Monthly Archives: July 2013

Mr. President, good governance is good politics, not the other way around …

“When you’ve told someone that you’ve left them a legacy the only decent thing to do is to die at once.”
~Samuel Butler
Politics refers to achieving and exercising positions of governance — organized control over a human community, particularly a state. Once you achieve the position of governance, how you manage it, governance, to the best […]

By Vishnuguptha | Published on July 20, 2013 at 12:30 am

“Stop Prosecution of De Jure Chief Justice” – Lawyers tell government

18th July 2013
It is reliably learnt that the government is in the process of instituting criminal prosecution against the CJ, Shirani Bandaranayake shortly. The recommencement of the hate campaign against her in the state media is an indication of this intended action. The state media is known to be operating in close collaboration with all […]

By Lawyers Collective | Published on July 19, 2013 at 12:28 am

Can the Rajapaksas gaslight the South into believing that an eminent former Supreme Court judge is a Tiger? Are we that addlebrained?

Gaslighting a Nation
“All the gang of those who rule us,
Hope our quarrels never stop.
Helping them to split and fool us,
So they can remain on top.”
Brecht (Solidarity Song)
The practice has been around for millennia, but the term was born in 1944, out of a movie. In ‘Gaslight’ , a man uses a series of manipulative tricks […]

By Tisaranee Gunasekara | Published on July 18, 2013 at 9:55 pm

Trayvon Martin an unjust US system, white female jurors and Florida justice

I am white and female, like the almost-white jury that acquitted Zimmerman of murdering Trayvon Martin. But I am also an anti-racist
feminist. My head spins. I grew up in a family dedicated to civil rights and lived in communities that ostracized us because my father taught at Black Atlanta University, or when my mother worked […]

By ZIllah Eisenstein | Published on July 18, 2013 at 8:12 am

The idea of South Asia

[Speech delivered at the conference on ‘South Asia Economic Integration: A Strategic and Economic Appraisal’ co-organized by the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (RCSS), the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS), and the Regional Program SAARC of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, June 10-12, 2013.]
I want to set out four ideas in […]

By Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka | Published on July 17, 2013 at 1:03 am

Sara sends stern letter to ITN over false news report

Letter to Independent Television Network (ITN)

Mr. Rosmand Senaratne,
Chairman,
Independent Television Network (ITN),
Wickramasinghepura,
Battaramulla.

16 July 2013

Dear Mr. Senaratne,

I am writing with reference to the Sinhala language 7 pm news broadcast of the Independent Television Network (ITN) on Sunday 14th July 2013.

An item on this news bulletin stated that the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) and I, organised a […]

By | Published on July 17, 2013 at 12:57 am

India-backed constitutional move vital for Sri Lanka says Dayan in his new book

A Sri Lankan constitutional amendment done with Indian backing to devolve autonomy to provinces remains “historically significant and
indispensable”, says a new book by a well known political scientist from the island nation.
The 13th amendment, as it is popularly known, provides “a basis for the reconciliation of the Sinhanese and Tamil communities within a united and […]

By | Published on July 17, 2013 at 12:54 am

Sri Lanka:Tax scam lands IFS in hot water

• Informatics International Lanka demands US$ 76 M as compensation for losses suffered
• Alleges the formation of seven companies in violation of the shareholders’ agreement
Hot on the heels of allegations of tax evasions to the tune of Rs 9 billion through the repeated projection of losses, an arbitration case has been filed by Informatics International […]

By Dilrukshi Handunnetti | Published on July 17, 2013 at 12:46 am

Sri Lanka: Sufficient consensus to make PSC meaningful

The government’s determination to show progress in regard to a political solution and to improving its human rights image is evident in recent developments. During his recent visit, the Indian National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon is reported to have urged government leaders to keep its promises to India. The Indian government’s position that
the government should […]

By Dr. Jehan Perera | Published on July 15, 2013 at 9:38 pm

WARNING: Do not touch, Nuclear, chemical biological

Does anyone know who made the decision to dabble with nuclear power sources and if that weren’t enough, attempt a tie up with a chemical and biological research institute? To put it more plainly, who even introduced the words nuclear, chemical and biological into the Sri Lankan policy agenda? Why, at a moment when we […]

By Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka | Published on July 15, 2013 at 9:15 pm