Global Voices » Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: Buddhism and Violence

Rezwan — Sun, 13 May 2012 01:25:44 +0000

Ameena Hussein at Groundviews tries to analyze why there is a growing tendency among Sri Lankan Buddhists to embrace violence and hatred.

Sri Lanka: Tackling Agricultural Surpluses

Rezwan — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 23:52:40 +0000

The Sri Lankan Government is facing a new kind of challenge, tackling surplus production of rice. The Economic Development Minister of Sri Lanka Basil Rajapaksa has suggested to export the surplus of rice and vegetables in the country. There has also been suggestions that oil should be purchased bartered with rice.

But what is the reality on the ground? Are farmers happy with the surplus productions? There is very little information on the plight of the farmer in the Press. Rajaratarala, blogger and a farmer, terms the export of rice an insult to the paddy farmers of Sri Lanka. The blogger comments:

It was reported a short while ago today, April 18th 2012, that the Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, KA Sakalasooriya, has announced the creation of four zones for export. [..] It was further announced that in the next Yala season this paddy would be purchased at Rs40/kg.

Why is this announcement insulting? He has no clue about rice farming, about yields on different soil and growing conditions, and on different varieties of paddy.

I have planted 6 varieties of paddy, and I have personally sold door to door, 14 varieties of rice arising from this paddy. [..] Rs 40/kg is not enough to compensate for the lower yields. [..]

I really suspect that if farmers produce paddy at this price for the quality that is required for export, it is the Miller who will make the profit again, as he has the market sown up, and all the Government is doing by making this promise is doing the bidding of the Millers who have given the Govt. an undertaking to buy this paddy at this price.

Paddy fields in Sri Lanka. Image from Flickr by Nishan.sl. Used under a creative commons license BY-NC-ND

The blogger sheds a light into the plights of the rice farmers in Sri Lanka, who are not obtaining a fair price for their produce, in another post:

There is no profit in growing paddy on an acreage that is less than 5 acres which comprise, 70% of the paddy land grown today. So REMEMBER the rice we eat is grown by people making a sacrifice!!! For no gain, not even enough to pay for a daily wage of Rs200. So what does the future hold?

Rajaratarala depicts in another post how the millers control the market and take the cream out of the business. The blogger suggests:

In order therefore for the excess paddy in Sri Lanka to be absorbed, the Govt. must purchase and store at least 6 months supply in large silos around the country and also have a plan to build a large mill for export quality rice, that requires special standards of quality control to compete with international standards, which this mill also has. This mill owner makes more money selling to the local market, the export market to him is actually more competitive!

Lastly the blogger explains how to tackle the economic surplus and says that he is not against export:

The govt. must have a policy on how each segment is treated, incentivized and compensated. [..] The transfer of the pricing determinant from the Miller, the wholesaler and intermediary to the grower, is what economists the whole world over are even now grappling with without answers, leaving agriculture to Market supply and demand dynamic that is only in the farmers’ favor when shortages are in the horizon.

The State And The Religion In South Asia

Rezwan — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 21:29:05 +0000

Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, the 5th President of Sri Lanka, posts in Groundviews an analysis on the state and the religion in South Asian countries.

Sri Lanka: Monks Demand Demolition of a Mosque

Rezwan — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 22:04:47 +0000

Although Sri Lanka is a multi-religious and multi-cultural society, recent cases of religious intolerance has kept the blogosphere debating on this notion. Last Friday around 2,000 Buddhist monks and local residents staged a violent protest in Dambulla town demanding that a mosque along with a Hindu temple situated in an area designated as a Buddhist sacred zone be demolished.

The police evacuated the mosque and its Friday prayers were cancelled. Local Muslims claim that the mosque is there for 50 years.

According to Raashid Riza:

Reports suggest that the mosque had been hurled at with petrol bombs the night before, causing minor damage, and security forces were deployed to control the situation. The targeting of the Muslim community was instigated by a group of racist Sinhalese individuals, consisting largely of hooligans, who were motivated by the uproar and attention such an act would create, rather than by any identifiable ideology.

