Photos from demonstrations in Colombo against 18th Amendment
Repost This ArticlePhotos taken by Vikalpa at protests against the 18th Amendment held today in Colombo organised by the JVP.
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lol, what was there 15-20 JVPers there? funny that the liberal intellectuals in colombo now rely on the JVP to fight for ‘democracy’
lovin’ this…!
What a small crowd. Goes to show the vast majority of people do not wish to oppose the 18th amendment. What an embarssing protest! All of them could fit into a few three-wheelers.
@ Sonal
You sure seem to have extremely naive and oversimplistic understandings of reality; this impression is reinforced by your many naive comments on many GV posts. It would be quite understandable that lots of people are unlikely to realize the need to oppose something about which (and whose future repercussions of which) they have little or no understandings; such “little or no understanding” is due to it being surreptitiously whizzed into place with absurd and excessive speed instead of its contents being made public for at least a few weeks.
@Sohan,
Sonal may be a caricature and quite possibly a troll, but even as such does flag the question as to why so few people around Sri Lanka are agitating against such a harmful amendment. I know of no protest movement – spontaneous of party political in nature – outside of Colombo against the 18th amendment. When I was asked this question in the morning by BBC Radio, I put it down to the general apathy in our country, which has more voters than it has citizens.
A timeline of duplicity: Promises to abolish the Executive Presidency records Susil Premajayantha as saying “75% of the people in rural areas are not worried about the Executive Presidency or the 17th Amendment”. This applies to the 18th amendment as well. With mainstream media still fearful of robustly interrogating the implications of the 18th amendment for what they might have to face once it is passed, a supine opposition facing an enduring crisis in its leadership, NGOs that have never really galvanised public opinion, much less sustained public support and with politicians who are opportunistic and with a marked lack of principled politics, one can argue that the President merely uses what is fundamentally a dysfunctional democracy for parochial gain. Hence for example the genuine belief on the streets, and outside fora such as this, that the 18th amendment will actually hold, inter alia, the President more accountable to Parliament and that elections henceforth can actually be conducted in a free and fair manner.
This is why I appreciated very much reading Resisting the Loss of Citizenship in Sri Lanka, for simple actions citizens can take against this government long after the furore (or is it führer?!) over the 18th amendment has passed.
Sanjana Hattotuwa
I am not naive at all Sohan. I just saying it as I see it. The vast majority of Sri Lankans – whether you like it or not – don’t give two hoots about the 18th amendment. The only people who are kicking up a stink about it are those folks who have nothing better to do with their time, while the rest of the world moves on. Why is it so difficult for you to accept that most Sri Lankans do not see the 18th amendment as a threat or the “death of democracy”? Even most of the elite simply do not care. It’s just the usual cabal of NGOs and certain “activists” who are making the most noise about this.
The prez deserves the chance to run again. It is up to the people to decide whether he gets another term or not. Give another few hours or so and the 18 amendment will see the light of day and all this bellyaching will have been for didly squat.
The ultimate political nirvana has been attained! Rural people are said not to be bothered. Why complain? Insistence may result in white van abductions and bashing of skulls as those who sleep rough on teh pavements discovered lately ! Anything goes in Paradise!