Waning Economic Euphoria and the Impending Crisis of Governance

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  Photo courtesy Media Centre for National Development of Sri Lanka The immediate post-civil war years of 2010 and 2011 in Sri Lanka were trumpeted as record-breaking eight percent or greater annual real growth rate of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for two consecutive years including the highest ever economic growth rate of 8.3% recorded in 2011. However, the GDP growth rate in 2012 is unlikely to exceed six percent and the prospect for 2013 is even less. Besides, post-civil war economic growth rates all over the world are always in double-digit and therefore there is nothing to gloat about the high single-digit growth rate in Sri Lanka in 2010 and 2011. The quarterly GDP growth plummeted to 4.8% during the third-quarter 2012; lowest quarterly growth rate since third-quarter 2009 (4.2%). The agriculture sector, in particular, recorded negative growth of (-) 0.5% during the third-quarter 2012 largely due to severe drought. The agriculture sector is expected to have declined even…

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I’d rather be a cow in Sri Lanka

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Photo courtesy The Straits Times What says the law? You will not kill. How does it say it? By killing! – Victor Hugo Rizana Nafeek’s execution on Wednesday (9th January) outraged many Sri Lankans. She was convicted of murdering a baby and sentenced to death by the Dawdami High Court in Saudi Arabia. She was 17 at the time of the alleged offence. We are outraged for many reasons. Rizana was a minor at the time of the offence. Her recruitment agent falsified her documents in order to present her as older. Her conviction was secured despite the absence of a post mortem. The police obtained her ‘confession’ under duress. She had no access to a competent translator. The case reeks of injustice on multiple levels. Not surprisingly, many are outraged by the inhumanity of the death penalty imposed on a Sri Lankan by the Saudi authorities. Footage of a beheading purporting to be Rizana’s execution was shown on national…

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The devastating impeachment of the Chief Justice in Sri Lanka: Interview with Asanga Welikala

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Image courtesy The Hindu Groundviews interviewed Asanga Welikala, a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Policy Alternatives (the institutional anchor of this website) on the unprecedented constitutional crisis that has gripped Sri Lanka. Over the years, Asanga’s appeared many times on Groundviews, including most recently, speaking about the dynamics of constitution making in Sri Lanka post-independence. He has also contributed some of this site’s most read and quoted articles. For ease of access, engagement and virality on the web, Asanga’s remarkably frank and insightful interview is broken up into segments based on the questions he was asked. Please outline the seriousness of the present constitutional imbroglio regarding the impeachment of the Chief Justice. Why should the ordinary citizen care about what is going on? Many in the South, who consume State media, believe that Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake was corrupt, and therefore feel it is justified she was impeached. What is your response to this widespread perception? Since the announcement…

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Appointment of the new Chief Justice in Sri Lanka: Resistance should continue

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Photo by AFP/ Ishara S. Kodikara, via Arab News ‘We won’t allow you to let the judiciary go to hell. We won’t allow you to do that.’ - (Mathiaparanan Abraham Sumanthiran MP) No self-respecting person with integrity, or a shred of concern for justice should accept the President’s offer to become the next Chief Justice of the country. Those who support his bid, including, Vasudeva Nanayakkara who told the “judiciary to go to hell in Parliament on public camera, are guilty of complicity with the government’s bald attack on the independence of the Judiciary and attempt to undermine public confidence in it by twisting truth.  They join the regime in insulting judges, condone thuggery against peaceful dissent, dishonour the supremacy of the Parliament, and internationally disgrace the democratic institutions of Sri Lanka. If the Bar Association accepts the new Chief Justice, they will undermine not only their own credibility but also that of the whole legal profession.  Sri Lanka will join…

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Militarized charity and land grabbing: Experience of Keppapulavu in the Vanni

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Photo by author from Menik Farm: The tragic end of a bitter saga, from detention to forced relocation I read with interest the article by Amal de Chickera titled “Racing Tanks with Bicycles: A Parable of ‘Reconciliation’ in Sri Lanka” and response to this by Sri Lanka Unites (SLU). I had often struggled with issues raised by Amal and SLU in my interactions with friends, colleagues and people in the North and East in the last six years, especially in the Vanni after the end of the war. I have a particularly strong attachment to the people of Keppapulavu referred to in both articles, because of my frequent visits to meet them last few years – in their present place of residence and when they were in Menik Farm. The basic fact SLU hides – Keppapulavu is illegally occupied by the military A simple basic fact that Amal’s article notes and SLU avoids, is that the people of Keppapulavu were…

