Archive for July, 2009

English language is the need of the hour

At a recent discussion on; “Free schooling in Sri Lanka- A successful model then but a myth now?”, the subject of English language education in Sri Lanka came up for discussion once again. Most, if not all, of the participants and panelists agreed that there is a pressing need for English language standards to improve especially in the state schools and a lack of quality English language teachers was the main reason for the poor standard of English in the country at present. People are well aware that English language education started to decline in this country with the introduction of the “Sinhala only” bill in 1956. So for the past 53 years English has not been an official language of this country. However, it was made a “link language” under the 13th amendment to the constitution in 1987; 31 long years after the “Sinhala only” bill. The 13th amendment to the Constitution came about as a result of the…

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  • 28 Jul, 2009
  • 48 Comments
  • Colombo,
    Satire

Another Dangerous, Pervasive Foreign Item Corrupting Innocent Sri Lankan Minds!

Banyan News Reporters was pleased to receive this patriotic open letter to the President of Sri Lanka from a group of concerned parents. An open letter to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka 28 July 2009 Your Excellency / Your Majesty, We are a group of parents who address this letter to you after much thought and discussion. We want to bring to your all-encompassing attention a matter of utmost public interest that concerns current and future generations. First and foremost, we deeply appreciate your personal interest in all matters: nothing seems too small to escape your attention, and nothing appears too large for your intervention. We especially salute your unprecedented and historic efforts to reassert Sri Lanka’s territorial integrity, national identity and cultural heritage. We know these gains were accomplished against so many international and national conspiracies. We applaud your government’s ban on students taking mobile phones to all schools – may they be government, private or international. The mobile…

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Taking a page from Chechnya: Sri Lanka’s insincere constitutional reform and its apologists

[Editors note: This post which first came to me through Facebook was forwarded to Dayan for comment. His response follows. The emphasis at the end of the article is mine. It is hoped that Aacharya and Dayan will continue this debate along with others on this site, which is more open than Facebook to this type of exchange.] The soon to come back home UN Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to Geneva, Dayan Jayatilleke has repeatedly wrote about the Chechen (Chechnya) model (yes he loves Russia) for conflict resolution in Sri Lanka: In a recent interview with David Blacker Dayan noted: I have long advocated the Chechen solution — an all-out, combined arms war to destroy the terrorist militia, followed by the implementation of some form of autonomy and self-governance for the area and stabilization through the rule of an elected local ally. Our military victory has to be politically conserved and socially stabilised. That’s what my advocacy of the…

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Sinusoidal nature of the JVP Policy on the National Question

The recent interview the JVP leader, comrade Somawansa Amarsinghe, conducted with Sanjana Hattotuwa and published on Groundviews clearly demonstrates the limitations, fluctuations and the non-cohesive nature of the JVP’s policy position regarding the national question. The ruling elite and the bourgeois-nationalist intelligentsia belonging to all the communities contributed to spreading and reinforcing ultra-nationalism and chauvinism among the people in Sri Lanka. This process implanted feelings of mutual distrust and hatred against the other and their culture. These forces have attempted to make people of one community believe that their socio-economic freedom could be won only when the other is conquered and their culture is extinguished. During the period from 1972 to 1983, the JVP advocated the policies laid out in the Policy Declaration of the JVP. It did not advocate separatism as a solution to the national question, but accepted the Tamil peoples’ right to determine their own political destiny, voluntarily and freely. It is paramount to keep in mind…

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The way forward in Sri Lanka: Demilitarisation, the rule of law and democratisation

The way forward in Sri Lanka involves demilitarisation, restoration of the rule of law, and democratisation. These are interlinked so closely that it is impossible to separate them, and on their fulfilment depends not only the political future of Sri Lanka, but also its economic survival. The Fate of Internally Displaced People Perhaps the most urgent issue is the fate of internally displaced people (IDPs), especially the Vanni civilians who were displaced in the last stages of the war. Reports of conditions in the camps where they have been interned vary; but the central issue is not the conditions under which they are being detained, but the very fact of their detention. Various spurious arguments justifying it have been put forward by the government and its supporters, none of which hold water. The fact that in many cases their homes have been destroyed and the areas from which they come have been land-mined by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam…

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Sending Dayan home: the triumph of folly in Sri Lankan politics?

