Archive for the ‘Trincomalee’

In Search of Something More than the 13th Amendment

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Photo courtesy First Post During his recent visit to Sri Lanka, India’s External Affairs Minister, Mr. SM Krishna reminded that President Mahinda Rajapaksa was committed to a ‘13th Amendment Plus approach.’ This has been an old promise of the Government, one which was so prominently made in 2008-2009 as well. The timing of this promise seems perfect; the next session of the UNHRC in Geneva is around the corner. 13A: debate The debate concerning the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka has now been revived. A useful contribution made in recent times which contains important suggestions regarding the full implementation of the 13th Amendment is that of a principled advocate of federalism, Asanga Welikala (Groundviews, 12 Feb. 2012). Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka argues that the current deadlock can be broken by setting up an interim administration in the North (Transcurrents, 13 Feb. 2012). We remember the numerous contributions made in the past too. One particularly striking and lucid contribution…

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The Full Implementation of the Thirteenth Amendment: What Can Be Done?

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Photo courtesy CNN. AP/Getty Images. There has been in recent weeks a revival of interest in the full implementation of the Thirteenth Amendment, as part of a broader on-going debate triggered by the publication of the report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) about future constitutional reforms addressing the need for devolution and democratisation. As implicitly acknowledged by the LLRC, the salutary need for a new post-war constitution, or substantial reforms to the existing one, is a matter of pivotal importance in moving Sri Lanka from its ‘post-war present’ to a truly ‘post-conflict future.’ These fundamental reforms, however, will involve sustained negotiations among all stakeholders about details of process and substance, and are distinct from the set of issues with regard to how the implementation of the existing framework of devolution in terms of the Thirteenth Amendment might be undertaken. Without in any way foreclosing the need for more substantial reforms, the full implementation of the Thirteenth Amendment,…

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Land in the North and East of Sri Lanka: Concern and confusion over Government circular

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Image credit Jeremy Suyker, via Foto8 The Government recently unveiled a policy regarding land in the North and East through the introduction of a Cabinet Memorandum (memo) titled ‘Regularize Land Management in Northern and Eastern Provinces,’ which was subsequently followed by a Land Circular (circular) titled ‘Regulating the Activities Regarding Management of Lands in the Northern and Eastern Provinces’ (Circular No: 2011/04) issued on 22nd July by the Land Commissioner Generals Department in Colombo in order to operationalise the memo. Since then, there have been reports of notices and forms being issued in areas of the North and East for people to register their land under the Bimsaviya project to ensure title registration of their property. At the time of writing, it was unclear whether this specific process was the same as the one set out under the circular. Contradictory information was received from the different divisional secretariat units (DSs) where the forms were distributed; increasing confusion regarding the process…

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The ‘Grease Devil’ Phenomena in Sri Lanka: A Brief Collation of Reports

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A ‘snapshot’ visualized version of the ‘Grease Devil’ phenomena that emerged in Sri Lanka from the 7th of July 2011 to the 29th of August 2011. Incidents concern; sightings of Grease Devils, community reactions, conflicts and security force reactions. This is an ‘evolving document’ to which all are welcome to add, suggest and discuss. Sunday Times, Grease Devils Graphic. Until the 14th of August 2011. Google Earth Area Photos of Concentrated Grease Devil Sightings See Below: (1) Jaffna, (2) Mullaththivu, (3) Trincomalee, (4) Batticaloa & Ampara, (5) Puttalam, (6) Sabaragamuwa, Kurunegala & Up Country Sources Statement by Women on the Attacks on Women, Impunity and the Lack of the Rule of Law, issued by the Women’s Action Network JAFFNA: BRUTAL ASSAULT OF CIVILIANS IN NAVANTHURAI, http://groundviews.org/2011/08/25/jaffna-brutal-assault-of-civilians-in-navanthurai/ Grease Devils at Navanthurai: People with military-Confrontation, Author confidential Internet News Sources http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14704906 http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2011/08/21/grease-devils-busting-the-myth/ http://sundaytimes.lk/110814/News/nws_15.html Grease Devil Incidents via GIS (Google Earth) Note that D Indicates Alleged Devil Sighting and V Indicates Violence or…

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How can society protect vulnerable women from post war atrocities?

