Archive for December, 2009

  • 13 Dec, 2009
  • 17 Comments
  • Language

The Structure of Tamil Names

My name is Sivapuranam Thevaram, and my origins are in the northern parts of Sri Lanka. I usually identify myself as a Sri Lankan Tamil, strictly in that order. And that order is not negotiable. Equally significant, and not for negotiation, is the order of the two identifiers in my name: Sivapuranam is the one given to my father at his birth, Thevaram is mine. My brothers are Sivapuranam Thiruvasakam and Sivapuranam Thirumanthiram. Again, Thiruvasakam and Thirumanthiram are tokens my dad looked up in the phone book. The full name of my dad is Thirukkural Sivapuranam. So the structure, sliding across generations is: One Two, Two Three, Three Four and so on. This structure doesn’t match the convention of my friend John Smith: Smith is his family name and John, the given name. His brothers are Mark Smith and Peter Smith, dad is Andy Smith and grandfather was Adam Smith (no, not the same chap). Their structure is like a…

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An Unprecedented Presidential Election and the Future of Sri Lankan Democracy

Never before has such a major rift opened up between the political and military leadership in electoral politics as what has been witnessed over the recent months. By luring Sarath Fonseka to fight against the incumbent President on their behalf, the newly formed opposition took the Sri Lankan polity as well as the diaspora by surprise. As a result, what looked like an unassailable position for Mahinda Rajapakse now looks more vulnerable. This was a clever political move by the UNP and others in the United National Front (UNF) but it has major implications for the ongoing debate facing Sri Lanka about its democratic future. The resignation by an ex- military chief to lead the opposition without his own political base or significant background and training in democratic politics highlights the acute political crisis we are facing and the dangers that our fragile democracy will have to overcome if the UNF wins. In coming days and weeks the contest will…

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The rights of the disabled: Forgotten and forsaken?

Of the more than 6 billion people in the world, the UN estimates that more than 500 million of them are disabled. That is approximately 8%. In the early 1900s and before, little knowledge and awareness existed about people with disabilities, so much so that  the Universal Declaration of Human Rights does not even mention the rights of the disabled. However, since then awareness and activism concerning disability has increased tremendously with the UN alone, in ensuring that the rights of people with disabilities are met on a global scale, championing and adopting numerous measures. Following these international developments, the National Council for Coordinating the Work of Disability Organizations (established in 1989) in Sri Lanka, began discussions about the necessity for legal provision to safeguard the rights of people with disabilities. On August 9, 1996, a Bill was presented to Parliament and was passed unanimously on September 17 that same year entitled the Act for the Protection of the Rights…

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The Travelling Circus on video: Looking at war and IDPs through theatre

Obligingly recorded by Young Asia Television at the request of Groundviews, we are pleased to present a full-length video recording of a technical rehearsal / run-through of The Travelling Circus, produced by Mind Adventures, directed by Tracy Holsinger and recently staged in Colombo. An in-depth review of the production is published on Groundviews here. Total playing time is 52 minutes. The production divided opinion, with some liking it and others, with equal passion, disliking it. This full-length video of the production (even though it is a technical rehearsal) records for posterity one of the first theatre productions in post-war Sri Lanka interrogating vital yet often marginalized issues such as psycho-social trauma and human displacement due to war. Those who missed the production in Colombo, including those in the diaspora, are strongly encouraged to watch this video and leave their comments. We were also told that some at the edge of the audience couldn’t hear what was said on stage due to poor…

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The Battle of the ‘Commons’ and (De) militarizing the Sri Lankan Society – Part 2

Continued from The Battle of the ‘Commons’ and (De) militarizing the Sri Lankan Society – Part 1 Militarization is a product and integral part of the neoliberal economy.  The contribution of well meaning liberal constitutionalists and peace activists to demilitarization is limited because they ignore (even legitimate) how militarism is intertwined with the acquisition of power and wealth by a minority at the expense of the majority, therein the complicity of neoliberal institutions i.e. the UN, World Bank, IMF, and WTO.    Global efforts towards demilitarization is always undermined by powerful geopolitical interest of Western and non-western countries. Even after the end of the war, the sanctity of defense spending is taken for granted.  Neoliberal institutions tolerate increases in military expenditure as long as the money is used to prevent terrorism and promote political stability, even if those actions undermine democratic rule.  The government slashes investments in the public sector, privatizes military procurement and aspects of military operations, while the private…

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  • 11 Dec, 2009
  • 2 Comments
  • Colombo,
    Disabilities,
    Human Rights

The rights of the disabled in Sri Lanka: Marginal or mainstream?

