Comments on: For Lasantha and others

By: justitia

justitia — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 13:32:20 +0000

Dayan Jayatilleke forgot to mention that prosecutions of those arrested for murders of persons whose ‘floating bodies’ in Diyawanna Oya and other waterways around colombo appeared, did not happen, as state counsel of the attorney general’s department failed to appear on many dates and the judge stopped giving further dates for the case, in disgust.

By: Tmama

Tmama — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:18:37 +0000

Murders in human kind can be traces to stone age, in British Isles, evidence of cannibalism has been found in Cheddar Gorge. Large scale murders took place in the Potugese times, for forced conversion to Catholicism etc. More came under the English to quell the uprisings in Wellassa [1818] on and on.

I am confused by the confinement of the dates to 1915, 1948, 1972, 1979 etc. In Europe Christians used to be fed to the lians and the population enjoyed watching the spectacle. THousand years ago, Emperor Constantine came to power, who declared himself to be a Christian. Christians went on a rampage to kill and ransack multithiests. Fortunately books were saved by Librarians / rulers of Alexandria, and the feeding of other believer to lions had continues for few more centuries. THese facts most people conviniently forget and there was a edict to stop teaching history in Sri Lanka, I heard, few decades ago. One on you can remind me..

By: Groundtruth

Groundtruth — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 23:25:59 +0000

Why is the country swimming in blood ever since it became the “Democratic Socialist Buddhist Republic of Sri Lanka” in 1972? Is it none of these or is it in name only?

By any standards of such a state citizens can expect that the killers of Lasantha Wickrematunge be brought to trial especially as it was revealed in the press that his mobile phone had been recovered in the possession of certain suspects by the police. And it seems to have gone into cold storage (?).

Mention has been made of murders in bygone decades. Likewise, who killed Kumar Ponambalam, Leader of of the Tamil Congress? According to what one read a few years ago the related file of papers had been handed over by a SSP to the Highest Authority in the presenece of an HQI (as witness). Since then the case has gone cold!

Why have killings of people become such commonplace whether by JVP, LTTE or the State (most of all) in an independent sovereign country? Is it not time for serious introspection to discover the causes and remedy them at least for the sake of future generations ? Where lies good governance, citizen’s democracy, justice and the rule of law in all this? None of this have seemingly been aired in the context of the forthcoming election?

By: sunil gunasekera

sunil gunasekera — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 02:19:51 +0000

Continued..You make referenceto the Treaty Of Versailles,but have you posed for a moment to ponder and reflect on the fact that Germany had to be pounded into submissionbefore she was ,to all intents and purposes was virtually forced, to enter the negotiation process.What would you think is the alternative to defeating Germany militarily,to acheiving Peace?Obviously loss of more life, limb and resources for many more years to come if at all one would really consider it as an alternative.This I submit are the reasons that at this juncture the Goverment must only be subjected to pertinent and constructive criticism and scrutiny not scandal.Scandalous and egotistical journalism at a time like this would in my view only strengthen the hand of those who have throughout this conflict sought to destroy the country we areall trying to saveand those who have never and wil not ever wish us well.You have also made reference to the Bretton Woods agreement which I understan is precursor to the formationof the IMF,I didnt see the relevence to this matter.Thank you for taking the time to respond.

By: sunil

sunil — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 01:45:16 +0000

It is in this context that I am arguingthat a good and responsible journalist must exercise discretion,restraint,good judgement and objectivity.It is my view that any action that distracts the forces and those who command and guide them and detracts from them the confidence that they do not have the support of those they are trying to defend at the peril of their own lives.are not only unpatriotic but also dangerous to the wider community that which has ben paying the supreme price whilst waiting so longfor a viable alternative to the death and distruction.

By: sunil

sunil — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 01:34:33 +0000

Dear Jacob,__I am neither a historian nor a political scientist but a mere commentator on topical issues affecting our country at what I perceive to be a most critical and I have no doubt will go down in history as a momentous occasion for all Sri Lankans.The issues as I se them are "the long term greater good of the country on the one hand and on the other, individual freedoms and civil liberties of the citizens"It is accepted convention,is it not that individual freedoms would have to a take a back seat at times of war or severe national crises,for instance the Tsunami.Now is a time when the country is at war with most of us deem the most cruel enemy of the state and at a time like this should not the hands of the Government and its military forces be strenthened in every respect inclusive of with our moral support.