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I just viewed a documentary produced recently by Al Jazeera titled ‘Civil war leaves Sri Lankan women vulnerable’. The film has left me deeply disturbed, shocked and ashamed particularly because as a woman, I am not doing my duty in protesting vociferously against such atrocities. Some sections of the documentary appear to have been deliberately blocked for apparent reasons. We cannot continue to turn a blind eye against the neglect of vulnerable women who are struggling to rehabilitate themselves and their families, post war. Why is there a lack of concern by the state as well as society towards these war victims? Many households in the north and east are headed by women as most males have died, been incapacitated or gone missing after the war. Several families have been located in areas that do not yet have the basic amenities and continue to live in flimsy shelters as they do not have the resources, income or capability to build…

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De-greasing social speculation over “grease devils” in Sri Lanka

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Image courtesy Amber Whispering campaigns in Sri Lanka are the most speedy and penetrating campaigns that product promoting advertisers have not been able to make use of. Often in Sri Lanka these whispering campaigns have been political. They have also been on “negative impact” mode, socially. The latest is on the very sensational “Grease Devil” that is said to be after young women. Opening for a “grease devil” This has many stories making rounds and each round making it more bizarre than the previous round and the previous day’s. Worst is when media outlets use such stories for political interpretations of their own. The controversial “LankaeNews” (LeN) a not so professional web site carrying Sri Lankan news, reported on 12 August, 2011 a long story that gave life to gossip, captioned “Deadly flame of ‘Grease devils’ spreads: curfew in Samanthurai –King Dutugemunu’s sword vs people’s word”. The report said, the so named elusive stalkers are on the prowl to abduct…

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Ground report: Widespread public perception of military links to ‘grease devils’?

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Image released by Police Headquaters which was saved allegedly in the phone of a 16 year-old who was arrested for a number of robberies in the Uva Province. As we post this article, there is a tense situation in Kinniya, spilling over from yesterday on the issue of ‘grease devils’. A Daily Mirror SMS update notes that, Daily Mirror SMS update – Hundreds of people in Kinniya surrounded the GA’s office demanding release of 25 people arrested last night (1)less than a minute ago via Twitter for Mac Favorite Retweet ReplyGroundviewsgroundviews Daily Mirror SMS update – Reinforcement forces called in – Sources – Daily Mirror (2).less than a minute ago via Twitter for Mac Favorite Retweet ReplyGroundviewsgroundviews As this Reuters report notes, “Historically, a “grease devil” was a thief who wore only underwear and covered his body in grease to make himself difficult to grab if chased. But lately, the “grease devil” has become a nighttime prowler who frightens and…

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Resource book for historians, researchers and media: A year of tweeting from Groundviews

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Visualisation of our Twitter followers. See larger version here. We used the web service Tweet Book to capture all our tweets over the past year in a single PDF. We’ve tweeted thousands of times over the past twelve months and have covered, The media fallout of the farcical fast of senior government Minister Wimal Weerawansa in front of the UN HQ in Colombo. Praise for our model of journalism on C-SPAN video in the US, captured from an event at the United States Institute of Peace. Key statements by world leaders like Desmond Tutu on post-war reconciliation and accountability for war crimes Bell Pottinger’s sickening relationship with the incumbent government, largely hidden from public scrutiny Key reports on Sri Lanka from, inter alia, HRW, AI, ICG and the US State Department, including responses from senior Ministers and the Foreign Ministry Foreign relations and the tussle in Sri Lanka between India and China The court proceedings on Sarath Fonseka The UNP’s perennial…

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Exclusive: Syllabi and timetables from compulsory University ‘leadership’ training course

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Image from Virakesari Online Great controversy and concern surrounds the ‘leadership’ training programme designed by the Ministry of Defence for under graduate students, conducted in around 28 military installations around the country. As the Young Researchers Collective recently noted on Groundviews, “Although the government has stated that this will be a leadership training program rather than a military training program, it has conceded that the military will be involved in a number of aspects of the program. Students have also been informed that this training is “mandatory” for university entrance, though there now appears to be a great deal of confusion with regards to this provision as Government officials have issued a series of contradicting statements. These decisions have also been challenged by many students, rights groups, student unions, teachers’ unions and academics who have raised a number of concerns about the way in which this program has been conceived and implemented. This issue has also exacerbated a worsening crisis…

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Google map on flood-affected areas in Sri Lanka – February 2011