As part of our video series for human rights day 2009 (falling on 10 December), Groundviews interviewed Sunethra Bandaranaike, Chairperson of the Sunera Foundation. With the interrogation of human rights in Sri Lanka often solely focussing on violations of political rights, Groundviews sought to focus attention on disability and the rights of the disabled in our country. Sunethra speaks on legal and institutional challenges impeding the protection of the rights of the disabled, as well as our myopic perception of the disabled, with resulting policies and practices that do not recognise or value their special needs and rights. Sunethra also comes out very strongly in support of youth and young people championing human rights and standing up against continuing violations. Also watch Finally, disabled friendly buildings in Sri Lanka! for Sunethra’s take on the recent Supreme Court ruling which ordered all public buildings to be constructed in the future to be easily accessible to disabled persons. The Court further ordered…

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Human Rights in Post-War Sri Lanka: Challenges and opportunities

To commemorate Human Rights Day, falling today, Groundviews interviewed a number of leading activists in Sri Lanka to find out their perspectives on current challenges facing human rights in post-war Sri Lanka. This is the first video in a series we will publish over the coming week. After asking each of them to define human rights as they saw and understood it, Groundviews asked the activists to comment on the Sri Lankan State’s protection of human rights, the nexus between human rights and human dignity and opportunities for greater human rights protection over the coming years. Featured in this video are: Deshamanya Bradman Weerakoon Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu J.C. Weliamuna Dr. Devanesan Nesiah Mirak Raheem

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The Relevance of Human Rights – A Lankan Perspective

[Editors Note: Prof. Rajan Hoole, co-founder of UTHR (J) and co-author of the Broken Palmyra, presents this piece exclusively to Groundviews for Human Rights Day 2009]. One important indicator of Human Rights protection in modern society is successful enforcement of the rule of law. Human Rights activism in Lanka came about as a response to special challenges arising from progressive deterioration of the rule of law. The law is technical in its workings. Good laws and good law enforcement advance human rights, and their opposites lead to conflict and crisis. The strengthening of institutional aspects of human rights, the promotion of a human rights culture and the ambient political mores in which these operate, interact with and influence one another. Deterioration of one will undermine the others. Sinhala Only was bad in law and was a reflection of the changing political culture. It resulted in communal violence in 1956 and 1958. Law enforcement did not go so far as to…

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100 days in hard labour and counting: The plight of J.S. Tissainayagam

Today is Human Rights Day, which honours the UN’s adoption and proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on 10 December 1948, the first global enunciation of human rights. Today is also the one hundredth day Tamil journalist J.S. Tissanaiyagam will spend imprisoned doing hard labour. He has already spent over six hundred days in prison. On 31 August 2009, Tissa was sentenced by the High Court in Colombo to an incredible twenty years of rigorous imprisonment under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). Nimalka Fernando, a leading human rights activist, called the judgement a travesty of justice, a position Groundviews unequivocally endorsed and associates itself with. As the eminent International Commission of Jurists noted, Tissa’s case, “…raises a number of concerns regarding fair trial standards, including the judge’s interlocutory decision to allow into evidence what counsel for Mr Tissainayagam described as a forced confession, and subsequent denial of the accused’s right to appeal this decision. The [ICJ]…

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The Battle of the ‘Commons’ and (De) militarizing the Sri Lankan Society – Part 1

“Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” Benjamin Franklin “Common candidate” Gen. Fonseka and “common man” Mahinda Rajapaksha must both face, in the upcoming Presidential elections, the problems caused by Sri Lanka’s long and ongoing process of militarization and the increasing politicization of “national security.”  Mangala Samaraweera alleges that President Rajapaksha bears primarily responsible for militarizing Sri Lankan society.  In his endorsement of Fonseka as the common candidate of the Democratic Alliance, Samaraweera compares the General to Charles de Gaulle, who ended the political chaos and violence that preceded his presidency.  But Fonseka was a key player in the Rajapaksha regime and cannot be absolved of blame as if he were merely a soldier following orders.   Though Fonseka and the government now blame each other for wartime excesses, during the war they both denied and excused those excesses, and also prevented investigations into them.   Voters are now asked to…