A Mosque in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Image by Angelo Samarawickrema.Copyright Demotix

Groundviews posts the contracts of the mosque and asks how can the structure be illegal. The debate went further as the Government had decided to demolish the mosque after caving in to public demand. Moreover, Groundviews reveals:

The Mahanayaka of the Rangiri Dambulu chapter Inamaluwe Sumangala thero, one of the key figures in the on-going tensions in Dambulla over the presence of a mosque and kovil near his Temple, perhaps in response to the public outcry against the violence instigated by him, has told the BBC that TV footage that showed monks engaged in violence – including one monk disrobing and exposing himself to the mosque – were fake.

However evidences show otherwise. Inamaluwe Sumangala thero is the Director General of the private radio station Rangiri Radio and on both the homepage of the Rangiri Radio website, and on the Facebook page, the following video appears which showcase the most violent moments of the mob:

Sri Lankan Doctor comments:

The Buddhist monks of Dambulla embarrassed the Buddhists world over by the way they conducted themselves on 20.4.2012.

The Dambulla mosque attack has to be seen in isolation regarding the Muslim-Buddhist bond the country witnessed over centuries and it is not going to be broken just because of a few such incidents. This Tweet from the Muslim community supports that thought:

@muslimLK: We #Muslims in #srilanka need to handle #dambulla in a sensible, legally permitted & exemplary manner rather than confrontation, inshallah

Serendipity reminds in a blog post:

No matter what religious bigots may profess, Sri Lanka has not as a nation, taken responsibility for exclusively protecting Theravada Buddhism or that the country is solely a Buddhist country. The constitution just states that “Buddhism should be safeguarded and nourished” and if that wording is open to interpretation, we may have to ask the Supreme Court to determine what was meant by that statement.

Indi.ca, who has covered the news extensively, comments:

Muslims are Sri Lankans. They are neighbors and friends. Yet today they are an ethnic minority which, while on the rise economically, is viewed with suspicion by many. [..]

Seriously people, this is a small island and we all have to live together. Forget the culture conflicts and petty annoyances, Muslims are friends and neighbors and they deserve to be treated the way.. [..] Whatever the specifics of the case, it is damn important to emphasize that the Sri Lankan Muslim community is a vital part of Sri Lanka, a respected part of Sri Lanka, and, ultimately, family.

I’m sorry about the Dambulla thing. I hope we’re still cool.

Sri Lanka: Death Of Witness In Police Custody

Rezwan — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 20:26:58 +0000

Serendipity reports that Chandraisiri Dassanayake (42), a main witness in a human rights violation case against the Wadduwa Police, was arrested for possession of Ganja on April 15th 2012 and later died in a cell in the Wadduwa police station in the western coast of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka: Abductions And Media

Rezwan — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 07:46:32 +0000

“The growing number of abductions and disappearances in Sri Lanka is not getting the amount of publicity the issue deserves,” comments Sanjana Hattotuwa.

Sri Lanka: Monks Calling For Demolition Of A Mosque

Rezwan — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 21:37:13 +0000

“Monks should be meditating, not making territorial claims”, comments Indi.ca on the protests by Monks calling for demolition of a mosque in Dambulla.

Sri Lanka: The White Van Adbuctions Continue

Rezwan — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 04:20:23 +0000

Groundviews reports that twenty nine disappearance have been reported in Sri Lankan media between February and March 2012, and so far little has done to find/rescue those people and end these alleged abductions.

Sri Lanka: How Should We React To Beggars?

Rezwan — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 21:09:38 +0000

The Puppeteer invokes the debate “how should we react to beggars?” How do we know they are sincere or professionals?

