Archive for November, 2009

Love Displaced

If I only knew you were all right or even just okay or less than all right but alive I could survive in this – this place where there are shops clinics even makeshift toilets and tampons distributed by companies with corporate responsibility If only I could imagine we found each other down a de-mined stretch of parched road on a thirsty day I could swim endlessly in this river of pity and not drown in the monsoon shit If I saw you I would recognise you I’m sure, I’d know that skin those bones if only I knew you were alive somewhere then I could wait forever to be out of here: where kindness is injected in small doses and love is a warm cup of nestomalt offered by bewildered hands. But I don’t and my love for you is a bullet lodged deep in the belly and sometimes when I sleep I dream we are making love and…

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GSP+, SOVEREIGNTY, DOUBLE STANDARDS AND TERRORIST TRAITORS

It is worth clarifying here the situation regarding the EU GSP+ facility, given the confusion prevailing in the mainstream media. The EU has NOT threatened trade sanctions against Sri Lanka. The GSP+ facility is an extra privilege granted to developing countries which abide by certain human rights norms. If it is withdrawn, the EU will continue to trade with Sri Lanka, but its imports from Sri Lanka will have to compete with imports from other countries likeIndia and China which do not enjoy the GSP+ facility. This means their quantity will decline, and there would be job losses for workers and revenue losses for the government. Is this fair? The lengthy EU report on Sri Lanka produces mounds of evidence that Sri Lanka is not complying with the human rights norms which are compulsory for receiving GSP+ privileges. Take just three out of the many more instances cited there. One is the detention of around 280,000 displaced civilians in IDP camps for months on end. The government claimed it was housing…

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The unwritten revelations of Sarath Fonseka’s letter requesting retirement from service

After weeks of media speculation on the prospective “Common Candidate”, to every one’s relief, confirmed news about General Sarath Fonseka’s decision to retire from military service with effect from 01st December, 2009, came on 12th Thursday afternoon. It would in reality mean his retirement from the extended service in the army. Yet it is also taken as his retirement from his new post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), as well. Those who respected him as a “Sinhala hero” for defeating the LTTE and Prabhakaran, probably sighed in relief, that his retirement, was accepted by the President without any fuss and hesitation. For those who want him as the next President and to contest as the “common candidate” but feared he would be holed in by the President in denying his release from service, were also relieved, when it was clear the President would not stoop that low. Then came the letter itself by Friday afternoon, accompanied by an annexure…

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This one for President!

Java and I were mulling over the presidential possibilities – what with all the rumours going back and forth and the opposition thrashing around like headless chickens looking for an option to their likely prolonged stint in the political wilderness. The dialogue between Kushal Perera (here) and Mano Ganeshan (here) on Groundviews also added to the grist and we came up with the following, which if a candidate were to make part of his/her manifesto and pledge to uphold, we would unhesitatingly vote for. For starters, pledge to make the moves to… Revise the constitution Abolish the presidency Get the Constitutional Council in place Get those amendments in there Sort out the ‘language issue’ Make inciting violence against ethnic or religious groups a serious felony Slash the numbers in the cabinet to an acceptable/logical figure Cancel all security personnel for ministers and other government officials (if they can’t handle the heat they should get out of the kitchen, right?) Ban…

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Lazy Academics and a Diaspora Without Direction

The recent Amnesty International sponsored forum “Sri Lanka: Human Rights Issues and Media Representation” held last week in Melbourne was a missed opportunity. The forum could have signposted the strategies needed to pressure the Australian Government to do more to improve human rights and freedom of expression issues, and to bring the Sri Lankan Government to account on its horrific human rights record. Instead, the forum ended up painting an ‘us versus them’ picture and pitting the Tamil diaspora against its Sinhala counterpart.  This could have been avoided if the presenters were more mature and more informed about the situation in Sri Lanka. The majority of the people in the room were from the Tamil diaspora, who along with others concerned about human rights and equality, were probably expecting some guidance from ‘expert’ presenters on how to respond not only to what was happening in Sri Lanka, but also the meanness of the Australian Government. Damien Kingsbury focused his talk…

