Bernard White අපේ කොල්ලෙක් හොලිවුඩ් වල!!!!!!!!
Friday, January 29th, 2010
මගේ ලිපි කියවන අයට මතකද American Dreamz ෆිල්ම් එක මතක නැත්නම් බලන්න [http://muthunayake.blogspot.com/2009/07/american-dreamz-2006.html]මෙන්න බොලේ …
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Mahinda’s Legacy
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
Muse
Usually it is when people die, or move on, or do something significant that you talk about their legacy. But The Beast is no ordinary man. He has forever changed the face of Sri Lankan politics. He has made more changes to Sri Lanka’s political s…
Urgent National Security Overhaul in Sri Lanka
Sunday, January 10th, 2010
10 January 2010, Colombo, Sri Lanka – The government in an emergency press briefing today, announced that it will take steps to overhaul the national security strategy of the island. The government defence spokesman, Minister Kokila Bathalahitawanna admitted that a post-war review of the defence plan had exposed glaring gaps in the national security strategy [...]
Christmas 2008 to Christmas 2009 in Sri Lanka
Sunday, December 27th, 2009
Last Christmas, together with few friends, we prayed desperately, hoping a bloodbath would be avoided
This Christmas, we prayed and lit candles for the thousands killed and missing during the war, the ones who doesn’t have a grave as their family members had to run over the dead (and sometimes dyeing) bodies to save their own [...]
A response to Dayan Jayatilleka’s “Mindless emotionalism and absence of thinking in Tamil politics”
Thursday, December 24th, 2009
I have been following Mr. Jayatilleka’s articles both on Groundviews and Tamil Week. While I do agree with some of his ideas such as a multi-ethnic Sri Lanka where citizenship is not defined by ethnicity, I disagree with his argument that mostly puts the onus on the Tamil minority to tread the line based on [...]
My Stand on Rajapakse
Thursday, December 24th, 2009
It’s no secret that posts in this blog are critical of Sarath Fonseka+Mangala+JVP+UNP alliance, in the order of current campaign energy.
Am I strictly against General Fonseka? Am I a strict Mahinda “Fan”?
no and no.
But there are times when people have to take a side. I personally think that there are also times that people should [...]
THE (IR)RELEVANCE OF A ‘HUMAN RIGHTS DAY’: Some critical problems facing human rights protection in Sri Lanka
Saturday, December 19th, 2009
Recently, the world celebrated the ‘Human Rights Day’, on 10 December. It comes to us, every year. It is a day that commemorates the anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Various events, seminars and workshops are held, various programmes launched, on that day. There are advocacy programmes, awareness programmes, lectures [...]
The Travelling Circus on video: Looking at war and IDPs through theatre
Friday, December 11th, 2009
Obligingly recorded by Young Asia Television at the request of Groundviews, we are pleased to present a full-length video recording of a technical rehearsal / run-through of The Travelling Circus, produced by Mind Adventures, directed by Tracy Holsinger and recently staged in Colombo.
An in-depth review of the production is published on Groundviews here.
Total playing time is 52 [...]
THE RAJAPAKSE REGIME AND THE FOURTH ESTATE
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
Authors note: This is the first of two articles. The second is in draft form and is tentatively entitled ‘The Rajapakse Regime: Plus Points, Minus Points’. It may appear first in print form, but that remains to be seen.
The Rajapakse regime has been in power since April 2004 and has received a bad press in [...]
Twists and turns
Monday, December 7th, 2009
It’s yet another step of the endless elections Sri Lankan people had to cope with lately. Previous ones were just a part of a disgusting political ball game. But without a doubt this one is the most important and critical one of them all. It is important because it will decide who is going to [...]
A review of The Travelling Circus
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
The late review is at an advantage, in that it is informed by the published critiques of others and subsequent responses online and in print. In this respect, watching Tracy Holsinger’s The Travelling Circus on the last day of its run was to juxtapose the live performance against reviews that dismissed the production as highfalutin [...]
Dealing with law and order as an issue of the Presidential elections
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009
A crucial issue for any type of stability and for good governance in Sri Lanka is the restoration of law and order. Litanies of complaints have been made by politicians and almost everyone else about the pathetic level to which the law and order has deteriorated in Sri Lanka. The joint candidate for the opposition [...]
Trying to get a ‘patriotic’ point of view…
Monday, November 30th, 2009
We have already expressed our take on ‘patriotism’, but in view of the recent developments on the political scene and as the word ‘patriot’ has been bandied about without respite to condemn those with views that differ to those of the powers that be, Java thought it would be useful to have those patriots out [...]
