Reforming the Constitutional Council
Our Constitutional Council (CC) is the product of an extremely rare moment in our post-independence political history at which legislators of all hues arrived at a consensus. Unfortunately its efficacy has been…
Author: Somapala Gunadheera
A thought for the IDPs in the camps
It is hard for those who have no access to the camps in the North to form a realistic opinion on the plight of the over 65,000 refugees who are supposed to…
Dutugemunu in war should remain Dutugemunu in peace
The question posed by Groundviews, “What is the most important issue facing the peoples of Sri Lanka in a ‘post-LTTE’ context and how can the State address it?” is very complex. It…
Looking at the grid of SL political opinion as a continuum
I have read appearing in FEDERALiDEA on March 10, 2009. Saliya opines, “It it is not convincingly justified why the pro-devolution cause cannot be productively served from anti-military standpoint. In fact it…
Wanted for the Tamils: An Ashroff or a Thondaman
Now that the armed conflict of the LTTE is supposed to be approaching its end, it behoves those concerned with the future of the Tamils in Sri Lanka, to reflect seriously on…
Misconceptions that prolong our ethnic conflict
There is no doubt that our ethnic conflict is the worst scourge that has bedeviled this nation since Independence. An incisive and objective look at the calamity would reveal that it is…
A thought for the stranded refugees in Vanni
I wish to draw wider public attention to the following extract appearing in “A short note from the Vanni” written by “Witness” and appearing in the Groundviews on September 30, 2008: “The…
Put back missing chairs and stop the APC musical chairs game!
For all intents and purposes, the All Party Conference (APC), has been a waste of time by playing for time, all the time. Periodic boycotts and exits of parties based on their…
Hurry Up and Go Slowly
When we were being initiated to English under the Free Education Scheme, our teacher used to ask us to, “Hurry up and go slowly.” This command made us laugh, for by then…
In Search of a Peace Package
Now that the government appears to be fighting the war to a finish, it behoves concerned members of our civil society to put their heads together to evolve an optimum Peace Package…
A ‘Hold-Fire’ for One Month – Response to LTTE’s ceasefire during SAARC
It would be short-sighted to dismiss out of hand, the current offer of the LTTE of a ‘cease-fire’. Apart from anything else, it will create the impression that we were hell bent…
Some Reflections arising from Ethnic Riots
by Somapala Gunadheera Off and on, I write short stories, never anecdotes. But now I have to oblige Sanjana. He wants stories about our ethnic riots, the one that raged before he…
Jaffna: Retrospect and Prospect
Most of what I reveal below has been lying concealed in my notes and diaries deposited in the Government Achieves. I have decided to focus on them out of my belief that…