The 2019 election has not generated any real enthusiasm among the people. There have been the usual rituals of meetings, distribution of rice parcels, promises of other little santhosom (gifts) – those are what the sovereign people of Sri Lanka have been offered. In reality, they have been left with a beggar’s choice, which is to select something from the dustbin. Of course, no one could have expected any immediate solutions to the terrible problems the country is faced with. But the people had the right to see a slight…
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What happens to the people happens also to judges, lawyers, and others
This memoir by former Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake on the (now nullified) impeachment is a significant contribution to the cause of promoting the independence of judiciary in Sri Lanka. Its significance lies in the fact it exposes the truth about what really has happened to the judiciary as an institution within the context of changes brought about by way of the constitutions of 1972 and 1978, and the practices that have developed as a result of these constitutional changes. The memoir makes it starkly clear that the separation of…
Read MoreA NATION IS NOT MERELY TERRITORY OR AN IDEOLOGY BUT A COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS
Legalistically speaking, a nation is a people living together in a particular geographical region. But legal definitions do not create a nation. The meaning of nation is far deeper than any legal definition of it. Often politicians define a nation in terms of ideologies. For example, if a nation at a given time adopts the ideology of Communism, it is called a communist nation. If the ideology adopted is Capitalism it is called a capitalist nation. If the nation adopts a Fascist’s ideology it will be called a fascist nation.…
Read MoreHow the poor pay for the national debt and for corruption?
he one of the most frequent practices in the public hospitals now is that patients have to pay for everything. For example, a patient undergoing an operation has to buy everything from outside shops, even the plaster that is used to cover the wound caused by the operation. This explains to the extent to which public health system has become privatized to the great disadvantage of the poorest section of the Sri Lankan society. Virtually, many other things such as the needle used for the operation and most of the…
Read MoreSri Lankan Politicians as archetypes of destruction
In the Sri Lankan mind, politicians are thought to be engaged in the destruction of the lives of the people and the foundations of the nation. In the subconscious or unconscious, this has gone so deep that to speak of them as archetypes in the Jungian sense is no exaggeration at all. It is commonly said that all 225 members of parliament should be dismissed for the good of the people. To be an archetype of destruction is worse than being a mere dictator or tyrant. History shows that in…
Read MoreResuming the death sentence in order to divert public attention
Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena announced that he has signed four warrants for execution of persons who were convicted of crimes related to drugs. His announcement was given very wide publicity. In justifying his action, he said that in the Philippines, 27,000 people were shot on allegations of offences relating to drug possession. The Sri Lankan President went on to say that this is what should be done. He further stated that the bomb blast that took place on Easter Sunday, 21 April was, according to his understanding, masterminded by…
Read MoreMale Prisoner needing urgent medical treatment for heart ailment severely tortured by Police
Sri Rangaraja Sudan was arrested by Norwood Police on suspicion of illegal possession of cocaine and charged under the Poison, Opium, and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance on 16 July 2016. He is currently in Bogambara remand prison suffering from severe heart disease as a result of a hole in the heart. According to the medical reports, his condition is becoming more severe day-by-day. Because of his heart condition he requires immediate surgery to avoid heart failure. To add to the situation since 2017, according to medical reports, the doctor recommended several…
Read MoreRelease poet and drop spurious charges against him
The arrest and ongoing detention of award-winning author and poet Shakthika Sathkumara on spurious charges are a clear violation of his right to freedom of expression, CIVICUS, the global civil society alliance and the Asian Human Right Commission (AHRC), said today ahead of his next court hearing on 18 June. Shakthika Sathkumara was arrested on 1 April 2019 by the Polgahawela Police in response to a complaint alleging that Sathkumara’s short story ‘Ardha’ (Half) was derogatory and defamatory to Buddhism. The story is allegedly about homosexuality and child abuse in a Buddhist…
Read MoreDebate on restoring security is diverted to suit political ends
Late Mr. Tarzie Vittachithe, winner of many prestigious awards for journalism, had a favourite saying that, “Everything is about something else”. In a similar manner, the parliamentary discussion on two no-confidence motions is also clearly about other issues, rather than the brutal carnage that took place on Easter Sunday and the causes thereof. The government is looking at these motions to prevent its fall from power, while the opposition is looking at them with the view to topple the government from power. No one is debating the factors that led…
Read MoreFacing not merely a security problem but also an acute constitutional crisis
Although there was a two day parliamentary debate held to discuss the Easter Sunday carnage caused by the bombs that were exploded in three churches and several tourist hotels, no consensus has yet emerged as to the primary causes that led to the complete breakdown of the security situation and such an abject failure on the part of the state to protect the lives of the people. If there is to be a solution to such colossal failures, there has to be a consensus in the political establishment, as well…
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