Baby elephant abduction: Vet. granted bail
Sunday, November 22nd, 2009
The veterinary surgeon who was accused of supporting the main culprits in the Balangoda baby elephant abduction case was given bail by the Balangoda Magistrate. Calling the case last Thursday the Magistrate also confiscated the accused’s passport. The vet surgeon was also ordered to hand over his mobile phone to the Wildlife officers for further [...]
Painful Sri Lanka
Saturday, November 21st, 2009
About One year ago, I stopped writing about anything political or politically inclined given the prevailing atmosphere at that time about such views being published in a public forum. I don’t mean to say I used to write a lot neither has a lot change…
Sri Lanka extends draconian Emergency Regulatins
Saturday, November 7th, 2009
Protesters who are backed by the opposition party JVP (People’s Liberation Front) demonstrate against the presidency during a protest march in Colombo October 27, 2009. Reuters, via Daylife.com.
The Emergency Regulations has been extended by another 30 days by parliament, yesterday. It’s been over six months since the end of the hostilities between Government forces and [...]
Video: Sri Lanka – Notes from a war on terror – Vanguard Journalism
Thursday, November 5th, 2009
[Video]
I have always maintained that the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) and Tamil moderates who peacefully opposed any discriminatory law or policy in Sri Lanka should not be confused as one. It is well documented that the Tamil Tigers were a group of bank robbers, criminals, and murderers who changed their modus operandi into a liberation movement with the help of India. The Tamil Tigers killed many Tamil moderates. Therefore it is incorrect to claim that an armed insurgency was only formed after years of non violent demonstrations against discrimination.
The suicide bombing featured on the video took place on the 10th of March 2009. Mariana failed to mention that it targeted a Muslim religious festival. The Muslims in Sri Lanka have also been brutalised by the Tamil extremist for two decades. See the following BBC article.
It is not only the Sinhalese ethnic group that despise the Tamil Tigers. There isn’t an ethnic group on the island, barring the extremist themselves, who justify the need for a mono-ethnic state and all this bloodshed. No other ethnic group supports the Tamil Tigers on the island of Sri Lanka. Only the Tamil extremist find their cause noble.
When you ask a child soldier exposed to Tamil Tiger indoctrination if she still loves the LTTE, you must quickly remind yourself of the Stockholm Syndrome.
The Tigers use of children as forced recruits meant their fighting force was not voluntary. Human Rights Watch and UNICEF has documented thousands of abductions by Tamil Tigers. The US report on Sri Lanka’s war claims the Tigers executed children and their family members if they refused to join. This is another reason they are considered terrorist and banned in 32 countries worldwide.
In regards to Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Sri Lankan president only managed to win the election thanks to the Tamil Tigers. The Tigers prevented people in districts they controlled from voting during that election. This gave Mahinda Rajapaksa victory over Ranil Wickremasinghe by a very small margin. Ironically back in 2005 in his annual ‘Heroes Day’ speech the leader of the Tamil Tigers, Vellupillai Prabhakaran, called Rajapaksa a practical man.
All of the videos showing civilian casualties in the Vanguard documentary were released by the Tamil Tigers. As Mariana pointed out, no journalist were allowed in. Everything you witnessed, in terms of dead Tamils civilians, was all filmed and edited by the Tigers. I have written extensively on the Tigers final strategy. They forced 300,000 civilians to retreat with them. As the UN points out they held Tamil civilians as a human shield to protect their leaders and use them as a bargaining tool.
It is irresponsible to assume that Sri Lanka cared not for civilian casualties, or claim that thousands died based on evidence presented by an organisation which will put the Nazi’s propaganda wing to shame.
Here is a staged photo shoot set up by the Tigers.
What many don’t seem to realise is that Sri Lanka is a third world country plagued with bad governance. No different to any other developing nation. The aftermath of 26 years of war was the breakdown of freedom of speech and other rights. The culture of impunity which exists is as a result of years of war. Abductions and disappearances take place when half of Sri Lanka’s land mass was lawless and under the control of a terrorist group. But none of these reasons resulted in the defeat of the Tigers.
With the end of war all Sri Lankans feel more hopeful than ever before that the situation will improve for all.
All in all I enjoyed the Vanguard documentary. I hope the crew enjoyed their stay in Sri Lanka. I hope they noted that on the streets of Sri Lanka, it’s people care not if your Tamil or Sinhalese – Muslim or Burgher. They all want an end to war and one nation for all.
Tragic fate of TRO employees abducted by TMVP in January 2006
Thursday, October 8th, 2009
by D.B.S. Jeyaraj
It was in January 2006 that some employees of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) were abducted and later killed by members of the breakaway faction of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) led by Vinayagamoorthy Muraleetharan alias Karuna. While the Karuna faction later became known as the Tamil Makkal Viduthalaip Puligal (TMVP) Karuna himself along with a section of his loyalists has joined the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and is now a vice-president of that party.
