Comments on: What Can We Expect from the APRC?

By: shami

shami — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 08:12:04 +0000

aaaw c’mon sham,, you mean bold vs blatantly racist

By: Sham

Sham — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 04:31:00 +0000

but the fact ( vs opinion) remains none in this forum are bold enough to say what they want……………….

By: shami

shami — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:21:55 +0000

hey sham, your obsrvations would make great poster material for racists like the JHU and other ‘Sinhala ethnonationalists’. Or by your yardstick, are Minoritites the only folk who breed racism and terrorism????

By: groundviews

groundviews — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:42:05 +0000

[Editors note: Comment sent via email by punitham]

Good teachers make a good society. Did we teachers show any intolerance when ethnic intolerance appeared in school textbooks in the 70s or even earlier?

By: Sie.Kathieravelu

Sie.Kathieravelu — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 13:20:45 +0000

Regret to note that the name of the website that gives details of the proposal has been left out. If the need be I am prepared to send the proposals by email . My email address is [email protected] and postal address 217, Station Road, Vavuniya

By: Sie.Kathieravelu

Sie.Kathieravelu — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 13:16:00 +0000

The last comment by Sham requested what the Tamils want. I would like to tell him is that the people including the Tamils want a democratic, just, peaceful and humane Sri Lanka and that rule of the law and justice remains the foundation of durable peace.

For a solution on the above basis please go to . You will have the reasons and the benefits of the solution proposed. It is a parliament without political parties, because the political parties are the real cancer that is damaging the coutry and its people.

By: Sham

Sham — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 08:08:53 +0000

this articles looks really great , and some of the comments have major words such as “Sinhala ethnonational ” and what not.

i am sure that there are many political analyst here , whilst also noting that many members who comment here wanting a power devolution from the current status…

can some intelligent non-sinhala minority who calls for power sharing and devolution of power be bold enough to state what specific details are proposed as a power sharing solution in the first round.

be bold and say what you want.
1. seperate country?
2. seperate flag?
whats else will make you satisfied?

By: Suren Raghavan

Suren Raghavan — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 15:15:25 +0000

Dear Professor Sumane!

What a waste of words and wisdom? When you wrote so positively about APRC few months ago, I responded to say that the historical drama of the Sinhala ethnonational polity is far from shared rule and only a tamasha to continue. I am amazed at the level of naivety that the left over political intellectualism in the south.

True, one should be ready for hope and bargain, yet is there any lesson that history cannot offer to replace insidiousness displayed by the gerrymandering political elites of the south for the last 60 years? I am afraid that we are passing though an era what the future historian on Lanka may name as a historical case study for narrow negative nationalism.

Ps: don’t be bullied by Ambassador Dayan J. Your rights to demand a change in the socio-political landscape in Lanka is more legitimate than his (paid) privilege to represent Lanka’s human rights! The difference could lay in the survival art he has doctored from Perumal to Rajapakse while you continue as a concerned political activist (at times far eager to palliate the Sinhala polity)

Suren

By: Ordinary Lankan

Ordinary Lankan — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 07:34:55 +0000

I like Bishan’s sentiments and agree that we must always communicate with great respect for our fellow citizens. Of course this does not preclude a point being made with appropriate force.
In another post I have referred to the great Indian spiritual and social tradition. We need to appreciate how different our own historical evolution has been. We have not had the benefit of a unifying spiritual tradition as in India. The creation and maintenance of the sinhala buddhist state in the island has been steeped in insecurity even though there has been the usual complacency and confidence both then and now. We also dont have much by way of alternative historical material. The sinhala version of Ratnavalli by Sunil Wijesiriwardena provides an excellent commentray on Dutugemunu which I would recommend to those who are interested in getting a deeper insight than the usual superficial hisorical accounts.
We are unfortunate in not having any tradition of resistance to the state in SL except during the british period. All the British values including the good ones have now been thrown out.
This is why those who want to reform always go for power first like the JVP and LTTE. The Indian tradition of meditation, prayer and fasting – mastering self before seeking to master others is absent here. All the power play here lacks the inner substance and light which only a thorough commitment to values of honesty, humility and even humour can generate.
So we have a huge challenge in putting together the ingredients of a new moral order – but it can be done. We Sri Lankans have always avoided doing the most difficult thing – reforming ourselves, taking care of our own children and near and dear. Instead we are trying to reform society and constitutions. There is a lot of rubbish in our own backyards. To indians who are brought up in the tradition of Gandhi and Nehru we must look very funny and very serious and very stupid in our quest for peace. We will never do it this way.
Read Mandela and read Gandhi. But first realize that YOU are more important than them. The challenges that YOU face today are the most relevant. We can use all these ‘great men’ as resources or we can dump them. The choice is ours. Sometimes people refer to this approach as utopian. They dont realize that in doing so they are denying their own autonomy …. with metta to all

By: Bishan

Bishan — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 15:19:04 +0000

In response to Nihal Pathirana:-

“I want you to read autobiagraphy of Mr. Nelson Mandela a majority rule under a unitary state where he negotiated with a white minority government. In south Africa there are more ethnic groups than in Srilanka The South Afrcan Goverment was willingly offerd their assistance to facilitate Srilanka ethnic crisis.”

Thanks for your interesting and intelligent post. Everyone knows that there is plenty of “head and heart” at hand when dealing with and describing this conflict, however it is intelligence and staying calm (not to mention love, compassion and understanding) that is needed by as many people as often as possible in trying to find a solution to the conflict, even in discussion.

I have been to South Africa twice in the last 10 years – it is an amazing success story (even thought they have their own share of problems). I also think Sri Lanka can learn a lot from their “truth and reconciliation” process in terms for dealing with the pain of past attrocities – such as th ’83 riots, and element in the government that did not protect their citizens, JVP and government attrocities of ’89-90, and LTTE bombings to name a few (if only LTTE could also be held accountable for thier actions).

I agree completely in your sentiment Nihal of reading about Nelson Mandela. Another great as we know is Ghandi.- we need to look at intelligent lessons from history argue them out and start advocating rather than slinging blame around which isn’t going to achieve anything more that a tit for tat type discussion.

Another country where I have noticed a very intelligent handling of a difficult conflict is the IRA and Northern Ireland conflict. It “is” possible for a terrorist organisation to lay down arms, and for a government to honor this act with political negotiations.

One thing for sure is no matter what the APRC comes up with it is not going to be perfect, and there is always going to be criticism. However the simple fact is everyone wants a negotiated political settlement so that there can finally be some peace, so why not support this so that process can get started, with the provision of making the necessary adjustments as the process is further elucidated.

Just some food for thought 🙂

Cheers
Bishan

“Nonviolence is a weapon of the strong”

“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”

“Whenever you have truth it must be given with love, or the message and the messenger will be rejected”

(quotes by Mahatma Gandhi)

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that”

(Martin Luther King, Jr.)