Archive for the ‘Identity’

Interview with MIXED RICE: Standing up for a diverse Sri Lanka

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Describe the group of people who curate MIXED RICE. Who are you? Where are you located? What are your ages? Educational and professional backgrounds? The people behind MIXED RICE are a collection of Sri Lankans from various backgrounds who are scattered across the globe from Sri Lanka to Australia, Japan, the US and UK. There are 10 active members right now who range from early twenties to late thirties, both male and female. Our group includes Sri Lankans who are Tamils, Sinhalese and Muslims who are of all faiths and a few who believe in none. Some of us are students, some of us are professionals in IT, Accounting and Journalism. We didn’t consciously set out to be as diverse as that but it has fit neatly into the message we aim to promote through our platform. But to us, it is not who we are that is important but the message and dialogue we wish to promote and create. We…

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‘Rally for Unity’, a March towards Reconciliation

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Photo by Anushan Selvarajah, from Flickr photo set on rally It is often the case that a nation which experienced a protracted war will tend to look forward rather than backward. For Sri Lankans, over the years, the war became a part of their lives, and survival a part of their routine. In such a context, healing becomes a lengthy and culturally-bound process. Though some may find it difficult to achieve, such process cannot be understated or underestimated when it comes to building a deeper unity, thus a sustainable peace for Sri Lanka. But how many of us really took the time and space to actually forgive and heal from a war that scattered a whole nation for over three decades, leaving behind scars that are still visible from the outside. How many of us actually grasped the opportunity to make a change? Last Sunday, April 28th, marked a turning point in building such unity when a “voluntary movement of concerned…

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Rally for Unity: Standing up for an inclusive Sri Lanka

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Groundviews strongly endorsed a rally held in Colombo on Sunday to reaffirm the fact that Sri Lanka is not only a Sinhala-Buddhist country. As the movement’s Facebook event page noted, this non-partisan, non-violent awareness raising rally aims to empower the silent majority of moderate Sri Lankans to stand up for an inclusive Sri Lanka. At its peak, Groundviews was told the rally had around 500 walking from point to point. View Rally for Unity in a larger map In the lead up to the rally, the organisers produced and released a number of videos in support of the rally and the larger movement behind it. All the videos can be viewed here, and interestingly, they feature high-profile individuals and MPs with the Government, those who have represented and defended the Government diplomatically in the past, a World Cup winning doyen of cricket, a well known actor, a senior member of the UNP and senior members of the Buddhist clergy. Groundviews…

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Archiving ‘Her Stories’: In conversation with Radhika Hettiarachchi

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Her Stories, a unique archive of oral history, was conceived of and curated by Radhika Hettiarachchi. We begin by Radhika going in to what the archive is, and how it came about. Featuring 240 stories of mothers, the archive’s website avers, These histories or ‘Herstories’ showcase a shared history and highlight how we Sri Lankans are rooted in multiple identities, multiple histories, and different experiences. Through the narratives of many, this project also highlights a sense of fundamental humanness that transcend boundaries. These ‘Herstories’ will not only add to the culture of oral tradition and story telling in Sri Lanka, they will contribute to bringing diverse groups together through the lives of others. Radhika notes that the age of the subjects in the archive ranged from those in their early 20′s to those around 65. In the interview Radhika reasserts the importance of looking at women’s voices which are often lost or marginal to history as recorded by men. She…

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Sri Lanka’s racism juggernaut and the war against it

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Sri Lankan society is being divided and systematically targeted as the racism juggernaut continues to gain momentum around the country. Minorities face growing persecution with nationalist groups sprouting up and feeding on the insecurities and economic decline of the nation. The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) was the first organised group to rise up and openly target minorities, namely the Muslims and Evangelicals. As their racist and unopposed crusades continue other more radical groups are forming such as the Sinhala Ravaya, who was credited with the recent attack on the Muslim run Fashion Bug outlet in Pepiliyana. Last Friday (12) open opposition to the BBS and its offshoot nationalist groups was staged with a candlelit vigil. Unfortunately it was only minutes until state intervention arose on behalf of the nationalists with the arrests and dispersal of the protesters. The police spokesperson, G.M.H.B. Siriwardena, was only able to say that the protesters had not acquired the proper approval to stage a gathering…

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  • 14 Apr, 2013
  • 4 Comments
  • Colombo,
    Identity,
    Politics and Governance,
    Religion and faith

Protecting violent protesters and dispersing peaceful protesters: New role for Police and some Buddhists in Sri Lanka?