I came across an article I had written on the first anniversary of two separate abductions of TRO employees by the Karuna faction then coordinated by Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillaiyaan. Seven TRO personnel were killed. One was a woman. She was gang raped before death.
May be not demining due to mass graves – S Premachandran
Monday, September 14th, 2009
By Thava SajitharanWhile refuting reports that the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is to offer the government support, TNA parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran says their party is willing to cooperate with the government on matters concerning the ethnic …
Hear no evil. See no evil.
Friday, September 11th, 2009
*Inspired by Electra’s What happened in Sri Lanka Today
I’m telling the truth, by obtusellama
My younger son watches the news. He’s only 7 but he likes to sit there, drinking in information he can barely understand. I watch him more than I watch the screen, seeing the flickering images catch in his wide, curious eyes. Cataclysmic events [...]
LTTE’s “KP” now in Sri Lankan custody
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009
A while ago I blogged how LTTE’s global arms procurement person (and their “head of international relations”) was still absconding. Well, no more .. KP is now ours 
.He was nabbed in Malaysia by Sri Lankan military intelligence folks and then brought…
My Week In Pursuit
Sunday, August 2nd, 2009
Monday
Colombo is a city where information circulates by way of clandestine candle-lit dinners. Stories of corruption, abductions and arbitrary shootings are prefaced with a distancing “I’ve heard” or “They say” to avoid liability, not for false statements but dangerously accurate ones. There is no tangible truth here.
Tuesday
“Surekha, it’s gone. I promise,” he says in an effort to comfort me.
The branches invading our airspace ruffle and I see a bat briefly eclipse the moon. We’re on a dirt driveway, standing around what looks like a boat with wheels. No doors, no windshield, no mirrors and a vacant space for a backseat that one has to share with a tool box. We’re preparing for a joyride.
“Dude, there is no way I’m stepping into that vehicle till you catch that cockroach.”
I lied. Ten minutes later we’re roaming the empty Tuesday night roads of Colombo. The engine spits out sounds disapprovingly every time the gear changes. As we pick up speed he involuntarily groans, then belatedly tries to muffle it. He’s in the seatless backseat with his legs braced and his arms clinging on to the metal frame of the car. I’m in the front seat, with my legs stretched out over where the left mirror should be, utterly at ease.
Wednesday
Now I’m stretched out in the back of a van listening to Elliott Smith on my iPod. Parked for the past hour in an obscure village slightly inland from the southern coast, waiting for the male reporters to return from interviewing a Sheik who does not tolerate the presence of women. For a while I entertain myself by watching a goat troll a cluster of roof tops in a shanty town, but now I’m growing restless with my exclusion from the action. The raw heat from the afternoon sun isn’t exactly helping me keep a cool head. Elliott, of course, never fails.
I haven’t eaten since dinner with him the night before, but after walking around that mangled Mosque I’m not hungry. The senior reporters briefed me on the assignment during our hour long trip from Colombo. Muslim sectarian violence in Sri Lanka manifested itself on Friday night in the form of arson and murder in a small village near a booming tourist town. We originally planned to attend the court proceedings – woah, I’m going to photograph killers! – but police postponed the case. Our van re-routed to the scene of the crime.
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| From Black Sand Journal |
I never expected to be granted entry to the Mosque, especially in a t-shirt and without my head covered, but in the eyes of these Muslim men the testimony of my camera trumped my gender. I received a guided tour in English from a man with an entourage that carried 9mm pistols in their sarongs. With a crowd circling he showed me the atrium of the Mosque, every inch of it covered in shards of glass and charred furniture. I snapped away at soot-coated walls covered in fingered-graffiti along the lines of “Prepare 4 Jihad.”
Then we walked to the area for ablutions, where the massacre took place. The noxious stench foreshadowed the actual scene. A large room of wall-to-wall white tiles stained with dried pools of blood and splatter. Discarded makeshift murder weapons – rakes, concrete slabs – littered the floor. The hacked wooden doors that lined the back of the room looked like something out of The Shining. Flies swarmed the scene, buzzing between the patches of gore, sometimes landing on my arms or feet in transit. Thank God I didn’t have breakfast.
My guide wanted me to photograph a thick layer of blackened blood with a victim’s name scribbled in Tamil on a piece of paper lying next to it . There is no way my editor is going to publish photos of this slaughter house. I ended up taking over a hundred shots to appease my guide; I figured my cooperation would earn his. He explained that his sect of Islam is more orthodox than that of the mob that attacked his Mosque. Tensions had been brewing since his Mosque was first built in 2002, primarily due to its proximity to the rival sect’s Mosque. A Friday midday sermon that called members of the rival sect “unislamic” ignited hostilities. The attack occurred shortly after midnight prayer the same day, and lasted about an hour. Two men slayed, nine injured, every window shattered, the Mosque and adjacent library and medical clinic all incinerated. The sound of crashing glass echoed through the Mosque even as I took pictures four days after the incident. Clean-up operations had just begun when we arrived perhaps a few hours too early.
