Enough conceptual theories are produced and articulated on the need and urgency of the political power sharing in Sri Lanka. Avoiding the torturous repetition and gauging the current diminishing appreciation for any theoretical discourse or appetite for challenging conceptual explanations, we suggest the following five points abstract as a summary of recommendation for a new […]
My name is Madduma Bandara — a brave young journalist working for Ceylon Daily Lies. I am going to tell you the story of a Sri Lankan Tamil woman by the name of Sivapuranam Sivahamy. What follows is consistent with the official policy of CDL, “we report, you decide.” Permit me to engage your imagination […]
How can evil ever be low intensity? It is similar to a low intensity cyclone. It appears to be a misnomer. However it does really exist. A depression given the right conditions which causes spinning and convergence in the atmosphere becomes a highly damaging cyclone. Wisely meteorological institutions track depressions before they become cyclones due […]
The recent announcement of Government of Sri Lanka’s (GOSL) intention to establish a Media Development Authority (MDA) in Sri Lanka could be taken as an indication of its approach towards media in the context of post-war economic development. An official statement posted on 25th July 2010 on a government news portal shows that the proposed […]
Photo credit: Associated Press, published in Sydney Morning Herald Savouring the richly deserved cascades of press coverage last week of Muttiah Muralidaran’s retirement from Test cricket on the magnificent record of 800 wickets, it is difficult to resist a surge of heart-warming patriotism. It was not only the doosra-like sequence of events in the last […]
Released exclusively on Groundviews, this is a composite document compiled by Yogarajan and Kariapper and made public by them (read the full background to this document in their introduction). Please note that as Nizam Kariapper pointed out to Groundviews, there is a mistake in the first page of this version of the report – the reference […]
Some excellent goals scored, some unbearable moments of anguish celebrated as teams win and lose in an imperfect system, some stunning comebacks, terrible bouts of pain vanishing instantly once the arbitrator with a whistle awards a free kick, the tears of the Japanese, the despair of the Ghanians’, incompetent referees sent out to save face, […]
Groundviews received the executive summary of the APRC’s final report today. Download the report here. Salient features covered in the Executive Summary include: Nature of the State Form of Government Status of Buddhism Official languages and national languages Use of the English language Supremacy of the constitution Safeguards against secession Electoral system Power sharing Senate […]
This interview features Dr. A. C. Visvalingam, President, Citizen’s Movement for Good Governance. I ask him about his advocacy and activism in Sri Lanka, both during war and post-war. Mr. Visvalingam bemoans the fact that a number of articles, despite close ties to Editors and journalists, did not appear in the newspapers, and also speaks […]
Dr. Lakshman Marasinghe (Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Windsor) in an article titled ‘Some Random Thoughts on the UN International Advisory Panel’ (Daily Mirror, 14 July, 2010), makes a serious suggestion to the Government; i.e. to obtain an Advisory Opinion (AO) from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague, to determine “whether […]
If you’re an alien planning to invade the Earth, choose July 11. Chances are that our planet will offer little or no resistance. Today, most members of the Earth’s dominant species – the nearly 7 billion humans – will be preoccupied with 22 able-bodied men chasing a little hollow sphere. It’s only a game, really, […]
Michael Meyler is an innocent Britisher going about being innocent with respect to language and language politics, he would have us believe. He is good hearted and generous.  This is why, we are made to understand, he writes an article titled ‘Sri Lankan English: the state of the debate’, where he says (generously) ‘the level […]
The declared threat, the demonstration, siege, fast unto death outside the office of the UN in Colombo by the Wimal Weerawansa led National Freedom Front, raises interesting and alarming questions about policymaking in our country. Wimal Weerawansa announced that he would call upon his supporters to surround the UN office until the UN Secretary General […]
Photo courtesy Vikalpa’s Flickr photostream on the NFF protest The point of departure for this note is the fast unto death by a government (cabinet) Minister, hereinafter referred to as VW, in front of the UN’s Colombo office. The protest campaign launched by the said individual, and his decision to fast, are meant at demonstrating […]
The National Freedom Front (NFF), in a procession from Bullers Road, approached the Russian Embassy today and met with officials inside the premises. The second day of Wimal Weerawansa’s fast unto death (and the third day of NFF’s agitation in front of the UN in Colombo) saw him call a press conference in the afternoon. […]