Comments on: Youth activists on human rights in Sri Lanka http://groundviews.org/2009/12/14/youth-activists-on-human-rights-in-sri-lanka/ Groundviews is an award winning Sri Lankan citizen journalism initiative Sun, 12 Feb 2012 16:35:21 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: myil selvan http://groundviews.org/2009/12/14/youth-activists-on-human-rights-in-sri-lanka/#comment-37393 myil selvan Tue, 04 Oct 2011 12:01:26 +0000 http://www.groundviews.org/?p=2235#comment-37393 Only one comment for this post. The sadness of interest on the subject in our society. Only one comment for this post. The sadness of interest on the subject in our society.

]]> By: mariyahl hoole http://groundviews.org/2009/12/14/youth-activists-on-human-rights-in-sri-lanka/#comment-11975 mariyahl hoole Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:17:22 +0000 http://www.groundviews.org/?p=2235#comment-11975 Thanks for the interesting thoughts. Listening to the interviews, it seemed that there were two parallel cultures in Sri Lanka -- one that embraces rights-based values, and one that gives birth to human rights violations. This may explain then, for example, why so many from the South rushed to help their fellow Tamil citizens trapped in the camps, while at the same time supporting the very political culture that sustained their detainment. There seems to be some very strong confusion among the citizenry about human rights. Guruparan brought up the issue of NGO awareness raising. I completely agree that any change must be based on a political (and social/cultural) acceptance of human rights. Abstract awareness raising just doesn't seem to be making a difference. If there is such a duality in our people's prevailing outlook, however, I am wondering what would be the most effective way of doing this? How do we go back to morality and common sense, back to our cultural foundations of human rights, when the dominant political culture has skewed its meaning and demonized it in the public mind? In this climate, would it actually be better to depoliticize human rights so it can be reintegrated into everyday values instead of part of the cultural fringe (and thus subject to debate)? And what does this imply for efforts at peacebuilding and reconciliation? A lot of questions, I know...but I'm interested in hearing what others are thinking on this issue, and perhaps come a little closer to understanding how best to normalize these very essential values. Thanks for the interesting thoughts. Listening to the interviews, it seemed that there were two parallel cultures in Sri Lanka — one that embraces rights-based values, and one that gives birth to human rights violations. This may explain then, for example, why so many from the South rushed to help their fellow Tamil citizens trapped in the camps, while at the same time supporting the very political culture that sustained their detainment. There seems to be some very strong confusion among the citizenry about human rights.

Guruparan brought up the issue of NGO awareness raising. I completely agree that any change must be based on a political (and social/cultural) acceptance of human rights. Abstract awareness raising just doesn’t seem to be making a difference. If there is such a duality in our people’s prevailing outlook, however, I am wondering what would be the most effective way of doing this? How do we go back to morality and common sense, back to our cultural foundations of human rights, when the dominant political culture has skewed its meaning and demonized it in the public mind? In this climate, would it actually be better to depoliticize human rights so it can be reintegrated into everyday values instead of part of the cultural fringe (and thus subject to debate)? And what does this imply for efforts at peacebuilding and reconciliation?

A lot of questions, I know…but I’m interested in hearing what others are thinking on this issue, and perhaps come a little closer to understanding how best to normalize these very essential values.

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