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Unseasonal Rains

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Devo vassatu Kalena (may the rains fall in due season) Sassa sampattu hetu ca (may there be a rich harvest) Phito bhavatu loko ca (may the world prosper) Raja bhavatu dhammiko (may the ruler be righteous) Four conditions governing the well being of humanity each inexorably tied to the other. It has been pointed out by many commentators this also reflects the traditional view of the system of governance. Without a righteous ruler, the rains will not come in season, the harvest will be poor and the world will not prosper. Many millions recite this verse every day, well aware of Dharma (as the perennially fixed set of natural laws governing causation). These laws present the structure of rules which if understood correctly leads to natural or skillful action (dharma) which provides fortunate consequences  (kusala kamma) or if not understood and contravened leads to unskillful action (adharma) with unfortunate consequences (akusala kamma). Wholesome, fair-minded actions always bring forth positive future…

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  • 15 Jan, 2013
  • 132 Comments
  • Colombo,
    Religion and faith

Bodu Bala Senā and Buddhism’s militant face in Sri Lanka

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Image courtesy Mirror website One of the first things I had to do in the new year was to firmly remind my (Lankan) Facebook friends to avoid posting or tagging me to any anti-Muslim rhetoric that is growing in an organized manner.  A systemic and sequential anti-Muslim campaign is taking place in many parts of the island (as we observe now) largely mobilized by a Saṅgha led lay organization called Bodu Bala Senā – BBS (or Forces of Buddhist Power). While we are unaware of the legal status, finding sources and possible powerful political backing, their public face in a www site gives a glimpse of the structure and nature of this undoubtedly ‘Buddhist’ organization. My first reading of their public picture is impressive. They are well organized. More interactive/informative than many government websites. Modern, seem to seriously adhere and willing to stand for their socio-political beliefs irrespective of such beliefs and practices being Buddhist or not in its nature, modality…

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Waking up to migrant employment through Rizana Nafeek

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Image via BBC Much is written on Rizana Nafeek’s extremely unfortunate fate in Saudi Arabia (SA). Some written with anger let loose on the government and some on licensed agencies and every one else who could be dragged in. But to discuss SL migrant labour, one has to leave emotions aside and start off with a factual explanation of what this whole issue is. An extremely deprived, poor Muslim family from Muttur, decided to find some stability to their living by sending their 17 year old eldest daughter for employment in the Middle East. In 2005 the salary would have been around LKR 16,000 (USD 150) per month and that for them would have been substantial. The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) does not approve House Maid (HM) applicants below 30 years for SA. At least in Sri Lanka the only instance when young girls agree to declare their age above the actual age is, when they want…

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An unprecedented constitutional crisis in Sri Lanka elicits a yawn

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Sri Lanka’s Parliament debated the impeachment of the country’s Chief Justice over two days last week. In the course of these debates, and akin to the critical submissions by him during the equally chaotic and pivotal debate on the 18th Amendment in September 2010, Tamil National Alliance MP M.A. Sumanthiran delivered one of the most widely quoted speeches against the impeachment and in particular, the Icarean stance of the President and members of the ruling party that Parliament was above and beyond the purview of the Courts. After announcing that it would be Sumanthiran’s turn to speak, and in the midst of mindless shouting and general chaos in the Chambers, presiding over one of the most important debates in Parliament ever, what does the Deputy Speaker do? He yawns. And in that precise moment, moments before Sumanthiran’s submission that was, as in 2010 – frequently and rudely interrupted – one saw the Rajapaksa regime’s real interest in, and capacity to…

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The Republic at 40: Four decades of constitution (un)making in Sri Lanka

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The Sri Lankan Republic at 40: Reflections on Constitutional History, Theory and Practice is a collection of scholarly essays marking the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Sri Lankan Republic in 1972, edited by Asanga Welikala. Spanning two volumes and at over 1,100 pages, this is not a tome that can be compressed into 24 minutes of an interview for public television. What Asanga does do is to look at key leitmotifs in the book and look at how the process leading to and the substance of the 1972 constitution continues to influence present day constitutional challenges and the timbre of governance. We begin our discussion by flagging the sketch featured on the cover of the book as well as on a separate page within it, by well-known architect Sunela Jayewardene. Flagging his collaboration with Sunela in Mediated, Asanga notes that the sketch is a visual representation of several of the key aspects of the first republican constitution, including…