By: sittingnut

sittingnut — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 15:19:57 +0000

the irrationality of the debate here is illustrative and not unworthy of lasantha's rantings in his paper since inception; facts do not matter , ignorance is no bar to positive assertions , express prejudices as forcefully as possible. etc . for prime example of that sort of thing see indi's comments above.

why anybody wanted kill lasantha for that sort of stuff is beyond me, but then may be he was not killed for that . but then i am just being rational and that is not part of 'debate' here.

By: Sophist

Sophist — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 10:32:28 +0000

Dear Mr. Dayan your Excellency. For what reason we prithee Sir did the Govt Minister make the remarks attributed to him by the said Insidious Insurgent Indi? Do you deny he made the said remarks, along with the said Defence Secretary (god bless him) and our Excellency the Most High President? Were all those comments fabricated? How would you dear sir, respond, if an amabassadorial colleague was to ask you over some wine and cheese why your noble leaders made the said obviously justified comments? Do tell us…please. Buddy.

By: Jacob

Jacob — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 22:40:56 +0000

Continued…

Answer? Predominantly, Lasantha Wickramatunge in the print media. Supported by MTV/MBC Networks in the Audio/Visual media. What better time to execute both their destructions, when people are exhillerated over the war front victories? The state media purposely created an atmosphere by tagging labels on these institutions, so as to wash their hands off the incidents, as well as blame it on others. And our ill-informed public who take things at face value as always, brought the story.

A Govt. within the Govt. is Basil. Mahinder is a puppet, and Basil is said to be have been abroad (likely Singapore) all this while… Do bells ring atleast now folks?

DOES ANYONE NEED MORE CLEAR MOTIVES? Or are you so adamantly biased to see light in ANY of the above?

By: Jacob

Jacob — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 22:40:41 +0000

Continued….

And who are the ones who would dare to challenge the currupt and manipulative practices of the Basil wing? Who has exposed him up until now? Who came out IN THE MEDIA with the Nishantha Gajanayake fiasco? Who came out with the details? Who came out with the Mihin Air fiasco? Who came up with the evidence and cried foul over all currupt deals of the Govt. with details? Who IN THE MEDIA spoke of a possible secret deal between the Mahinder campaign and the LTTE during the 2005 Presidential Elections with details? Who exposed them all? Incase, who would continue to expose such practices in the future? Who would gather evidence in this regards too? Who is daring enough?

Continued….

By: Jacob

Jacob — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 22:39:46 +0000

Continued…

Has anyone wondered how Dallas Alaheperuma, Basil's ally came into power? He came via the vacant seat of an MP who unfortunately died. Just like Basil himself came in through the Muslim MP's death which in itself is a mystery. The president is speculated to have gone and met this MP at Apollo before he died, I wonder why a Head of State would visit him all of sudden. Very compassionate right? Back to my point, has anyone reaslised the fact that Dallas Allaheperuma has been at the forefront of most of the Govt. press conferences lately, above all other stalwarts of the SLFP. And Dallas being bosom buddies with Basil aint a secret.

Then there is Chapika Ranawaka and his jolly friends who radically propogate nationalism, and try earn their means through it. And Basil if to ever win a presidential election (his ultimate goal), needs the support of Champika's radical forces, as its the radical faction of our country that voted in Mahinda…and has been paramount in his propagation of the war.

Continued…

By: Jacob

Jacob — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 22:39:01 +0000

Continued….

The sense of the "Basil brand" of fear being instilled, the next strategy was about silencing SLFP stalwarts. Jeyaraj who had aspirations of becoming a possible future PM and also outspoken against Basil's antics within the Govt. being a mere adviser caused stir between the two, ultimately was taken out by Basil. Mangala too was forced into a corner so much so that he spoke out repeatedly against the conduct of Basil, then he was sidelined and out of the party he went. Maithripala Sirisena who spoke out within the party again against Basil narrowly escaped. Any others within the party who intended to speak against Basil were merely made to understand, they will not be spared.

