Archive for October, 2009

The Rise of an American Empire? An analysis of political, military, economic and ideological variables

‘In the Battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed…Mission Accomplished’ (President Bush, May 1st 2003)’. The above quote refers to former President Bush’s rather premature assertion that the conflict in Iraq had been concluded as of May 1st 2003 after only two months of combat. The reality has turned out to be rather different and has damaged America’s reputation among the global community and has generated much debate across the political spectrum as to whether the US is indeed now an empire after its unprovoked attack on the sovereign state of Iraq. Historically, the US had for the most part until recently only faced the accusation of ‘empire’ from the political left, for example, Edward Said argued that while the British and French Empires of the early twentieth century have fallen apart, imperialism is far from dead and the US is the nation that today shoulders the burden of empire (Said,1994). Therefore, the image of an…

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The arson attack on Ranga Bandara’s house and office: Democracy under attack in Sri Lanka

The second burning of an opposition politician’s house took place within the last 48 hours (Sunday evening). However, the incident is being treated trivially by the government as well as society. A society so accustomed to lawlessness is treating this as just another incident. It seems to be of no more importance than a mosquito bite. When in several articles, the Sri Lankan situation was compared to worst situations of abysmal lawlessness some were of the view that the situation within Sri Lanka was not that bad. In fact, the comparisons with situations such as the ones described in the Gulag Archipelago, 1918- 1956 by Solzhenitsyn were treated by some as exaggerations. There were even claims that such comparisons are inaccurate equations that are not justified, even remotely. A member of parliament or even a candidate for parliament selected by a political party has a status to be recognised within a democracy. The whole system of the legislature will be…

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IDPs: Detainees and Escapees

“Nearly 20,000 escape from IDP centres was the headline of an English language broadsheet yesterday.  The strap line read –“Most believed to be LTTE cadres”.  The article quotes the SSP for Kandy Ranjit Kasturiratna as saying this at a meeting of the Kandy District Coordinating Committee chaired by the Chief Minister of the Central Province Sarath Ekanayake on Monday.  The article goes on to say that according to the SSP special teams have been dispatched from Kandy to the IDP camps to conduct investigations. This is not the first time this information has been reported in the media.  Since the source of this information is a senior Police officer, we can assume that the information is reliable and accurate.  Given the detention of over 250,000 IDPs in Menik Farm and many more in other camps on the grounds of their security and safety, this is indeed shocking.  Tens of thousands, most of who are believed to be LTTE cadres escape…

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Defending repression and denying repression are very different

Dayan during President Premadasa’s time defended Stalinist repression in an article published in the Daily News. To defend repression and to deny the existence of repression are two different things. There may be those who believe that repression is justified for ideological reasons. However, to deny repression when it exists is a completely different thing. It is deception. There are people who believe that repression is necessary for establishing a type of stability, or even certain developments that they wish to achieve. However, such beliefs have lead to disastrous consequences. Two examples which demonstrate the catastrophic consequences that such an idea can lead to are the experiences of Cambodia and Burma. Within just four years, Pol Pot caused one of the greatest human disasters in history. Pol Pot sincerely believed in the Stalinist idea of repression as the means of achieving great things. He had a vision of a new society and new ways of bringing prosperity to Cambodia. However,…

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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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