the most flood prone areas in Sri Lanka. Similarly, flood risks for many other river basins have been reduced with the construction of reservoirs. Although reservoirs are a good structural method to mitigate floods, their effectiveness depends on their storage capacity. When reservoir capacities upstream are reduced as a result of sedimentation, the flood volumes downstream are increased by almost an equal volume increasing the risk of overflow and flooding of the surrounding areas.

Another sector that would be affected by reservoir sedimentation is the agriculture industry, especially irrigated paddy cultivation. When the storage capacities of the reservoirs are reduced, they will be unable to provide water to the same area of land as planned in early stages. As a consequence, the area cultivated would have to be reduced. The end result would be a reduction in the total agricultural production. With the growing population, Sri Lanka has to carefully consider the most efficient way to meet growing food demand locally without resorting to importation of foods.

Another concern would be with regards to the generation of electricity using hydropower. Reduction of the storage capacities of the hydropower reservoirs would lead to a reduction in the energy generation capacity as well. The current practice is to meet this deficit through non-renewable energy sources. This would be detrimental to the country as we would have to import petroleum and coal in larger quantities in order to increase thermal power generation. Further issues arise from sediment coarser than 0.1 mm greatly accelerating the erosion of turbine runners and other mechanical parts of hydropower stations. This also reduces power generation efficiency while incurring additional costs for more frequent service and repairs of this equipment.

In some areas, water is extracted from existing reservoirs as drinking water for human consumption. When the capacities are reduced due to sedimentation, conflicts can arise over the use and management of water at the regional level. Attention has been paid by the relevant authorities on constructing reservoirs as drinking water sources. This is a wise move as average stream flows are insufficient to meet demand during dry weather periods. The Demodara reservoir across Baduluoya constructed by NWS&DB is one such new project to cater to the drinking water needs of the people in the area. The proposed Basnagoda reservoir, intended to provide drinking water to Gampaha and Wee Oya reservoir to Colombo are some of the other projects being implemented. As these reservoirs are comparatively small, it is possible to remove sediment provided they are equipped with such structural arrangements. However, with increased sediment inflows, the treatment of water for drinking will be more difficult and costly.


Catchment protection as a solution

Removal of sediment in reservoirs by methods such as power flushing could cause serious environmental impacts downstream. Removal of sediments by dredging is costly and locating suitable places for disposal is also difficult. In order to mitigate soil erosion, it is necessary to identify erosion prone areas and proper measures have to be implemented to alleviate erosion. Further, future developments within these areas, which may take place to cater to the demands of an ever increasing population, would have to be well planned to prevent soil erosion. Although erosion management is widely recommended, implementation seems to be problematical owing to the lack of support from land users. Even if effectively implemented, these reservoir sediment management options are not sufficient to overcome the situation and need a sustainable solution is required.


Increasing storage capacity 

Sri Lanka has still not utilised the full potential of available water resources. Nearly 25% of the annual rainfall received flows to the sea as runoff. Total rainfall storage capacity of the country can be further increased by constructing more reservoirs. The potential capacity increase would be much more than long term capacity loss due to sedimentation. If implemented, they would mitigate both flood and drought issues and satisfying agricultural and drinking water needs, while some even have the potential of generating hydro power.

In the Kelani basin, although construction of multipurpose reservoirs like Holombuwa, Nawatha, Rucastle and Wee Oya were proposed a considerable time ago, they have not been able to be implemented due to land acquisition issues. Similarly, Madugate, Hiniduma, Thawalama in Gin Ganga and Digili Oya, Hulandawa and Siyabalagoda in Nilwala Ganga are some potential locations for reservoirs provided lands can be acquired for implementing them. Likewise, there are many more potential locations for reservoir construction in other river basins, most of which have been suspended due to land issues. Political misleading is also a common factor which aggravates the situation. Therefore, national level decisions have to be made in order to implement these proposals. At the same time, fair compensation schemes have to be formulated for those who would be affected by these projects. The sooner these works are implemented, the better the economic benefits.

(The writer is a Chief Engineer of the Irrigation Department and also works as a senior engineer in the World Bank funded Climate Resilience Improvement Project.)