Archive for October, 2007

FEDERALISM AND THE UNP

Much has been said and written about the UNP’s supposed abandonment of federalism during the past week. Much of it completely misses the point. Whatever are the politics and motivations behind the UNP’s statement, in terms of the substantive contours of a possible constitutional settlement it delineates, there is nothing to suggest that the party has abandoned the federal idea as a method of power-sharing in a negotiated peace. The statement sets out the objectives of conflict resolution and constitutional reform as addressing the grievances of the Tamils, meeting the concerns of the Muslims of the North East, and assuaging the fears among some sections of the Sinhalese that devolution would lead to separation. The fundamental principles of such a negotiated political solution are respect for human rights, democracy, and the recognition of the plural character of Sri Lankan society, in which democratic support for peace must secure both majoritarian support as well as the inclusive support of all groups…

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One step forward, two steps back

Pradeep Peiris, Anupama M. Ranawana October 2007-10-03 Ranil Wickremasinghe has been labelled as the United National Party’s most unsuccessful leader to date. Whether you agree with this statement or not, it is a solid fact that this gentleman has lost a total of twelve elections during his tenure as UNP chief. Mrs. Kumaratunge probably felt rather blessed to have him as opposition leader during her presidential years, but her ex-colleague Mahinda Rajapakse seems to have benefited the most from Wickremasinghe, as the latter’s track record as opposition leader is currently at its worst point. Not only was he unable to portray the image of an aggressive opponent, but he has also had no luck picking the right and timely issue against the government, wasting time playing petty politics with Bhikkus and Benz cars and so on. With Mangala Samaraweera’s defection, Wickremasinghe is now attempting to create a unified opposition under the umbrella of the Jathika Sabhava. As a step towards…

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The Government’s farcical international relations

The traditional Sinhala press has failed to report on the unmitigated farce that constituted the President’s recent visit to New York and the United Nations and the dire state of Sri Lanka’s international relations and diplomacy in general. My article brings out some of the salient points. For example, that friends and relatives of the President’s wife and the Foreign Minister were also part of the President entourage, the exact number of which is still unknown. What is known however is that the entire motley posse stayed at the Ritz Carlton, where a standard room costs upwards of SLR 100,000 a night. Many in the group went for private visits and were not seen remotely close to the annals of the UN. This was an all expenses paid trip – down to mobile phone calls. The President and a group of 20 then went to Los Angeles and stayed at the Beverly Hills Peninsula Hotel, where a normal room costs…

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On the UNP’s “Repositioning”

The announcement by the United National Party (UNP) that it is “repositioning” itself on the issue of a political settlement of the ethnic conflict has been received with praise for pragmatism in certain quarters but mostly consternation, disappointment and confusion in others. The UNP which in government was party to the Oslo Declaration of 2002 and the Tokyo Declaration a year after, will not now use or insist on the mention of the word federal or federalism but will stress the need for meaningful power sharing as the pivotal idea on which a solution best suited to the needs of the country will be founded. . The repositioning of the party’s position is being presented as a constructive avoidance of semantic arguments and labels, but in reality is surely intimately connected to the plans to defeat the government on the budget and force a general election. The immediate objective appears to be to become more palatable to the JVP whose…

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Federalism or Nationalism? Fears and Promises

Many states, especially in the developing world are torn between entrenched mononationalism and the need to keep with the changing world. It is precisely because the ultimate aim of all human efforts should be to help shape the world into a better and safe place for all, that the normative value of the study of the relationship between federalism and nationalism becomes urgent. To that end as Burgess has convincingly argued, a true multinational federation holds promises not just for an individual state but as a possible future order in a globalised world. Therefore it is important to focus on federalism as a ‘peace-creating’ government model, because enough evidence suggests that federalism holds the capacity to engage with nationalism in a creative manner. What are the conditions under which federalism will be considered favourably? What are the challenges for this endeavour? How to conquer them? What is the most acceptable way to introduce federalism as a political solution to many…

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When the architects demur

“My party will act on principles and on behalf of the masses until it emerges victorious” – Ranil Wickremasinghe to media persons at Katunayake International Airport upon his return from a tour of India and Nepal in February 2007 during which time 18 UNP dissidents crossed over to join the Rajapakse Government. The frenzy over the UNP’s seeming volte-face regarding its stance on federalism is a result of a larger malaise – politics without principles. In attempting to convince us that the epithet of federalism is no longer a viable currency to woo voters galvanised by the populist rhetoric and war-mongering of the incumbent regime, the UNP party propaganda was also at pains to strike the right chord with those who looked upon it as a champion of a negotiated settlement to the ethnic conflict. As reported in The Hindu on October 2nd: The [UNP] party statement said a negotiated political solution must be found, based on renunciation of violence,…

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A night in war time …

Earlier today, a friend sent me an email saying he was reading Dr Rajan Hoole’s “Sri Lanka: The Arrogance of Power“. Michael gives a brief summary of the book, which I won’t go in to, and concludes the message with a poem, suggesting that “sometimes a poem in a few lines can express what a 1000 page treatise never can”. The poem is by a Miss Sivaramani Sivanandan, which can be found reproduced in the book. This is what Poole wrote about the poet in his forward to the book: The Tamil people would become liberated only when there is freedom for the creative use of the energies of their men and women. The best have been pushed into a frustrating life of dissidence. Its effects on a sensitive mind can be seen in the despairing poems of Miss. Sivaramani Sivanandan who was finally driven to suicide. I found the poem powerful and I’ve cut and pasted it here, from…

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  • 1 Oct, 2007
  • 11 Comments
  • Colombo,
    Peace and Conflict

The Maha Sangha and its Potential: Lessons from Myanmar

Sri Lanka 2007: political turmoil, inflation and a never-ending civil war. Where did this all start? POWER; the quest for power has lead SWRD Bandaranaike, JR Jayawardene and the Maha Sangha to embrace the disasterous path of racism and injustice. We all know and understand how SWRD and JR are among the leading causes for the rise in the current problems of this nation. A relatively less discussed cause has been the negative influence of the Maha Sangha in Sri Lankan politics. SWRD Bandaranaike, a member of the colonial aristocracy, recognized his inability to turn the electorate in his favour. He realized the the only way he would be able to achieve power was by swaying the majority Sinhala masses. Yet Bandaranaike was a person who had very little in common with the average peasant whose support he wished to gain- he was a notable member of the landed elite (who had close ties with the British Raj), he was…

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About Groundviews

Located at the Centre for Policy Alternatives in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Groundviews is a citizen journalism website that uses a range of genres and media to highlight critical perspectives on governance, reconciliation, human rights, the arts and literature, democracy and other issues. The site has won two international awards, including the prestigious Manthan Award South Asia in 2009. The grand jury's evaluation of the site noted, "What no media dares to report, Groundviews publicly exposes. It's a new age media for a new Sri Lanka... Free media at it's very best!"

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