Archive for November, 2009

An open discourse with Mano Ganeshan on political honesty

It was no surprise in any way to read that Mano Ganeshan, Colombo district MP, leader of the Democratic People’s Front (DPF), Chairman of the Civil Monitoring Committee (CMC) and the leader of the Democratic Workers’ Congress (DWC), as his e-mail signature reveals and my good friend in politics above all, has finally decided to back the former army commander and present Chief of Defence Staff, Sarath Fonseka. Wickramasinghe has himself acknowledged Fonseka as the “Common Candidate” of their newly formed United National Front (UNF). I personally have no grievance in any politician changing shades and positions, as they too grow wiser with age. But it is rather astounding and bewildering to see Ganeshan ‘age’ this fast and change positions, even faster. It was only 18 days ago, Ganeshan said he would not be in the emerging political front, if Fonseka is decided upon as a “Common” candidate. He and his party did not want to have anything in “common”…

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Understanding horror

I’ve tried to understand this war, and failed. It’s made me feel rather stupid – this inability to wrap my head around 30 years of horror, why it all started and who is to blame. Everyone seems to talk about it with such ease – like it’s the simplest thing to understand. As if it’s effortless to take one particular view and stick to it. I listen to the sophisticated talk of politicians, of family, of friends and marvel at the sureness of their convictions with frustrated envy. It could be my limited understanding of politics and history that’s to blame. I have tried to remedy this over the past year or so, and despite accusations to the contrary, I hope I am making some headway. The more I learn, though, the more that yawning chasm of untapped knowledge stretches. I wonder if I will ever conquer it. And if I do, I wonder what that will mean. Because, when…

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The case of Jaseekaran and the Rule of Law in Sri Lanka

Jaseeharan

The case On 26 October 2009, B. Jaseekaran and V. Valarmathi were released as the state council withdrew the charges filed against them. Both of them were partners of journalist J. Tissainayagam who was sentenced to 20 years of hard labour on 31 August 2009. Both cases were heard at the Colombo High Court and were interlinked: Tissainayagam was charged for writing and publishing two articles in the North Eastern Herald, a magazine he edited. Jaseekaran and Valarmathi were charged for printing the magazine. In both cases another charge was made for collecting money from the LTTE. Jaseekaran and Valarmathi were arrested by the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) on 6 March 2008. It took more than hundred days to file charges against them. They were released on the 600th day of their detention. They were kept by the TID for more than 90 days under detention order from the Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse, even though in a separate case the…

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From Here to Hanoi

Vietnam was the first country to be informed by Sri Lanka of its victory over the Tigers. It was from the on the record remarks of a top Vietnamese leader that I learned that. In their separate speeches of welcome, the President, Prime Minister and Secretary General of the ruling Communist party of Vietnam all congratulated the Sri Lankan President for “the country’s historic victory over the LTTE” and promised to cooperate in “the elimination of the remnants of the LTTE”. On the issue of whether or not the Sri Lankan victory over the Tigers was one worth celebrating, the word of leaders who, as young men, actively fought the world’s mightiest superpower and won has an overriding credibility and authority. Vietnam hosts an international Buddhist Conference next year but it’s purely part of the cultural matrix and plays no role in the identity of the state.  This is because they have separated religion from the state and government. Vietnam…

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Adjutant Australia: Controlling Boat People

The ongoing brouhaha around the boat people ‘storming’ Australian maritime waters displays two tendencies in Australian politics and its cultural underpinnings. The first tendency, A, is the insidious influence of a long-standing hostility to potentially subversive foreign elements. The second dimension, B, is a more recent phenomenon that I shall label “bureaucratititis”. The force of factor A is of lesser import than factor B in raising the present storm. It is also not easy to demonstrate. So, I merely suggest. I mark the concerns about the “Yellow Peril” of Chinese migrants that prevailed in Australia from the late 19th century and the manner in which it contributed to a White Australia policy. That programme is no more. But one ‘relative’ remains embedded within government policy. Customs officials rigorously police all persons and cargo to make sure that dangerous plants, vermin and viruses do not contaminate healthy Australian soil and air. Even home-cooked milk toffee is confiscated. This is a form…

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1,000 posts on Groundviews: Bearing witness, shaping peace

Exactly three years after its launch, Groundviews published its 1000th post today. In it Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu identifies the site with quality debate and asks citizens to use it to canvass their ideas for constitutional reform, governance, human rights and the economy and whatever else they see as constituting essential elements of an agenda for change and reform. Over three years, Groundviews has borne witness to that which traditional print and electronic media did not, and for well-known reasons, could not. Post-war for example, our path-breaking coverage of the situation facing IDPs in Menik Farm was picked up and featured on leading domestic and international media, including the New York Times, Al Jazeera and the BBC. The wealth of debate and submissions online already makes Groundviews unique as an online resource and platform for engaging discussion in Sri Lanka. We are globally recognised as an authoritative voice on Sri Lanka and were the first to feature a mobile version, and…

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Needed: An Agenda for Reform on Groundviews

GV - Test 1

Whilst it is not clear as to whether we would be voting in both the presidential and general elections on the same day, it is clear that we will be voting in at least one of them in the next three months, followed soon thereafter by the other.  Most likely it will be the presidential elections since it is the president who has to decide and since he is much more popular than his party. Moreover, we have been told that he is willing to sacrifice, if necessary, two years of his first term in order to secure a second and a parliamentary majority nearest to the heart’s desire. All elections are important and these will be no exception. It is worth reminding that we are still in a post-war situation and far from the post-conflict one we ought to be in. What this requires is the prioritization of peace, reconciliation and unity and the firm commitment to ensure that the…

