REFLECTIONS ON LIBERTY IN SRI LANKA AT A GROUNDVIEWS MILESTONE
in 1859. As Chou En Lai said of the French Revolution, in an era of crisis for global capitalism, many may feel that it might be too early to tell whether or…
Constitutional Reform
This one for President!
Java and I were mulling over the presidential possibilities – what with all the rumours going back and forth and the opposition thrashing around like headless chickens looking for an option to…
Is Sri Lanka on the East Asian Path?
Many questions with regard to democratic values and system of government in Sri Lanka have surfaced in recent years and it has been argued by some that Sri Lanka is heading at…
A response to Mano Ganeshan: Beyond engaging the ‘Sarath Fonseka worshipers’
Once in a way, in this sad little Republic as Mano Ganeshan aptly calls Sri Lanka, there happens discussions, worth following up on. So thank you Mano, for following up on my…
The Public Servant and the Politician: in Harmony or in Conflict?
[Authors note: This is the text of my comment as a Panel discussant, delivered at the Institute of Public Management on 3rd November 2009] My reflection will be in the context of…
Interrogating a public intellectual: Noted bloggers and youth activists engage Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka
[Editors note: Beyond Borders, as part of a discussion series aimed at connecting youth activists with key opinion  and decision makers, organised a discussion with Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka on 8 October 2009. Around…
Dayan Jayatilleka on post-war politics and enduring obstacles to peace in Sri Lanka
I spoke with Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka recently on his take on post-war politics, his interpretation of the Southern Provincial Council elections, the issue of war crimes and the extension of GSP+, the…
A Presidential Election in 2010? The 3rd Amendment and the Continuing Constitutional Crisis
Media reports suggest that President Mahinda Rajapaksa might decide to hold an early Presidential Election in 2010. It is therefore interesting to look into some of the issues relating to the matter….
Imagining the immediate (im)possibilities
Preamble My last reflection on the immediate possibilities of state power sharing had an unusual over 25,000 readers generating 77 comments amounting to a staggering 24,500 word count. Luckily for the most…
Not signing the Rome Statute is not enough! (A response to Ranil Wickremasinghe and Mangala Samaraweera)
Mangala Samaraweera, MP, had raised an interesting point about the Rome Statute which set up the International Criminal Court (ICC). This was during a recent press conference. The point raised was that…
Delusions of (power) devolution: Searching post–Prapa possibilities
The elite based political debate in Sri Lanka once again appears to gravitate around the primordial issue of deciding the best mode of power-sharing between the centre and the periphery, primarily between…
Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka on history of power-sharing in Sri Lanka and the 13th Amendment
The Centre for Policy Alternatives recently launched , a compendium of important constitutional proposals and political ideas that have featured in debates about power-sharing and the constitutional form of the Sri Lankan…
Critiquing the President’s victory speech: Evidence of a majoritarian mindset?
Authors note: The following is the text of a talk before a forum on minority rights organized by the CPA in July. It should, ideally, have been edited for publication. But, given…
Taking a page from Chechnya: Sri Lanka’s insincere constitutional reform and its apologists
[Editors note: This post which first came to me through Facebook was forwarded to Dayan for comment. His response follows. The emphasis at the end of the article is mine. It is…
Designing democracy: A post-Prabhakaran future
Was/is he an ethnonational liberation fighter, an egocentric megalomaniac or an unschooled political protagonist? Depending on the perspectives they would prefer to take, concerned future historians will struggle to pigeon hole Veluppilai…