I was tempted to write this article after a few days of reading different news reports about the ‘sacking’ of His Excellency Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka, Sri Lanka’s permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva. Different explanations have been provided by different quarters about the ‘reasons’ that led to Colombo’s decision to recall its most gifted diplomat. This article does not attempt at analyzing such explanations, or at making any judgments. Concerning Dr. Jayatilleka’s writings on Sri Lanka’s ethnic relations, his personal views expressed on the electronic media since his appointment to Geneva, and his work as Permanent Representative, there are many points that this writer and many others may not agree with. Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that Dr Jayatilleka remains one of Sri Lanka’s best political analysts, scholars and public speakers. Diplomacy is a strange professional domain, where high skills in many areas are appreciated. These generally include foreign language skills, a sound education in the areas of…

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Out in the Wilderness – Dayan Jayatilleka on 13th Amendment and getting sacked by Boggles

Sri Lanka’s soon-to-be-ex-Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva took time off from his busy schedule of sipping martinis, getting up the American’s noses, and fighting on the Western Front, to have a little chat with us. This is his first interview since the Foreign Ministry announced that he has been recalled from Geneva, effective August 20th. David Blacker: First off, there seem too be two opinions on your sacking. One, that you were too pushy about the 13th Amendment. Two, that you pissed off the Israelis. Which is it? Dayan Jayatilleka: It could be either, both or neither. The editorials in The Island and the Daily Mirror on July 20th, indicate that it could have a personal aspect. Let’s unpack the other opinions. If I were ‘pushy’ about the 13th amendment I was only pushing a line that was the official stance of the government of Sri Lanka as contained in two post-war joint statements, of May 21st…

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Beyond the time-warp in Sri Lanka

‘About 2000 years ago the Sinhala people started facing the dreadful enemy invasions and threats from diverse communities living in the Indian subcontinent,’ according to extremist politician Cyril Mathew and his associates in a book published thirty years ago, Diabolical Conspiracy. The fact that Sinhalese too originated from the Indian subcontinent, and that rival kingdoms in South Asia often cooperated as well as occasionally clashing, was conveniently bypassed. Their account went on to describe all manner of threats faced by Sinhalese Buddhists in their encounters with others: ‘By subjecting the innocent and defenceless Sinhala people to extremely cruel tortures and harassments such as beheading, bloodbaths, killing on the spike and setting whole villages on fire, the foreign invaders mercilessly suppressed the Sinhala people and forced Hindu, Catholic and Christian doctrines well and truly into their minds and bodies… the Sinhala people who became adherents of the doctrine of the foreign tyrants were given lands, possessions, honours, offices, wealth etc. commensurate…

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The war in Sri Lanka is not over – get it?

In his ”responses and clarifications’’ to his article, Is the War Really Over?, Lionel Bopage defends himself against a critic’s charge that he doesn’t ”get it” that the war is really over now that the LTTE has been defeated.Bopage clarifies: “I began my article with the statement that the conventional war between the GoSL and the LTTE has ended. There is no mention of a war continuing in the island. My point was, the political causes that led to the national problem and the war still remain.’’ I have to say, as much as I respect Mr. Bopage – whose heart is most definitely in a much kinder space than the majority of his critics – this defense both disappoints and saddens me. It reminds me that in national conflicts such as these, it is difficult for the oppressed to rely even on the most kindly disposed of their sympathizers for an accurate representation of their plight. Allow me to…

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Last comment on Sri Lanka: Is the war really over?

[Editors note: This is Lionel Bopage's second detailed response to the points brought up in his article Sri Lanka: Is the war really over? The first response and resulting comments can be read here.] I doubt that a solution to Sri Lanka’s national question can be discussed in detail on a forum such as Groundviews without using up too much valuable space. However, if I may, I’d like to respond to the latest comments made about my original posting of Sri Lanka: Is the war really over? I believe that the Sri Lanka diaspora cannot and should not prescribe a solution to the national question. Yet, the diaspora could make a positive contribution to assist the people of Sri Lanka, its government (GoSL) and others in the development of a solution to the national question. However, I will try to briefly explain what I believe to be the principles that need to guide the development of a broad framework to…

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The East and West at the UN Human Rights Council: Never the twain shall meet?

“Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.” (Rudyard Kipling, Barrack-room ballads, 1892) Through a fortuitous twist of fate at the end of May I had the opportunity to be a witness to an event of considerable global importance; the Special Session of the UN Human Rights Council on Sri Lanka. The outcome of this meeting has sparked substantial controversy, and has been extensively covered in both local and international press, which I have been following with great interest. Please permit me at the outset to elaborate upon my personal situation as this may help to explain my position on this subject. I am a dual citizen of both Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom, a child of Sri Lankan parentage; I was born and raised in England. My traditional Sri Lankan upbringing caused me a certain internal conflict, a situation which was later mirrored in the proceedings and outcome of the Special Session,…

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Sri Lanka’s Foreign Policy: Missing the Woods for the Trees

Sri Lanka’s decisive military victory over the LTTE owed much to a robust foreign policy as it did to a strong military and political leadership with the resolve to defeat the enemy. The results are evident. At the Security Council, it was the steadfast position of permanent member China that the sovereignty of a member-state cannot be imposed upon through a resolution against it. Even a resolution blocking an IMF loan to Sri Lanka was denied. At a regional level, it was India , who took the position that the LTTE could be militarily defeated, provided a political solution that recognized Tamil self-determination within a united Sri Lanka followed. On foreign aid, it was once again China and India . The former pledged $1 billion for a southern port and agreed to finance a power plant on the west coast, while the latter will build a similar plant on the east coast along a shared littoral with the strategic harbour…

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Designing democracy: A post-Prabhakaran future

Was/is he an ethnonational liberation fighter, an egocentric megalomaniac or an unschooled political protagonist? Depending on the perspectives they would prefer to take, concerned future historians will struggle to pigeon hole Veluppilai Pirapaharan. Whatever the analysis, anarchist ideology, neo-Marxist categorization or a Minority Nation Rights discourse, he is sure to be mentioned in a very special place in post independent political history of Sri Lanka. Sokoloff (2000) argues history as an intended social signature of the contemporary elites. Then, the ownership of placing Praba in modern politics of Sri Lanka does not rest with the remaining Thamil separatists or their Diaspora imaginations in any significant manner. Because the double faced dichotomies of the international politics has decided that it is the Sinhala South and their political capitalists who are capable of deciding the future and delivering the desired political ransom in the regional super hunt for a subservient and spent state willing to deliver sovereignty like a takeaway pizza meal….

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Devolution of powers under the 13th Amendment in Sri Lanka: Fact or Fiction?

(The writer was one of the secretaries of the first Provincial Council of the Western Province) 1. Introduction In the aftermath of the defeat of the LTTE in Sri Lanka, many expected the government to put forward the promised political solution to the problems of the Tamils which led to the war. Those who expected this were disappointed when the President said at a recent interview with the ‘Hindu’ newspaper that the solution would be put forward only after the next Presidential elections. Almost soon after this statement, the Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka is reported to have said that the Indian government is putting pressure on the President to put forward the solution as soon as possible. Whether such pressure would bring the expected results is to be seen. India and many others have been suggesting that only a full implementation of the provisions of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution with additional measures to make the devolution…

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Potato Farmer’s Poultry Venture

I arrive on holiday at the Colombo airport with my family. It is I, your potato farmer. In my last post I told you about my trial, you might remember. Mine is a complex family: “Look my darling, your children and my children are playing with our children”. We often have quarrels about our respective ancestry, me very proud of my heritage, thinking it far superior to hers, she thinking exactly the same about hers: its uniqueness, cultural values and religious beliefs. She thinks my belief system is foreign, and often smacks my kids. I too deliver equally unfair blows at hers. An effective trigger for our family quarrels is the cake we serve at tea. She — accusing my kids of gobbling up the big slices; me — accusing her of baking them to the taste of hers, so mine won’t get a fair chance to enjoy a slice. At the airport we go through immigration, customs, Dialog SIM…

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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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