Archive for the ‘Identity’

Ganesan Nimalaruban: A damning murder, funeral and silence

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Photo credit: Vikalpa It is very likely readers of Sinhala mainstream print media have no clue who Ganesan Nimalaruban was, or exactly how he died. A simple Google news or general web search suffices to highlight how poor even English mainstream media coverage has been over the controversy surrounding his death. Vikalpa was present at the funeral of Nimalaruban. They note that aside from a few provincial journalists (whose news reports don’t make it to the actual print editions on the best of days) there were no other seasoned journalists from any mainstream newspaper present. Recall that the courts didn’t want Nimalaruban’s body to be released to his parents, citing that, “his funeral arrangements could result in a violent situation in his home town of Vavuniya.” Before his body was released, in an open letter to the President, senior Tamil politicians and civil society activists noted, Your Excellency, we have been informed by the eye witnesses on the inhuman merciless…

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In conversation with M.A. Sumanthiran, TNA National List MP

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M.A.Sumanthiran, is a National List Member of Parliament from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). Groundviews has carried in the past the Minister’s submissions to Parliament against the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, for which he faced the most outrageous heckling and insults within the legislature itself, and from fellow MPs from Government. With this and other media reports in mind, we begin the conversation on the obvious question – whether he thought it was worth it, in hindsight, to become a Member of Parliament instead of just sticking to his law practice. He noted that while the heckling and verbal violence is something he expected, the irrelevant nature of most debates came as a surprise. We then talk about the elections for the Northern Province, promised by the President to be held in September 2013. The TNA dismissed government concerns about the election being conducted sooner. As noted in the media, TNA spokesman and Jaffna District MP Suresh Premachandran asked,…

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A quotidian response: Letter to President regarding religious extremism

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On 4th July 2012, along with printed and bound copies of the over 1,400 comments in Tamil, Sinhala and English generated by Not In Our Name (coming to over 300 pages), a letter was penned and delivered to the Presidential Secretariat, with copies to relevant Government Departments and the Mahanayaka of the Rangiri Dambulu Chapter, Ven. Inamaluwe Sumangala Thero. Precisely three weeks later, on 25th July 2012, we received this intimation from the Presidential Secretariat that the letter was received. However, to date, there has not been any public statement of regret, an apology or unequivocal condemnation of the tragic violence in Dambulla by government, the President or the Mahanayaka of the Rangiri Dambulu Chapter, Ven. Inamaluwe Sumangala Thero. Into this damning silence and unwillingness to condemn even that which is so blatantly captured on video and other media, one can read a chilling message – this government will not just condone religious violence, it will protect leading monks and…

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School closed early today

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Original photo from Ilankai Tamil Sangam School closed early today. Amma was looking very jumpy when she came to pick me up, but she wouldn’t tell me why. When we went to get Loku and Chuti, Chuti was nowhere to be seen. We walked all over school looking for him and finally found him running around with a chair in his hand looking to ‘hit someone’. Amma gave him a good scolding. Serves him right. On the way home we saw a group of aiyas dancing around an uncle whose hands were tied to the lamp-post. They were pouring bottles of talcum powder on him, and he was starting to look like a ghost. They were laughing. He was looking sad. I think he was the uncle who worked in the Pharmacy we sometimes bought our Multi-Sanastol from. Amma said it was better if we looked straight. Everyone was on the road today. Lots of Aiyas. Lots of police uncles…

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Buddhist monks and party politics in post-war Sri Lanka: In conversation with Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe MP

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Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, President’s Counsel, is a Member of Parliament from the United National Party, and currently President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka. In the past, Mr. Rajapakshe’s also chaired the Committee on Public Enterprises. No stranger to being in the headlines, Mr. Rajapakshe in late May tabled Private Member’s Bill in Parliament asking that Sri Lanka’s Constitution be amended to prevent a priest of any religion becoming a member of Sri Lanka’s legislature. As noted in the media at the time, Mr. Rajapakshe said he had decided to bring this amendment for the purpose of maintaining and preserving religious dignity and holiness of all religions. As expected, all hell broke loose. At the time of our conversation, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) emerged as one of the most strident opponents of the proposed bill, vowing to defeat it if and when tabled in Parliament and asserting that Western conspirators are behind the proposal. As noted in the media,…

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Cast as Mother – A Reading: Audience Reviews