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The duty to talk loudly about Police Reforms

Police Reform was the theme of a discussion organised by the Commonwealth Initiative in Delhi last week. Among the participants were senior police officers from South Asian countries including a few who are retired. Also present were many other persons interested in the issue. Throughout the discussion there was consensus that something has gone terribly wrong with the policing systems in South Asian countries and that the absence of radical reforms of the police threaten the very stability of the nations concerned. While everyone agreed that the problems are related to the colonial origins of the institutions, everyone also agreed that the failure to take the necessary action for reform lies with the states, as well as the failures of political and civil society movements in these countries. As this meeting was taking place, the incident that happened at the Bambilipitiya sea in Sri Lanka relating to the killing of Balavarnam Sivakumara was becoming news both in the country as…

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Deepavali Dilemma: Reflections from the Diaspora

Every year, when Deepavali rolls around, I feel a twinge of sadness creeping up on me.  I didn’t dwell on it because it seemed indulgent and pointless.  It’s not like we celebrated Deepavali in a big way when I was growing up in Colombo.  And my family, we were not a sentimental lot.  We got on with it, and focused on what mattered – visas, educational degrees, jobs, marriages, family, and more family.  Getting weepy over some abstract loss associated with Deepavali was a luxury we did not indulge in.  But this year felt different. This year I found myself walking around with a barely suppressed sense of tragedy about it. As I do every year since my oldest daughter started kindergarten, I arranged to do a program in each of my three kids’ classrooms to mark the occasion for us here in New York.  Most years that was all we did. Sometimes accompanied by an Indian American parent, sometimes…

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General Fonseka and the interview

Over the last couple of days there has been a significant amount of discussion back and forth about General Fonseka and the Department of Homeland Security interview. However, nobody seems to have asked nor answered the following simple questions; 1. General Sarath Fonseka is said to have been invited to the interview, implying that he can decline to attend as well. Is this correct? 2. The Government of Sri Lanka is livid with the United States, but the Government can simply instruct General Fonseka- a serving public officer- to decline the interview. Would it not be simple and straightforward to issue such instructions? Why has the Government not taken this obvious route? 3. The invitation is from Homeland Security, not US Immigration Services; meaning it has nothing to do with retaining Sarath Fonseka’s Green Card. So he stands to lose nothing in respect of his resident status, if he declines. Correct? 4. Is it known whether General Fonseka or the…

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The Case of Tissainayagam: Who is on Trial?

J.S. Tissainayagam, who had been under detention since March 7- 2009, was convicted on all three charges under the Prevention of Terrorism Act  (PTA) on August 31- 2009 by the High Court of Colombo, and given the maximum sentence of 20 years rigorous incarceration. In a symbolic and focal sense, what has been tried and imprisoned is the Tamil nation, and all those who stand for its right of self-determination. Journalist Tissainayagam stood for the right of self-determination and for the security of the Tamil nation, and it is this fundamental right that has been tried and suppressed in such a severe manner. Tissainayagam allegedly confesses that he maintained some dialogue with the LTTE and that he did write and publish the articles for which he was convicted. These articles, as alleged by the state, purportedly had the intention and the effect of fuelling communal violence. In that case, every member of every successive neo-colonial government, including the Opposition,  would…

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The Liquidation of the Liberation Tigers of Thamil Eelam (LTTE): Lessons Paid In Blood!

Introduction: The killing of the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Velupillai Pirapaharan, has brought an end to a stage in the development of the Tamil National Liberation Struggle. There are many crucial lessons to be learned from this experience;- Lessons Paid in Blood! It is imperative that we learn from these lessons with a deep scientific perspective, if we are to charter the path of liberation for the people of Lanka. There is no space in this article to discuss the historical and political background which gave birth to the Tamil National Liberation Movement, including the demand for the right of national self-determination in the form of a separate state. Suffice it to say that this demand and this armed struggle was a result of the systematic, gross and intensifying discrimination and violent suppression of the oppressed Tamil nation by a Sinhala-Chauvinist, hegemonic Comprador Capitalist State. The Rise of the LTTE: This form of national subjugation  …

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Lessons in Leadership

[Authors note: Edited text of a speech at the Jaffna Hindu College Old Boys Association (UK) Social Event: Kalaiarasi (31 October 2009)] Thank you very much for inviting me as Chief Guest. This is a new experience. Nobody has invited me to such a wonderful event before. There are four reasons why I have chosen to speak in English today. First, I have never spoken in Tamil from a stage. When you don’t have that experience, it can be very dangerous to try. I recall the story of Badiuddin Mohammed, the Minister for Education in Sirimavo’s government. He came to Jaffna University to open some building. The hosts had said “Speak in English Sir, everybody will understand.”  “No,” he said, “Naan Thamizhan, Thamizhile pEsa vENdum”: “naangaL ellaarum, engaLidam uLLa vErupaadukalai maranthu, Singalam, Thamil, Muslim enru illaamal, oru thaai makkaLaaha onrukku iruppOm”. “onraaha iruppOm” translates to “lets be united” while “onrukku iruppOm” means “lets urinate”! The linguistic difference is small but…

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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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