Archive for March, 2008

A Punchi Problem

Dr. Rohan Edirisinghe, in a recent paper he compiled quoted G.K. Chesterton in ‘The Point of a Pin’ – it isn’t that they don’t see the solution, it’s that they can’t see the problem. This line echoed in my head for all the nights that I sat on stage observing the audience during Ruwanthie De Chickera’s ‘Forum at the Punchi’ last week. For the unitiated forum theatre is a dramatic genre which compels the audience to involve themselves in the action on stage, suggesting methods in which the plot and characters can develop. Ideally, the play begins with what is known as a ‘stem’ scene, which leads the characters upto a point of crisis, which the audience is then presented with. This is the crisis that audiences will attempt – through the subsequent scenes – to understand and resolve. The characters that act out their parts will take the audience suggestions within the parameters of their characters and no dues…

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The Government must uphold the Rule of Law

The Rupavahini workers are being assaulted by goons. The workers allege that it is all the work of a Minister who stormed into their office a few weeks ago and intimidated their bosses for not publicizing his political speech. It is the fifth such attack and the politicized Police Force or Farce, seem to be in slumber. Hitherto it has been the Tamil and Muslim community that was at the receiving end of a murderous bunch cloaked with authority. Now it would seem it doesn’t’ matter if the victim is Sinhala Muslim or Tamil. All are fair game. What has happened to the Rule of Law? Abductions, disappearances, extra-judicial killings are rampant. Journalists are being killed or assaulted. But the President blandly states on TV that the government is not responsible. Whether it is responsible or not for the incidents it is responsible for failing to curb them. The Rule of Law is based on the premise that the state…

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Royal Thomian revisited

The Royal – Thomian is primarily about boys (including those disguised as older and wiser men). The general melee of a Royal – Thomian in our day would guarantee two things. More booze. More chaos. More riotous dancing. And then more booze. So I lied, that’s more than two – but in those days, we never kept count of anything during the Big Match. With fists flying at no one and everyone, the pitch was not the only place to crack balls. There were fights over girlfriends. There were fights over the last dregs of coconut nectar. There were fights over lyrics, deemed heretical by those who sang no better and on no less heretical topics. There were, however, never fights over religion or ethnicity. These mattered little, and the only boundaries that matters were those that raised the score. And while there were fights over territory, these were not linked to traditional homelands. Read A Royal Thomian family for…

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Travels in a Militarised Society – 7 – Cultural Iconography: Odel Present and Past

I enter Odel from the car park side with echoes of the student protest and the rubber bullets in my ears. I wet a hankie with my water bottle and wipe the tears from my eyes. Odel is bedecked with pre-Christmas colours: this old white colonial mansion is decorated with classy, elegant peacock coloured angels, birds and fairy lights. The day is hot as usual. As I cross the threshold, a soft mist of water from above the door baptises me; a gentle moment of luxury courtesy of the management. Then, less gently, the private security guards search my bag. I might be carrying a bomb! Inside, to the musak of Christmas carols, I float through the international world of fashion and opulence: Hugo Boss so handsome, Naomi Campbell on the catwalk, Ralph Lauren from top to toe, perfumes including special fragrances for men, Lush soaps for lush ladies, a Sushi bar, French and Italian coffees, wines from anywhere on…

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  • 7 Mar, 2008
  • 6 Comments
  • Colombo,
    Peace and Conflict

Travels in a Militarised Society 6 – Strolling along Ward Place, Colombo

It is 10th December 2007, Human Rights Day. I am taking a stroll along Ward Place from Boralla to Lipton Circus. To either side of me are new buildings that have been erected in the past 20-30 years. I am remembering my senior colleague, Reginald Mendies. Reg lost his hand reaching up to catch a bomb and protect the comrades ranked behind him during the mid-’50s language policy confrontations. During the ’90s he told me many stories about the geopolitical demographics of Boralla. He even had stories of individual buildings. What had happened here was this: in 1958 and 1983, thousands of Tamils of the area had to flee in a great rush to save their lives. Many were small traders who ran their businesses from street stalls or peddled their goods along the pavements. When they had to leave, they asked their Sinhala neighbours to safeguard their property until they would return to reclaim it and take up their…