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| From Black Sand Journal |
Back at the back of the van, I’m absorbing. It is only a matter of time till the villains and victims switch roles. I’m dreading editing those photos. The smell won’t vacate my nostrils. I contemplate going vegetarian, because currently I cannot fathom eating anything that bleeds. The war is over, but Sri Lanka is by no means cured of conflict. Muslim sectarian violence isn’t a mere glitch – it is a symptom of what allowed a civil war to rage for a quarter century. The substance of divisions – Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim, Christian, etc. – is insignificant compared to the fact the divisions simply exist. In the absence of ethnicity or religion, I’m sure people would divide themselves as fiercely based on shoe size or favorite flavor of ice cream.
Thursday
Edited the photos (before breakfast), wrote the article, visited Stefhan, ate sandwiches (yum!) and discussed this short anime (it is 5 minutes long – watch it!).
It walks the line of women-who-live-with-cats cliché, but I love what this film says about being single. I’ve never said “I hate being single.” When a romance ends I am undeniably unsettled, not out of hostility towards the idea of being single, but because I miss that person in particular for a considerable length of time (oh, say a summer?).
But I enjoy my solitary morning routine. I enjoy my melangé à trois cereal experience while I read the news online. I enjoy yelling at messages in my inbox, then determinedly storming out on my computer. I enjoy the smell of CK One and FA Caribbean Lemon deodorant and St. Ives aloe vera cream. I enjoy only putting on my shirt 30 seconds before I walk out the door. I enjoy that last look in the mirror. And I do all that for myself. I do not need a lover to appreciate all those things for me to still enjoy them. I am the proud owner of an inner cat.
Friday
If the stakes are high I let my sense of duty guide me – even if it ends up leading me in the opposite direction of happiness. Applicable to journalism, applicable to my personal life. Maybe it was unfair of me to expect the you to take the same risk.
Hm, then again, maybe it wasn’t at all.
Of Elephants, Priests and Conspiracies…!
Friday, July 31st, 2009
I have been reading quite a bit of news items and blog post recently about the on-going drama surrounding the abduction (Not in a white van tho) of two baby elephants from the orphanage, but a couple of news items today just took the cake!
It seems that certain prominent Buddhist clergy members have taken upon [...]
Press Release
Thursday, July 16th, 2009
CANADIAN TAMILS FOR PEACE AND DEMOCRACY URGES THE TAMIL DIASPORA TO REJECT K.P’S WING OF LTTE’S CALL FOR A PROVISIONAL TRANSNATIONAL GOVERNMENT.Toronto- 15 July 2009Canadian Tamils for Peace and Democracy calls on the Tamil Diaspora throughout the worl…
Restoration of National Unity
Monday, June 29th, 2009
First published in the SATMAG supplement of The Island on15th March 2008 The top-priority need of the hour is the restoration of national unity. The unity of the country developed fault lines before Independence mainly due to the imperial manipul…
the cataract of errors
Thursday, June 25th, 2009
by Tanuja Thurairajah
It is a much analysed fact that the Tamils of Sri Lanka under the guidance of its leadership have missed many historically defined opportunities, in laying the foundation towards creating a decent future for their polit…
An Open Invitation to Indi Samarajeeva and Sanjana Hattotuwa for Answering These Questions
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009
Dear Indi & Sanjana,This is not a challenge or a kind of commanding. This is purely an invitation to both of you to respond to some unanswered questions I’ve thrown at both of you in some of my recent posts.I would like both of you to read on; an…
Newspaper Headlines you would see, if the Dictatorship of Sri Lanka was in charge of the World Media
Monday, April 27th, 2009
“World Bank officials get down on their knees and plead with President Rajapaksa to accept 1.9 billion dollar loan.”“Colombo central, Colombo north, Colombo east, Colombo west and Borella voters who voted for the UNP, are part of an ‘Internatio…
What was the police doing?
Saturday, March 14th, 2009
The child that was abducted and demanded one million rupees of ransom has been found dead. Earlier the abductors have threatened to kill the child if the police is informed. http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=43288T…
on Targeting Civilians,abductions and torture…what we can learn from West..
Saturday, February 28th, 2009
there is an increased call for 'ceasefire' from West (and the UN ) mostly the former co-chairs (minus Japan) and UK and France.they also wage wars against terrorism like we do.. US and others as part of NATO under the cover of UN mandates and o…
23 May 2008
Sunday, May 25th, 2008
Keith Noyahr, Associate Editor and Defence Correspondent of The Nation weekly newspaper is abducted from his home and returned seriously injured.