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  • 14 Nov, 2009
  • 1 Comment
  • Colombo,
    Healthcare

The vicious cycle that is eating away Sri Lanka’s healthcare: The Sri Lanka Pharmaceutical Corporation (SPC), the Ministry of Health and the Treasury

There has been a lot written about the blunders of the Ministry of Health after the death of two young children. However, even though the rubella vaccination has been secured from a supplier from a questionable background, there is no evidence of foul play. All vaccinations carry some danger to the recipient and occasionally there is the threat of death. What happened to these two girls could be described as a severe case of anaphylactic shock due to severe allergy. However, there are grave problems with the Health System in Sri Lanka. In a recent study by Transparency International, Sri Lanka’s health care system remained the most corrupt after education. The corruption stems from the point of birth to death, where relatives, for instance, have to pay off individuals who clear the body of the deceased. However, this is not to say that corruption in the healthcare system occurs just at the lower levels. There are of course grave problems…

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What must it be like to live behind these Kovil gates?

[Authors note: This is something I wrote a few months ago, that still resonates I believe with our society today.] I was on my way for practice yesterday, when I passed the Bambalapitiya Kovil, all lit up, and people thronging the entrance. I was a bit early, and also realized that I’d never set foot into a Kovil in Colombo before, so I thought, why not? Having criss-crossed past the entrance three times or so, I asked the flower garland kade man if there was some sort of special festival going on at the Kovil. He said, yes, that there was a Pooja going on. I asked if anyone could walk into the Kovil, to which he promptly nodded a ‘yes, of course.’ So, I mustered up some courage and walked in. I watched the ladies in front of me leave their slippers at a certain point, so I followed suit. I then proceeded to walk towards the entrance of…

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Is Sri Lanka on the East Asian Path?

Many questions with regard to democratic values and system of government in Sri Lanka have surfaced in recent years and it has been argued by some that Sri Lanka is heading at accelerating pace towards an authoritarian regime similar to that can be found in countries like Zimbabwe. An assassination of media persons, curtailment of civic rights, death threats for dissidents, non-implementation of relatively democratic amendments to the constitution are depicted as symptomatic of this trend. In this note, I argue that this analysis lacks theoretical consistency as well as empirical substance and reveals major flaws in Sri Lankan democratic discourse. In a nutshell, my main argument here is that in recent years Sri Lanka has shown a clear tendency of moving towards the East Asian and South Asian variety of democracy. If Sri Lanka can address the issue of internally displaced people reasonably well and in a short span of time, this regressive tendency towards East and South Asian…

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Sri Lanka’s Foreign Policy: Speaking in many tongues and still not making any sense

Is it just me or are you also wondering how many times can the government of Sri Lanka shoot itself in the foot or put the proverbial foot in the mouth when it comes to manageing it’s diplomatic affairs? Since executing the war against the LTTE to it’s logical conclusion a mere 5 months ago, the government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) has managed to antagonize just about every Western European nation and the sole super power through a spate of ill advised and ill tempered foreign policy decisions. Let’s take a look at some of the low points of GOSL diplomatic onslaught (actually more an onslaught on common sense) and their consequences; 1. GOSL refuses NGO’s access to IDP settlement camps. GOSL’s reluctance to allow third party access while the IDP camps were being set up is understandable. However, the stubborn refusal to allow third party access, ostensibly due to concerns of leakage of inaccurate and damaging depiction of the…

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A response to Mano Ganeshan: Beyond engaging the ‘Sarath Fonseka worshipers’

Once in a way, in this sad little Republic as Mano Ganeshan aptly calls Sri Lanka, there happens discussions, worth following up on. So thank you Mano, for following up on my previous article to respond positively and I take it from you to develop this discussion further, leaving space for you especially and any other to join in. Let me first take on a few issues that Ganeshan had raised in his response, before taking up the larger, more important issues. First is that, I did not base my article as Ganeshan tends to feel, on media speculations, though there are too many these weeks. All my arguments instead, were based on quotes from Ganeshan and their sources credited at all times. Therefore Mano Ganeshan, please note that my whole article was based on the assumption that you and your political party the DPF, has already decided to back “even if it is” General SF, while trying to find…