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THE RAJAPAKSE REGIME AND THE FOURTH ESTATE

Authors note: This is the first of two articles. The second is in draft form and is tentatively entitled ‘The Rajapakse Regime: Plus Points, Minus Points’. It may appear first in print form, but that remains to be seen. The Rajapakse regime has been in power since April 2004 and has received a bad press in many Western countries in recent years. Such comments have often aroused Xenophobic reactions within some segments of Sri Lankan society. This parochial response merges with the rabid hostility to (selected) NGOs in some political circles. Rather than dwelling in a parochial miasma, the Rajapakse government should ask itself WHY, why such a bad press? One answer is clear: it is the prevalence of the “white van” phenomenon in Sri Lankan society. This is a convenient trope that highlights (a) the cluster of disappearances, and acts of abduction that have occurred over the last five years; and (b) the number of media personnel, some 34…

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A brief response to Dr G.L. Pieris

I refer to Dr G.L Peiris’s interview extracts published by the Sunday Island on 6th December. He says “Any legislative measure to abolish the executive presidency must satisfy two conditions – it must be supported by a two-third majority in parliament and endorsed by the people at a referendum”. This of course is correct. But why does he assume that there will not be a 2/3 rd majority for the motion on abolition of the Executive Presidency? Even if the UNP and JVP cannot agree on common policy they have already agreed on the abolition of the Executive Presidency. What happens thereafter will depend on these parties agreeing on a new governmental structure or continuing with the present structure say, without abolishing the Executive Presidency as visualized by Dr G.L Peiris. Dr G.L Peiris seems to have forgotten what happened between 2001 and 2004 under the UNP Gvoernment of which he was a Minister. There is provision in the Constituion for…

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  • 8 Dec, 2009
  • 1 Comment
  • Colombo,
    Development

SRI LANKA MAY WANT – AN ECONOMIC VISION 2030

The risks and rewards of a Development Plan for Sri Lanka Sri Lanka today is in the category of a poor country status, listed in the “Institutional Investor”, September 2009 Country Credit Survey. It ranks No. 122 among 178 nations, behind Vanuatu and just ahead of Kiribati. This is no fault of its strategic position as an island nation in the Indian Ocean, or of its people, who are one of the most literate in South Asia. There is no doubt that the potential is there for sustainable development. THE SRI LANKA MASTERPLAN 2030 The Sri Lanka Master Plan 2030 is designed to manage this development of the new Sri Lanka through a long term vision. It represents a unique opportunity to create an authentic, sustainable, modern Sri Lanka, managing existing resources and exploring alternatives for future demand. At the heart of this Master Plan is sustainability and diversity maintaining our cultural heritage, whilst making capital use of our strategic…

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Presidential Election 2010: The choice before pluralist democrats

Q: Why did you fall out with Rajapaksa? A: Five days after we won the war, at a meeting of the (president’s) Security Council, he said he’d stop recruiting new people in the army because it’s too strong and too big, that Sri Lanka would become like Myanmar. Such statements demoralized me. I thought they were disgusting.” – GEN SARATH FONSEKA, INTERVIEW GIVEN TO SATARUPA BHATTACHARJYA, OUTLOOK INDIA MAGAZINE, DEC 14TH, 2009 (He Said The Army’s Too Strong, Sri Lanka Will Become Like Myanmar) There are many interpretations of what came between Rajapakse and Fonseka. Some able commentators have speculated that it was dynastic rule. While there is indeed such a dismal prospect (as during the Bandaranaike years 1970-77), I do not believe that was the issue, and the Outlook India interview from which I’ve quoted, ends all speculation on the authority of Gen Fonseka himself. The central issue was the balance of power between the civilian and military wings…

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The Dynamics of the “War Heroes’ Battle”

Undoubtedly, Comrade Wickramabahu will attract a politically mature vote-base around him – particularly those who are disgusted with the Mahinda-regime’s fascistic rule the way it’s been treating the Tamil civilians. This minority consists of convinced opponents of the government, and they’ll be happy to vote for Wickramabahu whose politics appear to be closest to their own mindset. Obviously, Mahinda Rajapaksa also will be happy to see Wickramabahu’s presence as a blessing – as the most effective way to divert the already established anti-government vote-base away from Sarath Fonseka (SF). Wickramabahu’s propagandist approach, however, seems to have failed to see the objective logic (the dialectic) of the unprecedented social process taking place as a unique consequence of the Sarath-Mahinda split. A substantial section within the Sinhala majority who backed the war unconditionally before seems to be rallying round Sarath Fonseka in rejecting Mahinda-regime on democratic and humanist issues. It is this fast-changing social force which Sri Lanka’s Left movement should be…

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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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