Continued…

By: Jacob

Jacob — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 22:37:46 +0000

continued…

In the mean time, a possible deal between da LTTE and the Mahinda Presidential Campaign in 2005 emerges. The Tiran Alles, Sripathy Sooriyarachchi, Basil and Nishantha Gjanayake (later found being involved heading the White van squads) team together with Mangala started to breakup. This would have made a dire dent on Mahinda's presidency as well as any of Basil's future aspirations. How to deal with it, intimidate all involved…if that wasnt enough, dispose Sripathy Sooriyarachchi. So did he.

continued…

By: Jacob

Jacob — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 22:36:04 +0000

Continued…

Basil has been slowly but surely running (mismanaging) the entire state of affairs of the country at his whim, and Mahinda his puppet. If Mahinder doesn't comply, he can easily be disposed of in the name of LTTE. On the other hand, Basil is working brutally towards becoming the head of state after Mahinder (if Mahinder survives this and his next term)

If you look at the long line of events: Basil returns to Sri Lanka… becomes a mere advisor. His aspirations grow. He makes contacts among the military, white van fiasco starts. He earns millions of rupees from businessmen of all communities…muslims, tamils and sinhalese. He uses these new goon friends of his to intimidate MP's in parliament. MP's suddenly change sides. TNA MP's family members are abducted, and he gets a knack of being in power and in charge.

continued….

By: Jacob

Jacob — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 22:34:21 +0000

Clear inter-linked chain of events.

The latest trend seems to have kicked pace with the arrival of the Special Adviser to the President. A while back all existed including Jeyaraj (SLFP), Mahesaran(UNP), Raviraj(TNA), Sivaram (Journalist)… but the ones missing in action were a Special Adviser aka sibling and current man heading the transport ministry Dallas Alahapperuma.

Lately, Basil has been missing in action. Someone who has been quite outspoken and publicity savvy sporting the same outfit as his brother Mahinder, and after his last interview in a state television station paralelly by 2 presenters, he has disappeared. When talking of elements in tne Govt. and suspected Govt. within the Govt., and so on…does anyone picture him? Is his planned strategic exit, a means of making sure people never would picture him being guilty over the spate of brutality and events in the country? I strongly feel so.

continued…..

By: Jacob

Jacob — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 20:33:52 +0000

continued….

You may rejoice, but it will be back to haunt our kids and their kids. This has been the very same reason that wars around the world have never ended via brutal force. Treaty of Versailles and formation of the UN and so on with the Bretton Woods agreement, for good or for the worse has been the only path to settlement. It has been at the table that matters have been solved, and through discussions… For people like Sunil and the like-minded, either you a lack the ability to look into matters beyond face value, or your sanctity has taken over you ability to be unbiased.

By: Jacob

Jacob — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 20:33:05 +0000

In the name of your last line, if it exists, your comments will be read by many. I wish to reiterate to you mr.Gunasekera, and others who would read this note: Consciously speaking, I dont find genuine Sri Lankans objecting to the war or the defeat of the LTTE. However rampant curruption and manipulation of the affairs of Sri Lanka in the name of war, now that should be something we all collectively stand up for.

Most of us in the South seem to have lost the confidence of the tamil speaking people of this country. Unless and untl we look at the roots of this problem, and deal with it honestly, you will never see an end to it. Somewhere in the future, another force will unleash its wrath on the state. If Sunil thinks he can solve his family problem by brutally assaulting a member or eliminating them, I will agree the conflict can be put to an end. I doubt the people affected with war will ever wholeheartedly trust the state or the people of the other parts of the country.

By: Sie.Kathieravealu

Sie.Kathieravealu — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 11:14:51 +0000

First I express my deep sorrow for the loss of a good investigating journalist.
But we should consider in all seriousness the cause of his untimely death. Nearly everyone has expressed one and the same cause, namely that he was a great threat to someone and that person or persons was responsible for his death.

That he was exposing corruption was well known. It is no secret. So everyone agrees that "corruption" must be eradicated BUT no one has found a way of eradicating "corruption".

In my humble opinion "corruption" is one of the main causes of the present "war" that is costing the country dearly including the death of Lasantha Wickramathunga.

