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Sri Lanka: Hundred Days and After
The Governor of the Central Bank was summoned to the Bribery Commission and grilled for six hours. A three-month travel banwas imposed on him. That one incident demonstrates how far we have progressed since January 8th.
The journey away from Rajapaksa Rule towards democracy, accountability and the rule of law has been far from perfect; it has […]
A Sri Lankan victory: How a country became a model of democratic courage
“I think I’ll call it morning….”
Gil Scott-Heron[i]
Neither their dire warnings nor our nightmarish fears materialised. The election ended as it should, in a peaceful change.
A large chunk of credit for that unexpectedly felicitous end should go to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Had he tried to resist the results illegally and unconstitutionally, as some of his […]
The Sihalaramaya Syndrome
“…superficial unity, which is the result of the denial or the sacrifice of differences”.
Tagore (The One Nationalist Party)
The regime reverted to business-as-usual literally on the day Navi Pillay left Sri Lanka.
The first salvo of lies against the UN High Commissioner Human Rights was fired, predictably, by
the state-owned Sunday Observer: “UNHRC chief Navi Pillay’s request to […]
Sri Lanka: A new Ministry of Law and Order in a lawless Land
“In our world there will be no emotions except fear, rage, triumph and self-abasement…. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless.”
Orwell (Nineteen Eighty-Four)
Just 24 hours after the new Ministry of Law and Order came into existence, an armed gang invaded the […]
Planned introduction of religious censorship yet another measure of divide and rule, Rajapaksa-style
“Lies are believed amongst every race;
And was any race ever the sole possessor of Truth?”
Abdallah al-Mar’arri (973-1057)
Religious bigotry
When Martin Wickremesinghe’s Bhavatharanaya was first published, some Sinhala-Buddhists (lay and ordained) wanted it banned for ‘insulting’ the Buddha.
There are American Evangelicals who think that Harry Potter books should be prohibited for promoting anti-
Christian values.
The BJP student union […]
The Lies They Tell Us
“The most alarming aspect of the video to me was the seemingly delightful bloodlust they appeared to have. They….seemed not to value human life…”
Bradley Manning (Statement at the Trial – referring to an American attack on Iraqi civilians)
The ‘Rajapaksa Model’ of warfare had eight fundamentals, Indian journalist VK Shashikumar wrote in the Indian
Defence Review . […]
Rethinking Patriotism; Re-imaging the Patriot
In honour of ‘Shanie’ (Lankanesan Nesiah)
“There can be no patriotism without justice… As soon as the right of one individual is violated, the right of everyone is jeopardised”.
- Georges Clemenceau
In the morning of January 13th 1948, Mahatma Gandhi began the final fast of his life.
The target of Gandhi’s last fast was not the Colonial rulers […]
From Weliweriya and the marauding army to Grandpass and the saffron robed thugs
“A five-month old baby-girl had been raped, in our Sri Lanka - a horror symbolic and symbiotic of the moral-ethical malaise affecting our society. That is a non-political issue, one which should concern all of us, irrespective of every difference. The fact that it has not engaged the attention of political and civil society and […]
Read MoreBullets for Water: Militarization comes home to the Sinhala Buddhist nation
“We asked for water tanks; they sent army tanks”
A woman resident of Weliveriya (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 […]
The Jekylls and Hydes of Religions
“Imagine a garden with a hundred kinds of trees, a thousand kinds of flowers, a hundred kinds of fruit and vegetables. Suppose, then, that the gardener….knew no other distinction than between edible and inedible, nine tenth of this garden would be useless to him. He would pull up the most enchanting flowers and hew down […]
Read MoreWednesday, May 1, 9:43 pm
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Issues
A Sri Lankan victory: How a country became a model of democratic courage
Issues
Sri Lanka: A new Ministry of Law and Order in a lawless Land
Opinion
Planned introduction of religious censorship yet another measure of divide and rule, Rajapaksa-style
Opinion
Opinion
Rethinking Patriotism; Re-imaging the Patriot
Issues
From Weliweriya and the marauding army to Grandpass and the saffron robed thugs
Opinion
Bullets for Water: Militarization comes home to the Sinhala Buddhist nation
Opinion
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