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PRIVATISATION & LOYALTY IN THE WAR ON TERROR

A recent post by Indi on the correctness of allowing people with foreign interests to hold high military office got me thinking about the whole private military contract business. Coincidentally, I had just finished reading The Road to Hell by Brian Geddes, a British mercenary (or private military contractor as they are now called) in Iraq.Indi’s post basically pointed out that the SL Army commander, Gen Sarath Fonseka, the Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapakse, and a few others who are US green card holders, cannot be trusted to hold such high positions as their loyalties could possibly be divided. Regardless of whether Gota & Co are actually foreigners or not, I tend to think that nationality is beside the point when it comes to fighting a war — or cleaning up after it for that matter. The soldier of fortune or mercenary warrior has had a long career — one that parallels the history of the citizen soldier, both in length…

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Travels in a Militarised Society – 5

Again Boralla I do not remember how many times I crossed the Boralla Junction in my life but I do know that this relatively small area of less than two square kilometres has been a kind of cooking pot of much Sri Lankan culture, politics and intellectual life. When I pass the Boralla Cemetery, my mind goes back to many small incidents and key moments in Sri Lanka’s post-Independence history. I don’t have a chronological or complete way to describe these moments, but here are some bullet point recollections of a few incidents: • In the late ’50s and early ’60s, an assortment of people interested in the arts, culture and contemporary politics called itself Appé Kattiya (Our Group). One of the main personalities in this group was Sugathapala de Silva, a novelist, theatre producer and translator of Pirandello, Ionesco and Peter Weiss. Appé Kattiya discussions also considered Sartre, Camus, Beckett and other contemporary cultural innovators. Amongst the notable people…

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  • 5 Mar, 2008
  • 0 Comment
  • Colombo,
    Media and Communications

The Island newspaper offers a novel insight into corruption in Sri Lanka

Mainstream journalism in Sri Lanka is not without its lighter side. The headline of The Island newspaper today offers a refreshingly original take on corruption in Sri Lanka. Sadly, the same story on their website goes with a different title.

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THE CONTINUING VIOLATION OF THE SEVENTEENTH AMENDMENT: YET MORE UNCONVINCING EXCUSES

Rohan Edrisinha It is pertinent at this moment to examine why even now the 17th Amendment to the Constitution is not implemented. The media has reported that President Mahinda Rajapaksa told Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe during their meeting this week that he could not move forward in this regard because a parliamentary select committee is looking into deficiencies in the 17th Amendment. This is not a valid excuse because the 17th Amendment is part of our Constitution, it is already law. It is acceptable if a select committee wants to improve on the 17th Amendment but you must apply and implement the law as it is, and then if necessary improve it later. Everyone agrees that there are weaknesses in our Presidential system. Does that mean that until these weaknesses are overcome you don’t have Presidential elections or that nobody will hold the office of President? The excuse for further delay is utterly unacceptable. Furthermore, the parliamentary select committee as…

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Public Perceptions: National Security and/or Human Rights

Bhavani Fonseka and Pradeep Peiris Introduction The global war against terrorism has lead to a situation where the use of force, pre-emptive strikes, display of military power are justified in the name of defeating evil and protecting national security. In the wake of 9/11 and the death and devastation, the global war against terrorism was fuelled, with only one goal in place: to defeat terrorism. In this single minded drive to eradicate ‘evil’ there was no space for issues such as human rights, fundamental freedoms and civil liberties. The global war against terrorism has resonance in Sri Lanka, and has been conveniently used by the hawks within the present regime to justify and fuel the military campaigns. With the election of Mahinda Rajapakse in November 2005 as the fifth Executive President of Sri Lanka and his Sinhala nationalist policies, there has been a steady development and fuelling of nationalist sentiments among sections of society in Sri Lanka. On similar lines…

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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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