Please find below one of the ways of eradicating "corruption" and thus saving the lives of persons of the calibre of Lasantha Wickramathunga.

Current wars have to be ended and new wars have to be prevented. To achieve this goal the present system of Democratic Governance has to be changed to one that is really democratic in its true sense.

In the present democratic system it is only the powerful – speech, money and thuggery – can join the ruling class to suppress or convert others all others as their subjects and is a fertile ground for "corruption" in various forms to thrive.

In my opinion "Corruption" includes any kind of waste, neglect and every form of malpractice, dishonesty, abuse, misuse, unreasonable exercise of power, failure or refusal to exercise power, anything and everything left undone which results in the right of the people being denied or impaired.

Without a "just society" in existence much talked about "terrorism" cannot be eradicated. For the creation of a "just society" there should be "good governance" in the country. For the creation of "good governance" in the country "corruption" in ALL its forms must be eradicated. And to eradicate "corruption" the present democratic system of governance, where full power to make final decisions ultimately rests in the hands of one person, must be changed.

So the only way to salvage a country is to change the present system of governance to one that is truly democratic where the final decision-making power will NOT be in the hands of ONE person BUT shared by as many people as possible and thus restricting any individual hasty decisions that might lead to trouble everywhere.

To make a country truly democratic, the powers of the Parliament (the decision making supreme body of a country) should be split and separated and each of the separated powers must be handled by different groups of persons selected and elected by the people for the purpose of administering EACH SET OF POWERS or duties as the case may be so that no single group has the full power. All the groups together will make the whole. The country is not divided but the powers of parliament are divided/separated.

Different groups have to be elected for such purposes as administration, fiscal management, planning, implementing, policy and law making, auditing and for any other function that may be deemed necessary.

The group that is entrusted with the power to make laws and regulations shall not be given the duty/power of implementing/administering the laws and regulations.

Particular care should be taken to see that all powers are NOT CONCENTRATED in one place and that they do not overlap and there must not be a secret budget to be handled by a single person.

All transactions should be transparent including Diplomacy which has to be diplomatically transparent.

One set of powers dealing with the development of the country should be given to the set of representatives at the village level. The people of each and every village must be empowered to determine their way of life (lifestyle). The life-style of a village, its lands and resources shall not be disturbed by external forces.

All plans of development of a village that remotely/indirectly affects the village must have the concurrence of the people of that village concerned.

It has to be ensured that people are treated equitably regardless of their gender, race, colour, ethnic or national origins, age, disability, socio-economic background, religious or political beliefs and affiliations, marital status, family responsibilities, sexual orientation or other inappropriate distinction;

The decision-making powers with regard to each and every set of powers must be spread through-out the country.

With such system in practice discrimination, injustice, bribery and corruption, the four pillars of an Evil society might become history.

When the above four pillars of Evil are eradicated, the people would be living under a system that would guarantee sustainable peace, prosperity and a pleasant living to everyone in any country.

Comments on the above views are solicited from everyone with a view to prevent future wars and end current wars.

By: david blacker

david blacker — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 06:32:17 +0000

I don't think Dayan implies that there's some organized 'shadow force', anymore than he's implying that there's some ephimeral non-entity (as Indi is trying to make out) responsible.____First of all, are y'all seriously expecting Dayan to admit to anything here? He's a civil servant — he can't, so trying to interrogate him here is pointless, and I frankly am surprised he even allowed himself to be sucked into this brawl. ____But getting back to the point. There will always be elements within the government 'structure' ready and willing to carry out these things. That doesn't mean that it's ordered or even sanctioned by the top. It just means that the people controlling these elements are too valuable to the executive to be exposed or punished, even if the executive disagrees with the fait accompli.____Remember, the vast majority of JVP/DJV 'suspects' killed in the late '80s weren't killed by organized GoSL forces. But they were 'elements' of the GoSL 'structure' that were valuable to the executive in the fight of the time. It's the same today.____I suspect that that's what Dayan means.

By: Rasika

Rasika — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 06:09:56 +0000

This concept of GEF is good for a plot of a crime novel.

Alas, it has been used by jack Higgins already.

In one of JH novels just before there is a new round of talks between the UK government and the IRA, someone from either side is murdered – presumably by the otehr party.