Sri Lanka: Reactions to US Resolution at UNHRC

Rezwan — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 22:47:49 +0000

On 22 March, 2012, 24 countries voted in favour of a US resolution at a UN Human Rights Council meeting on Sri Lanka seeking to encourage the government to implement the recommendations made by the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) and also to credibly investigate allegations of human rights violations during the country's long lasting civil war against the LTTE.

The move was vehemently opposed by Sri Lanka right form the start and the netizens also voiced their opinions.

Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka at Groundviews called the US resolution a big lie:

One of the rankest untruths in the public domain today is that the US resolution is innocuous and unobjectionable because it only seeks to commit the government of Sri Lanka to implement its own LLRC report within a reasonable time frame.

Kalana Senaratne comments in another post:

There is more ‘arrogance’ and ‘insensitivity’ than ‘concern’ written all over the haste with which the US is demanding the Sri Lankan Government to produce a ‘comprehensive action plan’ as regards the implementation of the LLRC’s recommendations.

However Kalana also thinks that the Sri Lankan government needs to check its arrogance:

What is astounding in much of what the Sri Lankan Government is doing is that it acts as if there is absolutely no link between a country’s domestic policies and its foreign policy. That is a fundamental mistake.

Thousands of Tamils from across Europe came to UN headquarters in Geneva to protest against war crimes in Sri Lanka. Image by Lee Harper. Copyright Demotix (5/3/2012)

Sri Lankan opposition, the Tamil diaspora and some human rights defenders were under fire from Sri Lankan nationalists as they supported the resolution. Activists Sunila Abeysekara, Nimalka Fernando and Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu had to publish a statement explaining their position.

Indrajit Samarajiva analyzed the draft resolution and commented:

The logic here (in the UNHRC) and in too many places seems to be that the war was bad because Sri Lanka shouldn’t win. The effect of negotiating or fighting demurely with the LTTE would have been the continuation of the LTTE, which Prabhakaran literally continued until all his human shields escaped and he died.

In many ways, this type of resolution is a continuation of Prabhakaran’s terrorism, what I call Prabhakaran’s Play – using Tamil people as a human shield to reflect blame on the government of Sri Lanka and get international support to weaken them, and preserve his hide. It’s working, just years too late for the hide preservation.

The blogger adds further:

Real reconciliation doesn’t come from the UNHRC, or even the government. There is no punishment that leads to positivity. There is no one you can put in jail to make our problems go away. Reconciliation has to come from the people of Sri Lanka, and it is coming.

And what does the resolution mean for Sri Lanka? Indrajit says in another post:

Honestly, it’s like the international community is giving Sri Lanka homework where the answer is actually wrong. It’s not cool.

Featured image shows a Tamil protestor outside the UN in Geneva. Image by Lee Harper, copyright Demotix (05/03/2012).

Sri Lanka: War On Twitter Between Celebrities

Rezwan — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 23:02:19 +0000

DBS Jeyaraj informs that the Channel 4 Film “Killing Fields” based on Sri Lankan civil war caused an war of tweets between celebrity Sri Lankan born singer MIA and journalist Anderson Cooper.

Sri Lanka: Mob Revenge

Rezwan — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 19:52:10 +0000

Serendipity is concerned that the incidents of mob revenge in Sri Lanka are on the rise and wonders whether this has anything to do with the decreasing faith of people in the justice system and Law and Order.

Sri Lanka: Uncontrolled Pedestrian Crossings In Colombo

Rezwan — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 20:13:18 +0000

David Blacker writes about the uncontrolled pedestrian crossings in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, which are slowing down traffic.

Sri Lanka: Abductions On The Rise In Sri Lanka

Rezwan — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 21:55:06 +0000

Groundviews reports that there has been a disturbing rise in the number of abductions in Sri Lanka, especially in and around the capital, Colombo.

Sri Lanka: Female ex-combatants of LTTE Are At Risk

Rezwan — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 22:10:18 +0000

Shamila at Groundviews reports that female ex-LTTE members are at great risk as they have to report regularly to the military and their movements are closely monitored.