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Photo by Ruvin de Silva ‘Cast as Mother’ – a dramatic reading of an upcoming play by Stages Theatre Group was held at the Lionel Wendt on May 24. Directed by Ruwanthie de Chickera, ‘Cast as Mother’ featured the writings of thirteen women from the Sinhala and English stage on their experiences of motherhood. The 90 minute presentation drew its material from a 300 page manuscript, and was performed in Sinhala and English. The play, which is currently being devised, will be staged from September 13 – 16 at the Lionel Wendt Theatre. Stages Theatre Group encouraged members of the audience to write in with feedback. Here we publish a cross section of excerpts of these reviews and comments.  In shows to come, Stages will continue to promote Audience Reviews that will no doubt contribute to a culture critical debate in the arts. ### If motherhood in Asia, and especially in Sri Lanka, is one of the prototypical roles which…

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INCREMENTAL SECESSIONISM: WHY DEVOLUTION MUSTN’T BE OPEN-ENDED

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Picture from Colombo Telegraph While everything is debatable, not everything is negotiable. Some things, a few things, simply must not be negotiable. The territorial unity and integrity of the Sri Lankan state, Sri Lanka as a single indivisible country, must never be up for negotiation. Whoever we negotiate with and whatever we negotiate on, must know and understand this from the outset.  Every political community has boundaries which constitute red lines that should not be crossed. What can be negotiated are the specific arrangements, structures and forms within a united Sri Lanka. Nothing should be treated with or entertained however, if that discourse or enterprise rejects, is ambivalent on or fails to commit unequivocally and unconditionally to the parameters of a united, single, indivisible Sri Lanka. Within a united Sri Lanka anything should be negotiable– though it may be unrealistic, given the balance of forces, including public opinion over the long term, to expect to convince Sri Lanka that the North…

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International Widows’ Day Celebrations of 2012 in Nedunkerny

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A group of war widows in the Nedunkerny region of the Wanni District celebrated the International Widows’ Day on 22nd  June, 2012 at the  conference hall of the Nedunkerny Pradesa Sabai.  This meeting was organized by an NGO in collaboration with the relevant officers of the Divisional Secretary of Nedunkerny who  had arranged for the distribution  some material for income generation activities provided by NGOs. The funds for this meeting was provided by an UK based charity organization working  for  war affected children and widows. This meeting was attended by representatives of these organizations and  more than a hundred war widows  who had been invited  to commemorate  this day and listen to motivating speeches by experienced persons to give hope for these widows who had been rendered destitute by the recently concluded war.  Some of these widows made use of this opportunity to cry out the problems they are facing consequent to their re-settlement in this region. Nedunkerny is situated…

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Post-war Sri Lanka’s Thought Police: The Rehabilitation of Ex-Combatants and the Denigration of Tamil Identity: Part Two

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[Editors note: Read Part 1 of this series Post-war Sri Lanka’s Thought Police: The Rehabilitation of Ex-Combatants and the Denigration of Tamil Identity here] Introduction As mentioned by TSA,[1]the government has prepared a lengthy, heading-less, and inappropriate questionnaire[2] (in poorly written and, at times, incoherent Tamil) which has been used to obtain information about ex-combatants before they leave Protective Accommodation and Rehabilitation Centres (PARCs). The document appears to place no genuine emphasis on emotional wellness at all; one need not be a mental health professional to see that. No information was given as to why this questionnaire was administered. The only visible indication on the document is RQ-SL (Adult). It appears that this questionnaire was intended to capture the pulse of ex-combatants prior to their release. Some Specifics[3] The introductory portion of Part A tells respondents to do the following: There are forty-two questions in Part A. None of which are “Yes” or “No” questions. Rather, respondents are expected to give…

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Post-war Sri Lanka’s Thought Police: The Rehabilitation of Ex-Combatants and the Denigration of Tamil Identity

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Image courtesy The Hindu [Editors note: Read Part 2 of this series here, with PDFs of parts A-C of the questionnaire] The defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May of 2009 brought a new dimension to the ethnic conflict that has engulfed Sri Lanka since its independence in 1948.  During the final phase of the war, thousands of LTTE combatants surrendered to the military and were held in high security holding places. They were investigated by various units of the security establishment of Sri Lanka. Subsequently, the Military Intelligence Unit, Criminal Investigation Unit and the Terrorist Investigation Unit moved them to various Protective Accommodation Rehabilitation Centres (PARCs) situated in Jaffna, Polonnaruwa and Vavuniya to be “rehabilitated.” Apparently, all ex-combatants are required to answer a number of questions, either orally or in writing, before being released. The Social Architects (TSA) has obtained a copy of this questionnaire. Its content is telling. Methodology The government’s use of the…