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Image courtesy Colombo Telegraph On 12th April, around 7pm, I was amongst a group of people gathered on the pavement, outside the Sri Sambuddha Jayanthi building, situated at 32, Havelock Road, Colombo 5. This is the address of the Bodu Bala Sena, which has been accused of inciting and unleashing violence against minority religious communities, particularly Muslims and Christians. We gathered without obstructing anyone passing by on the pavement, or road, or those entering the building. Infact, people walked passed us on the pavement and vehicles moved along at normal pace on the road, and several Buddhist Monks and men had come out of the building without any problem. I and some other friends had gathered in response to a public notice on the internet (http://www.yamu.lk/event/vigil-to-safeguard-the-dhamma.html) inviting people to attend a peaceful candlelit vigil in the face of rising racial tensions in Sri Lanka and to protect the Dhamma. Others would have been organizers. It was organized by the facebook…

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Sheep No More…

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Image from video on the vigil, broadcast by News 1st. (A Personal Response to the quashing of the first anti BBS protest on Havelock Road) This evening (Friday, April 12th 2013) around 7.15pm on Havelock Road in front of the Sambuddhatva Jayanthi Building adjoining Laurie’s Road, I was reminded anew that there is no freedom in our land. I am nearly 45 years old now, and for 30 long years, I have been reminded over and over again in different places, at different times that in many ways the citizens of Sri Lanka are trapped. We have been and still are, in fact increasingly so, trapped by our fear, our intolerance, our ignorance, our sheep like obedience, either to the powers that be or to our own desperate need to play safe and stay safe. I am not a lawyer, a journalist, an academic or an activist. I am just an ordinary citizen who is sick of being intimidated by…

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Police in Sri Lanka show their true saffron colours

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Lest we forget, the Sri Lankan police, who act under the orders and protection of the Ministry of Defence, are far from doyens of impartiality. A few weeks ago, we noted that ”it is quite clear that four policemen, no more than 3 feet away from and staring directly into the face of the Buddhist “monk” who is engaged in destroying private property isn’t quite enough these days for an arrest to be made”. There is evidence, from no less than the Government’s Minister for Justice himself, that the Muslim owners of the property the “monks”destroyed were forced to withdraw their charges against the perpetrators. Contrast this Police inaction and collusion with fascist forces with their behaviour today in Colombo, against a peaceful vigil, as clearly indicated in a Facebook page that promoted the event. Sirasa TV captures the response by the Police in grim detail. Clearly then, in Sri Lanka today, Buddhist “monks” destroying private property are kosher, but citizens attempting…

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Drawing the Battle Lines

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Monks of Sri Lanka’s hardline Buddhist group Bodhu Bala Sena pray during a protest rally urging boycott of consumer goods with Halal certification in Maharagama on the out skirts of Colombo, Sri Lanka in February. Picture and caption courtesy AP, via Asian Correspondent. The growing anti-Muslim sentiment in Sri Lanka is pushing us to respond in numerous ways:  we are talking, flustered, hopeless and helpless, shouting in outrage (when no one will listen), holding our knees to chests, trying to pull ourselves inside, into some sense of comfort and safety, whispers of more war, more conflict on our lips. The annoyance has turned to fear; the irritating din of the crowd has turned to the cries of a mob. In a matter of months, we have grown from worried to scared; that mob have grown from an absurd joke into a very serious problem. Worst of all, it has pushed some of us to retreat into the empty shells of ourselves,…

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The Fashion Bug case: A turning point for Muslim rights in Sri Lanka

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Buddhist monks on the rampage at Fashion Bug as Police just look The judicial case related to the violent attack on Muslim owned Fashion Bug head office and warehouse in Pepiliyana, 10 km away from Colombo, is destined to be a turning point in Muslim Rights in Sri Lanka. Following is a brief recap of the incident in order to get the context right. As the darkness descends around 8.00 p.m. on 28th March, the mob, which has been there for some time, came out form the Sunetradevi Pirivana Temple nearby. The mob was led by Buddhist monks. Their first target was the Emerald Trading, a Muslim owned heavy vehicle yard. According to its owner Mursi Ahamad Sadoon, all the vehicles and equipment in the yard were stoned and the office was set on fire by the mob.  He estimates the damage to exceed 10 million Rupees. Then the mob turned their wrath against the Fashion Bug warehouse and its outlet.  By…

