Monthly Archives: June 2013

Please recognise Sri Lanka is a Sovereign state

The people’s government, made for the people, made by the people and answerable to the people
-Daniel Webster –Speech
On the question of an international independent process to assess progress as called for by the UN, the High Commissioner said that one needs to draw a distinction between an international process and an independent process. “We do […]

By Lakshman Indranath Keerthisinghe | Published on June 9, 2013 at 5:46 pm

Sonali delivers commencement address at Ellis School in Pittsburgh

Graduates, faculty, family members and friends,
I’m honoured to be here with you on this fantastic day. Today, we celebrate your achievements, and, your perseverance. It is a magnificent time. You’ve done it!
Those of you graduating, have completed, an important chapter, in your own story, and in doing so, have become, a part of the rich […]

By Sonali Samarasinghe Wickrematunge | Published on June 8, 2013 at 6:27 am

Sinhala nationalists are betting against the White House and the Rashtrapathi Bhavan

As the Sinhalese and Tamils, or more precisely the Sinhala and Tamil nationalists, will eventually learn, there were rather good reasons that the Temple at Delphi bore the inscription ‘Nothing in Excess’, while the Buddha urged a Middle Path and Aristotle, the Golden Mean.
Pincer move
Less than six months before the Commonwealth summit, the Government is […]

By Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka | Published on June 8, 2013 at 6:03 am

Disemboweling the 13th Amendment will be the new ‘Sinhala Only’:It will transform Pirapaharan into a misunderstood prophet

“Nemesis, the goddess of measure and not of revenge, keeps watch. All those who overstep the limits are pitilessly punished by her”.
Albert Camus (Helen’s Exile)
One of the most incisive analyses about Rajapaksa modus operandi was made not by a Sri Lankan but by an American – Ambassador Robert Blake.
Mr. Blake’s observations about how the Siblings […]

By Tisaranee Gunasekara | Published on June 8, 2013 at 5:46 am

Stung by the Scandal will Obama survive?

“Scandal is an importunate wasp, against which we must make no movement unless we are quite sure that we can kill it; otherwise it will return to the attack more furious than ever.”
~Nicolas Chamfort
The first Constitutional Professor-President of the United States of America has been stung, as almost all US Presidents in the last five […]

By Vishnuguptha | Published on June 8, 2013 at 2:11 am

Election of Northern Provincial Council can benefit all provinces

There are many unresolved grievances that face the war-affected people of all communities after the end of the war, and which the centralized
system of government has so far failed to adequately address. These include the resettlement of persons who were displaced during the war, such as Muslims displaced over twenty years ago, who have still […]

By Dr. Jehan Perera | Published on June 3, 2013 at 8:38 pm

The Gendered Refugee Experience: Inside Camps, Outside Battlefields:Security and Survival for Tamil Women

In May of 2009, images of displaced Tamil people trapped behind the barbed wire of internment camps flashed across the world. “Everybody wanted to get out of those camps, but they were too scared to discuss their rights”, one priest recalls.
The Government of Sri Lanka had just declared a military victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (ltte), […]

By Nimmi Gowrinathan | Published on June 3, 2013 at 8:28 pm

UNP Constitutional Reforms: The message is right, is the messenger credible?

“No matter what message you are about to deliver somewhere, whether it is holding out a hand of friendship, or making clear that you disapprove of something, is the fact that the person sitting across the table is a human being, so the goal is to always establish common ground.” ~ Madeleine Albright
Finally the UNP addresses […]

By Vishnuguptha | Published on June 2, 2013 at 9:23 pm

Sri Lanka and UNP, TNA and a possible CBK comeback

New Constitution
The proposals for a new Constitution presented by the main Opposition party could have been much better, but as they stand they constitute a welcome and useful intervention in the political discussion. What is most positive is the stand the UNP has taken on the single most important political problem facing Sri Lanka, […]

By Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka | Published on June 2, 2013 at 1:07 am