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A man, a magistrate and 220 intimates: A reflection of the HIV response in Sri Lanka

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Photo by Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters, courtesy Council on Foreign Relations blog 2012: A man dies of AIDS in prison. A magistrate orders all 220 inmates that shared his ward to get tested. 2011: The National HIV/AIDS Policy was passed by parliament. Article 3.6 of the policy states that – “The Government of Sri Lanka promotes voluntary confidential counseling and testing, recognizing that mandatory testing would drive those at high risk of HIV infection beyond reach and prevent their access to public health preventive activities and other health services” Now, apparently the magistrate has no idea of this groundbreaking policy in the region – even India with their significant HIV burden still sit on their HIV Bill that was drafted in 2006. Yet, as we unpack this, should our concern be the magistrate’s ignorance of a relatively new policy or his apparent ignorance with regards to HIV transmission? In all fairness, he is treating this as he would any other communicable disease.  And…

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ITAK and the New Chapter in Post-War Politics of Sri Lanka

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Photo courtesy Virakesari, via dbsjeyaraj.com From its inception in late 1949 as the Tamil Federal Party, the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) – a party which, as the late Lakshman Kadirgamar once claimed in Parliament, was founded by a “dedicated group of principled men” – has been in the forefront of Sri Lankan (and Tamil) politics. It has come to play a dominant role in the writing of different chapters of Sri Lanka’s post-independence political story. The recent speech delivered by Mr. R. Sampanthan at the 14th Annual ITAK Convention (May, 2012) marks the opening of a new chapter, or the beginning of an important and critical phase of post-war Sri Lankan politics. What could be the impact of this speech? In a polarized and fragmented political context, how do we first make sense of what was said, without rushing to oppose it? How might it influence Sri Lankan politics in the future, and in particular, the course and relevance of…

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In conversation with Bishop Duleep de Chickera

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I clearly remember Bishop de Chickera at S. Thomas’ College, from around 25 years years ago. The fact that I hadn’t seen him in person for a quarter of a century hit me as I strode up to the foyer of Young Asia Television’s offices to meet him just before our interview, and for a moment, I was a student of 10 or 12 again. I remembered him walking around College, addressing us occasionally and writing behind his desk in his open office, visible to students who passed it on their way to assembly or class. Off camera, I once referred to him as ‘sabba‘ – our schoolboy term for Sub-Warden, which either he didn’t hear, or didn’t seem to mind. I was for that brief moment however frozen in terror, wondering whether he would pull me up not for a caning, but for that measured, calm questioning more fearful, and effective, than any fear of physical pain or punishment….

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Gotabhaya Rajapaksa on ethnicity in Northern Sri Lanka post-war

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Image courtesy 3mana In my interview with the Secretary of Defence, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, broadcast on the BBC a week ago, his comments on the demography of the North aroused particular interest. DBS Jeyaraj disputed his assertion that it was easy for Tamils to live all over Sri Lanka, and described as “troubling” Mr Rajapaksa’s assertion that the North of Sri Lanka should not be viewed as a predominantly Tamil place.  In his website he asked why, indeed, Tamils should not call the north their homeland; such a term need not exclude others from living there, he said. In contrast, the senior presidential secretariat official, Lucien Rajakarunanayake, said the BBC had been “humbled” by Mr Rajapaksa as the BBC’s plan “to show… that Tamils … were threatened by Sinhala settlers” was disproved. The BBC had no such plan but only raised the subject of ethnicity once Mr Rajapaksa brought up the subject of government agents. Mr. Rajapaksa dwelt on the point…

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The burning of the Jaffna library: 31 years on

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31 years ago, the public library in Jaffna was burnt. As noted online, at the time of its destruction, the library was one of the biggest in Asia, containing over 97,000 books and manuscripts. Nothing survived the flames. Anchored to an event in Colombo, an article commemorating the burning of the library published on Groundviews last year noted, Some one quite rightly pointed out that it was a crime against humanity. No doubt, it is a crime which struck at the very heart of Tamil culture and civilization- a crime which is tantamount to rape, as described by the speaker – a rape not of the body but of the hearts and minds – for this repository of knowledge, culture and history represented the pride and dignity of the Tamil people. The following poem was sent to us some months ago. It seems apt to publish it today. Originally written in Tamil by Prof. M. A. Nuhman, the translation is by S….

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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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