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View Flood-affected regions in February 2011 – Sri Lanka in a larger map The map above identifies the main flood-affected regions, sites where relief and rescue operations have been conducted and specific DS divisions where IDP camps have been setup. Please click on the link below the map to view it on a larger screen. You may click on individual markers for detailed information and zoom in to view the location of specific shelter camps located in the east.  Please note that this map is continuously updated as soon as the Editors of Groundviews receive detailed information and reports from the ground. Between the 11th and the 18th of January, heavy rainfall led to severe floods and widespread destruction in several provinces across the island that affected over 1 million people. 43 people were killed and over 300,000 were displaced. The districts of Ampara, Trincomalee, Polonnaruwa, Batticaloa and Anuradhapura were severely affected in January and at present with heavy rainfall once again…

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Rebirth

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Photos courtesy Batticaloa Facebook Page I haven’t been reading the news much lately. I heard about the floods in the East and North Central Province and thought abstractly to myself, ‘how awful’. I watched the downpour in Colombo itself and complained about the shivering cold of that one day during which temperatures fell to 18 degrees – the lowest in over 60 years. I never really fathomed the extent of the destruction until I happened across a 3-line post on a blog, linking to some footage by the airforce of the flooding in Batticaloa. I didn’t pay much attention to the article on the airforce site, but those pictures stunned me. Water up to treetops. Acre upon acre of paddy land totally destroyed. All I could think was, ‘haven’t they been through enough?’ War. Tsunami. Floods. Would it ever stop? Would they ever have the luxury of having normal lives again? Would there ever come a time when they would…

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Archive of Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) submissions and media reports

Image courtesy Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) Groundviews is pleased to announce the launch of two archives covering media reports on and submissions to the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC). The archives are now live here. At the time of the launch, there are over 220 media reports and over 100 English submissions to the LLRC featured on the site. The archives respond to a numerous requests we got for a single-window access to this content. The content included in the archives are generated by a trusted source outside the country by going through information on the web, including the LLRC’s official website. New submissions and media reports, once sent to Groundviews, are uploaded to the archive and curated by us. Hosting this content on Google Docs makes it a cinch for readers to search for and access the submissions and reports online, print them, download them as PDFs or subscribe to updates via RSS feeds.

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UPDATE: Google Map on Flood-affected areas in Sri Lanka

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View Flood-affected areas in Sri Lanka – January 2011 in a larger map The map above identifies the main flood-affected regions, sites where relief and rescue operations have been conducted, areas prone to landslides and specific locations that are at risk.  Please click on the link below the map to view it on a larger screen. You may click on individual markers for detailed information and zoom in to view the location of specific shelter camps located in the east. Please note that this map is updated as soon as the Editors of Groundviews receive detailed information and reports from the ground. After our last updated post on 12 January 2011, a Daily Mirror SMS update at 12:50PM reported that there were 21 deaths and over 1,000,000 people affected as a result of the floods and bad weather that continues to devastate these regions. The Eastern Province is the worst affected with over 860,000 flood victims according to the latest figures…

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UPDATE: Situation report on flood-affected areas and a call for assistance

The Editors of Groundviews have received several updates during the course of the day confirming that the situation on the ground is quite severe and we now have a humanitarian crisis in those flood-affected regions with over 950,000 individuals affected from over 250,000 families. The Disaster Management Centre has confirmed as of 1:00PM today that 18 people have been killed and 47 have been injured as a result of the floods. Ada Dernana notes the following in a news story published today, Director General of the DMC, Major General Gamini Hettiarachchi speaking at the media conference said that 11,338 homes had been partially damaged while 1,609 homes had been fully damaged. He added that around 200 tanks had also been damaged in the floods. Meanwhile, P.B. Samarasinghe, Director General of the Meteorological Department said that rains are expected for the next three days while this was the heaviest rains that the country had witnessed in over thirty years. (Emphasis ours.)…

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On Flooding and Disaster Management

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Photo courtesy www.facebook.com/battipeople Over the last two days, torrential rainstorms in the Central and Eastern province have caused severe flooding, landslides and an overwhelming humanitarian crisis with 758,000 people affected island-wide (according to the latest update at 7:14AM today from the Disaster Mangement Centre [via JNW]) 809 houses have been fully damaged and 2948 houses have been partially damaged. There have been nine deaths; nine injuries and four people are still missing (last update Sunday evening.) An article in the Daily Mirror details the extent of the crisis, According to the Centre (Disaster Management) some 55,936 families belonging to 14,519 families have been displaced and had been housed at 138 camps that have been opened.  Several Divisional Secretariat offices in the East were also reportedly under water while Badulla District Secretary Keerthi Disasnayake was also reportedly marooned as a result of a land slide which occurred along the Badulla-Mahinyangana Road. The following areas in the country have been affected by the…

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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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