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The consequences of the Black Friday impeachment will be game changing

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Image by AP, courtesy The Hindu The Black Friday impeachment is another shameful day in the history of our country. The absolute majority in parliament obtained through dubious means has been used once again by this government to deny justice to the chief justice of our country and undermine the independence of the judiciary. It is not a black day just for the judiciary. It is a black day for every single citizen of this country. In undermining the judiciary and the rule of law, the freedom and liberties that citizens of this country are born with, have been robbed through the tyranny of the parliamentary majority. A year and a half ago when the administration brought an ad hominem bill to expropriate private property I said that democracy denoted by absolute majority rule was very dangerous and could destroy the liberties of citizens in the absence of safeguards to ensure justice, freedom and property rights. It was unfortunate that…

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  • 11 Jan, 2013
  • 18 Comments
  • Colombo,
    Jaffna,
    Reconciliation

Response to “Racing tanks with Bicycles: A parable of ‘Reconciliation’ in Sri Lanka”

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  Image via Facebook photo set by Akiy Photography. In the wake of a Project where essential school items, bicycles and other items were donated at the Seeniyamottai resettlement village in December 2012, much discussion has taken place in public forums as to certain concerns it raises including in the recent article in ‘Groundviews’ by Amal de Chickera (read Racing Tanks with Bicycles: A Parable of ‘Reconciliation’ in Sri Lanka). Sri Lanka Unites as a movement would like to reply and to clarify some of the mistaken assertions. It must be stated at the outset, as indicated by Amal de Chickera himself, that his thoughts and ideas were spurred by browsing through images on a social media site. With all respect to the author’s best efforts and the website for their citizen’s journalism initiatives, it would surely have been better if the article was based on a wider and deeper level of information and the courtesy of a consultation with Sri Lanka…

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A legal primer: The impeachment of the Chief Justice in Sri Lanka

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Photo from MSN News Groundviews interviewed Luwie Ganeshathasan, a Researcher in the Legal and Constitutional Unit of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (the institutional home of this website), on several key issues arising from the impeachment proceedings against the current Chief Justice of Sri Lanka, Shirani Bandaranayake. ### Is there provision in the constitution to impeach the CJ? Yes. The Constitution in Article 107 provides for the impeachment of not only the Chief Justice, but any judge of the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeal. Has it happened in the past, how and why? Yes, on several occasions, attempts have been made to impeach judges of the superior courts. In 1983, Justices Wimalaratne and Colin-Thome of the Supreme Court were brought before a Parliamentary Select Committee based on an allegation made by a person involved in a case heard by the Judges. The Select Committee, while not upholding the personal allegations against the judges, expressed reservations about the verdict…

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LLRC & the Lessons on Devolution: Sri Lanka’s LLRC Revisited

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Learning lessons is a humbling experience. It takes place with the admission that one has made mistakes. Having made them, one feels the adverse consequences; having felt them, one realizes the importance of learning from those mistakes, learning not to repeat them, learning the required lessons. In the realm of politics, then, this process, this matter of learning lessons, is an extremely humbling and bold exercise. Viewed from this perspective, the establishment of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) was a necessary, but ironic, exercise. Necessary, because the situation was ideal for a more honest and forthright discussion of what needs to be learned to prevent conflict in the future; ironic, because the process was to be initiated soon after a conclusive defeat of an opponent, by a clear victor who now stood firm and proud on the battlefield, by a government which had claimed to have made no mistakes. The challenge was immediately evident. It is within this…

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The Rajapaksa ‘Sangamaya’: Creating employees and customers of citizens

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Image from Lanka Standard The following video features the last couple of a minutes of a longer speech delivered by Dr. Nihal Jayawickrama at the launch of The Sri Lankan Republic at 40: Reflections on Constitutional History, Theory and Practice, a collection of scholarly essays edited by Asanga Welikala, a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Policy Alternatives (the institutional home of Groundviews) on 21st December 2012. In this excerpt, Dr. Jayawickrama offers a devastating critique of the Rajapaksa administration and its mode of governance. He notes that Sri Lanka today has moved beyond an Executive Presidency based model to a corporate governance mode for the entire country – the Rajapaksa ‘sangamaya‘ (or company) – as noted by the President’s brother, Basil Rajapaksa. After flagging in brief some of the serious challenges that arise from this mindset and mode of governance, Dr. Jayawickrama ends with a pertinent question: “What if the [Rajapaksa] ‘samagama‘ goes bust? The speech in full can be viewed…

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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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