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Press freedom in the cyber age

When I first heard of Groundviews in 2006, I was delighted to see citizen journalism finding its place in Sri Lanka, creating a much needed avenue for citizens to express their views before an infinitely vast and globally distributed readership. The project has already rendered a tremendous service to Sri Lanka and her people, by providing a platform to share and debate ideas, and engage in lively exchanges. As I sit in front of a computer with Groundviews in mind, I am inevitably reminded of my own past, to a bygone period spent in beautiful central Sri Lanka. The first time I heard the word ‘computer’ was at the early age of about eight, somewhere around 1990, at primary school in Trinity College, Kandy. Trinity had already introduced a class in ‘computing’ in the junior school. The ‘computer room’ looked more like a ‘TV room’, with two massive television screens and equally sized keyboards (which, when compared with today’s keyboards,…

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General Sarath Fonseka and politics

“For the development of the country, for the security of the country if there are any steps that need be taken, I believe that it our duty as citizens to take these steps. It is important to pay attention to what will happen in the future rather than spend our days living in a joyful mindset.”* Sage words indeed from General Sarath Fonseka. Now that the euphoria of winning the war against the LTTE is over, our minds must turn to the complex issues facing the country, such as wining the peace; post-war reconstruction; the bourgeoning economic crisis; the settlement of the displaced people; and dealing with the national question. Sri Lanka, with all its flaws, still maintains the appearance of a democracy. There is a demarcation in Sri Lanka, though often blurred between its Presidency, parliament, judiciary and the armed forces. No matter which of the two bourgeois parties have ruled the country, in alliances or by themselves, their…

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The Public Servant and the Politician: in Harmony or in Conflict?

[Authors note: This is the text of my comment as a Panel discussant, delivered at the Institute of Public Management on 3rd November 2009] My reflection will be in the context of the present situation. How are these two entities – the Public servant and the Politician relating to each other in today’s world.  Not what the relationship was in a golden past or in a unlikely imagined future. And since my own view is that the relationship today is inherently unsatisfactory, how it could be improved or reformed to benefit the ultimate stakeholder, the public, which is the real object of the executive exercise. Also my comments will be on what can be done immediately within the political, social and economic framework of what we have. Otherwise we may be talking about an ideal future which is only a dream and frankly not an useful exercise. Is there a magic button you could press to start the process of…

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A response to Kusal Perera on political honesty and questioning Sarath Fonseka

[Editors note: Mano Ganesan kindly accepted our invitation to respond to Kusal Perera's article An open discourse with Mano Ganeshan on political honesty.] This subject of Sarath Fonseka should not be considered as an isolated issue. Sri Lanka is a sad Republic today as the main democratic opposition party/alliance is unable to find/propose a professional political candidate within from the opposition democratic establishment. It is shameful. But it is the naked truth. A candidate who is with all if not, sizable credentials such as being a member/leader of a major party, party cadre support, countrywide popular support, policy of accommodation towards Tamil speaking minorities,  acceptance among the minorities, commitments to good governance and media freedom, clean record in view of corruption and human rights, brainy, brave, experience and necessarily a Sinhala Buddhist. Let us start from me. I very confidently believe that I have THE eligibilities to perform as the president of this country. I can vouch I would be…

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Caught between the real and virtual in Sri Lanka

Dear GROUNDVIEWS, I congratulate you on your continued publication on the web! I am truly happy that Sri Lanka’s contributions to the global community has not been merely such things as the record for the highest number of secret killings/disappearances reported to the United Nations Sub-Committee on Enforced Disappearances during the entire existence of that Sub-Committee (in 1989). We can now boast of not just a sports (cricket) team that won a ‘World Cup’ (even as war was tearing the country apart), but also a popular discussion website, GROUNDVIEWS, that won the Citizens Journalism Award for enabling concerned people to freely engage in exchange of ideas and experiences on some of the most critical aspects of Sri Lankan life. So, congratulations on your 1,000th posting! But let me also express my surprise. What surprises me is that the Editor and other editorial staff of GROUNDVIEWS actually continue to exist seemingly both physically as well as virtually. Why am I “surprised”?…

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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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