Rizana’s future: what WE CAN DO.
The beheading of Rizana, a Sri Lankan migrant worker in Saudi Arabia feels unstoppable. I first heard about this issue late last week ago, but only found out yesterday that her execution…
Media and Communications
Protecting Culture or Fishing in Troubled Waters?
“What a Life, What a Time, What a Country!†An email arrives from my friend Sathyajith Maitipe. He has just received instructions from the Censorship Board to remove the sexual scenes from…
All the President’s media
Taken from Al Jazeera Transforming State media Recent reports in the State media loudly proclaimed the President’s desire to depoliticise State media and his instructions to this effect. As pointed out in…
Voices of Reconciliation Radio – New Content
Tune in and turn up the volume! VOR Radio aims to enhance social, political and cultural cohesion in Sri Lanka through podcasts in Sinhala, Tamil and English with a special focus on…
Perspectives on Peace and Culture
In my first article to Groundviews I examine the decline of polity and society and the sheer wastefulness of war. In examining the role of the media, I bemoan the fact that…
The pretense of professionalism – the flipside of media freedom in Sri Lanka
In calling the media “feral beasts” caught in a vicious cycle of unravelling standards Tony Blair, in his last days of office, may have captured the approach to journalism by some of…
War, abductions, killings, human rights violations and evictions
War, Abductions, killings, human rights violations, and evictions are synonyms widely used to describe the current situation in Sri Lanka especially in the international area. Are we facing the gravest period of…
Sparks from the Notes of a Vagabond Mind
The Sri Lankan film director and writer, Tissa Abeysekara, is one of our greatest storytellers in both Sinhala and English. Two of the best examples are his short novel, Bringing Tony Home,…
Sri Lanka blocks TamilNet
Follow up to Tamilnet banned? – How to continue to access the site from Sri Lanka Original story available from here. [TamilNet, Tuesday, 19 June 2007, 15:32 GMT] TamilNet has completed 10th…
Tamilnet banned? – How to continue to access the site from Sri Lanka
Reports received by Groundviews indicate that Tamilnet is inaccessible from many major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Sri Lanka. At the time of writing, the site is confirmed to be inaccessible from:…
(Rajapakse) & Co.
A Tragi-Comedy in Three Parts Act I “& Co.” is a political satire on Swarnavahini that’s quite hilarious, until of course we realise we are essentially laughing at the tragedy that is…
Tiran Alles and the Media War
Tiran Alles was Mahinda Rajapaksa’s emissary to the North-East during the run-up to the Presidential Elections in November 2005. Now he is in custody and shares a fate similar to that of…
An appeal to support Kumbi Kathawa (Ant Story): A Dance Drama
Kumbi Kathawa (Ant Story) was conceived by Anjalika, Chitrasena and Vajira’s daughter. She was inspired by a Russian children’s story. The ballet is choreographed and directed by Anjalika and Mahesh, who has…
The Publicity Baby
Abilash Jeyarajah looks like any other ordinary toddler, living with his family in a small village near Kalmunai in the Ampara district of Sri Lanka. But life was not so ordinary for…
Mahinda – Better than G.W Bush ?
Photo credit: Al-Jazeera A friend recently forwarded me this story – an interview featuring the Sri Lankan President on Al Jazeera. I am slightly confused by it – and thought it would…