Rally in Nugegoda organised by the hard-core Sinhala nationalists, i.e. Weerawansa, Dinesh, Gammanpila and Vasudeva with the blessings of former President Mahinda Rajapakse and their pseudo intellectual appendage Dayan Jayatilleke reminds us that the politicians who made a life out of Sinhala communalism/nationalism at the expense of a pluralist, liberal democratic Sri Lanka are well and alive.
via: http://groundviews.org/2015/02/19/beating-the-communal-drum-by-hardcore-sinhala-nationalists/
Review of Nation, Constitutionalism and Buddhism in Sri Lanka by Roshan de Silva Wijeyeratne , Rouledge, London, 2014, ISBN 978-0-415-46266-2,250pp
via: http://groundviews.org/2015/02/17/review-of-nation-constitutionalism-and-buddhism-in-sri-lanka/
We are the relatives of those who have been abducted, arrested, and disappeared by agents of the state or different armed groups. With our lives and emotions, in different ways, we have been searching for our loved ones who have not returned home, and who we believe are being held in illegal and secret ways.
The shift in political priorities – from “national security and economic development” to one of “good governance”; and the emergence of civil society actor-networks may represent tectonic sifts in the political landscape of Sri Lanka and provide a template for similar transformations in other countries. Perhaps they merely signify ‘little changes’ that would pale in comparison with the bigger changes that may eventually follow.
Via http://groundviews.org/…/…/16/sri-lankas-political-moment-2/
The media of the 13th Friday had two very different statements on the fate of the ‘Port City “ project. The Daily Mirror reports The Government of Sri Lanka through its acting cabinet spokesman; Minister Lakshman Kiriella stated, “The Port City Project has been automatically stopped as there were so many shortcomings in the EIA report. We must go through it and rectify those shortcomings before re-start the project,”
Via http://groundviews.org/2015/02/16/who-rules/
The media of the 13th Friday had two very different statements on the fate of the ‘Port City “ project. The Daily Mirror reports The Government of Sri Lanka through its acting cabinet spokesman; Minister Lakshman Kiriella stated, “The Port City Project has been automatically stopped as there were so many shortcomings in the EIA report. We must go through it and rectify those shortcomings before re-start the project,”
Via http://groundviews.org/2015/02/16/who-rules/
Although, the coalition criticized the Colombo Port City project as a waste of a colossal sum and promised to terminate it once elected, it now appears that the government is retracting from its earlier commitment. A major promise made prior to its election was the removal of the executive presidency. The Sirisena government is now having second thoughts.
Those who voted for this administration are watching with a keen interest and will no doubt pass judgement on its performance or lack at the soon to be held general election.
via: http://groundviews.org/2015/02/14/expectations-and-the-disappointments-of-the-new-government/
The stage is now set for a resurgence in India-Sri Lanka relations. This will depend on dynamic leadership in India and Sri Lanka. India will certainly look forward to regaining lost ground in Sri Lanka and should therefore re-engage Colombo as a vibrant partner and a reliable neighbour.
“Sri Lanka’s police arrested 35 suspected Tamil asylum seekers off the coast near Weligama, in the south of the country, Xinhua reported. The Tamils, aged between 30 and 40, are all resident in the Northern Province towns of Jaffna, Mankulam, Chavakacheri, Olumadu, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu, Oddusuddan and Mallavi. According to Xinhua, the arrests on Wednesday were the first of Tamils attempting to flee the country since the new government of Maithripala Sirisena came into power in January. Police said the Tamils were preparing to sail to another country when they were spotted by the navy.”
via: http://www.tamilguardian.com/article.asp?articleid=13845
Over the last eight years, interference in online expression gathered pace, with the former government drawing upon an increasing range of tools to silence critics – legal and extra-legal. Notably, in 2011, the Ministry of Mass Media and Information introduced a registration requirement for websites bearing content ‘relating to Sri Lanka or the people of Sri Lanka’, a dangerously baggy definition.
via: http://groundviews.org/2015/02/13/online-freedom-of-expression-in-sri-lanka/
Sri Lanka’s new government will seek to borrow more than $4.0 billion from the IMF and other international lenders as it “restructures” expensive Chinese debt, the finance minister
“However noble its motives, the Sirisena government must deal with the legacy of the past. Any delay in the release of the United Nations report must be brief. And the United Nations must remain involved. This is not a rebuke to Mr. Sirisena’s welcome intentions. It is simply the best way to guarantee that the inquiry is swift and independent, that witnesses are adequately protected and that perpetrators are finally punished.”
via: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/11/opinion/sri-lankas-duty-on-war-crimes.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0
Of the many pieties that have been promoted in the Western media in the aftermath of Maithripala Sirisena’s victory over incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa in the recent Sri Lankan presidential election, none has been more cherished than the notion that Sri Lanka is now on board with “democracy.” This claim is counter-posed to Sri Lanka’s recent cozy relationship with China and other authoritarian countries. A new Cold War is supposedly being fought, with Sri Lanka’s election reduced to its strategic relevance to policy makers.
A Sri Lankan court on Thursday barred former Tamil Tiger rebel leader Kumaran Pathmanathan, wanted by India in connection with the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, from traveling abroad, a lawyer said.
via: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/05/us-sri-lanka-war-india-idUSKBN0L928H20150205
Sri Lanka’s new government will go ahead with a $1.5 bn Chinese-funded port city project planned by the previous president to avoid misunderstandings with Beijing, an official said Thursday.
Sri Lanka’s new government on Thursday accused the military of trying to sow unrest to sabotage its efforts to bring about ethnic reconciliation in the war-ravaged north of the country.