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Questions the public must ask in Sri Lanka

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Photo courtesy BBC In the few days following the UNHRC meetings in Geneva, we have witnessed several act of blatant criminality by mobs on people and property- in greater Colombo, Killinochchi and elsewhere. A common factor has been the passivity of the Police. They have looked the other way (reminiscent of July ’83) and suppressed video evidence of the culprits responsible for such violence. We have also witnessed, in a single day, the Attorney General interfering in court cases involving politicians and their family members. The justifiable outrage over groups like Bodu Bala Sena  must not distract us from asking fundamental questions such as: Whom does the Police come under, and who has the power to silence them? Who has the power to use the Attorney General to overturn due process and the rule of law? Why does the Bodu Bala Sena only protest about animal slaughter and not about anti-Buddhist practices like casinos and the money-laundering, prostitution and human…

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‘Where every prospect pleases, man alone is vile’

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Image courtesy Aaron Joel Santos The title of this article is a line from a beautifully haunting hymn written by Bishop Heber of Calcutta who, clearly, had an imperialistic mindset.  He visited our island in 1825, and the hymn must have been written around that time.  The next line reads, ‘The Heathen in his blindness bows down to wood and stone’.  Because of the racism implicit in it, this hymn is no longer sung in most churches.  But in the light of the extended anti-Muslim hysteria sweeping the country, we may need to pose the question, ‘are we vile?’ Are Sri Lankans a nation?  Are we one people? Are we a law abiding democracy?  Are we a model of friendly co-existence?  Till a few decades ago the answers would have been a resounding no to the first question and an emphatic yes to each of the others.  But now there are some fanatical groups claiming be Buddhists who seem determined to…

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A Tolerant Sri Lanka: How far will we go?

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The past few weeks have seen a rise in incidents and publicly expressed sentiments against the Muslim community by groups who claim to represent the rights of Sinhala Buddhists in Sri Lanka. Expressing concerns of undue place given to Muslims in Sri Lanka – from entrance to the Law College to issuing Halal certification to even increase in Muslim population and property ownership by Muslims, groups such as the Bodu Bala Sena and Sinhala Ravaya have taken it upon themselves to educate the Sinhala Buddhists on these concerns. While these groups declare to be non-violent, speeches given by them at various rallies, defamatory references to individuals and the attacks on Muslim owned businesses in the past few weeks give the impression of a situation of vigilante groups gathering strength. It is in this context that Social Indicator, the survey research unit of the Centre for Policy Alternatives created this online questionnaire. How seriously should we take the anti-Muslim sentiments being…

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Taking old friends too seriously: Sri Lanka, Burma and Buddhist extremism

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People collect pieces of metal from the rubble of a neighbourhood in Pauktaw township that was burned in recent violence October 27, 2012. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun (Caption and content from Reuters) Sri Lanka’s long relationship with Burma is something that anyone who has even a nodding acquaintance with Sri Lankan history is aware of. In both nations, Theravada Buddhism has been a vital political idea that has cemented the legitimacy of monarchs. Both Burma and Sri Lanka saw a Buddhist revival as a response to colonial occupation, a revival which has allowed Buddhism to fuse with nationalism as both countries achieved their independence. With such a similar and connected past, it should come as no surprise that the Bodu Bala Sena’s manifesto echoes that of the 969; an extremist Buddhist organization in Myanmar that seeks to ethnically cleanse Myanmar of Muslims, who make up 4% of the country’s population.  The 969 take their title from Buddhist numerology and have styled themselves…

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Helping the Police arrest brutish “monks” in Sri Lanka

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Apparently the infamous Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) has condemned the attack on Fashion Bug warehouse a few days ago and asked the Police to arrest those involved in it, even if they are monks. A Daily Mirror news report suggests BBS thinks the individuals captured on film destroyed private property were actually impostors. Prima facie, this then begs the question as to why dozens of Police failed to arrest any of these “impostors” on the scene. This is not the first time Police have stood idly by as militant and racist “monks” have gone on the rampage. As we noted on Twitter, So response of BBS suggests that mob was really in fancy dress dailymirror.lk/news/27442-bbs… Does anyone believe them? #lka #SriLanka — Groundviews (@groundviews) March 29, 2013 No arrests had been made, says Police. No arrests will EVER be made globalpost.com/dispatch/news/… #lka #srilanka — Groundviews (@groundviews) March 29, 2013 Here are two images to help the Sri Lankan Police in…

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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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