by Neil DeVotta, ‘East Asia Forum,’ Australia, December 3, 2018 Through three decades of post-independence civil unrest, Sri Lanka operated as a flawed yet commendable democracy. But in the past month, the country’s politicians have unleashed a democratic crisis and become a laughing stock. On one occasion legislators engaged in fisticuffs in parliament, and attacked the… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Politics
Dictatorial & Discriminatory Democracy of Sri Lanka
by Thambu Kanagasabai, November 26, 2018 The classic definition of democracy by the world statesman Abraham Lincoln ‘democracy is by the people, for the people and of the people” simply confirms the power of people and how the power should be used for the rights, welfare and dignity of the people. Democracy took its roots… Read more »
Crisis at Sri Lanka’s Core
Tamil Guardian editorial, London, November 26, 2018 Almost four years into the ‘good governance’ government, Sri Lanka’s image of stability and progress unravelled last month in a day. President Sirisena’s sacking of Ranil Wickremesinghe and appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa followed by the dissolving of parliament and call for fresh elections, ended any semblance of stability. Revealed instead was… Read more »
Use of Cluster Munitions in Sri Lanka
by Kumarathasan Rasingam, November 19, 2018 Sri Lanka is the 103rd country to join the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions. Sri Lanka acceded to the Convention on March 01, 2018. Under the Convention, Sri Lanka is required to show transparency and report annually in a public document on use, stockpiling, clearance and destruction. These obligations… Read more »
Khmer Rouge Leaders Found Guilty of Genocide
in Cambodia’s ‘Nuremberg’ moment Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea are the two most senior living leaders of regime that presided over deaths of at least 1.7 million in Cambodia by Hannah Ellis-Petersen, South-east Asia correspondent, ‘The Guardian,’ London, November 16, 2018 About two million people died during Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge regime. Two of its senior leaders… Read more »
MAP: A Threat to Reconciliation & Accountability
by Andrew Ianuzzi, Richard J. Rogers & Heather Ryan, Justiceinfo.net, November 7, 2018 On October 26, former president Mahinda Rajapaksa was appointed as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. For the Monitoring and Accountability Panel, this political come-back risks undermining the limited progress made in transitional justice in the aftermath of a civil war that ended… Read more »
The Sri Lanka Crisis Deepens
Editorial by ‘The Hindu,’ Chennai, November 12, 2018 Dissolution of Sri Lanka’s Parliament negates the letter and spirit of constitutional reforms Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has dissolved Parliament after it became evident that Mahinda Rajapaksa, who he had appointed Prime Minister two weeks ago, did not enjoy a legislative majority. It is an act of desperation to… Read more »
What, to the Minority, is Democracy?
by Qadri Ismail, ‘Groundviews, Colombo, November 3, 2018 Maithripala Sirisena violates the constitution, stands to destroy democracy itself. Liberals, overwhelmingly Sinhalese, are aggrieved, appalled, aghast. As a minority, I laugh. Not the happy laughter of someone enjoying a good joke. But the bitter, mirthless cackle of someone forced to read this script many times before… Read more »
Sri Lanka President Dissolves Parliament Amid Power Struggle
By Dharisha Bastians and Vindu Goel, ‘The New York Times,’ November 9, 2018 COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The president of Sri Lanka dissolved the country’s Parliament on Friday night and called for elections in January to choose new lawmakers, a move that critics said was illegal, and that deepened a two-week-old constitutional crisis over who is the… Read more »
Why the US’s Policy on Sri Lanka Needs a Reset
by JS Tissainayagam, ‘Asia Correspondent,’ November 5, 2018 WHEN Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena unexpectedly replaced Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe with strongman and former-President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Oct 26, the move was seen as the fallout from internal rivalry caused by domestic issues such as corruption, poor economic performance and political power play. While this… Read more »
What it Means for the Island Nation’s Tamil Community
Sri Lanka’s political crisis explained, and what it means for the island nation’s Tamil community by Kumaravadivel Guruparan, ‘Scroll.in,’ November 5, 2018 Many Tamil activists see the ousted Ranil Wickremesinghe as less brutal than Mahinda Rajapaksa. In November 2014, Maithripala Sirisena, who was then a cabinet minister and member of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party,… Read more »
Halfway Isn’t Good Enough on Human Rights
Myanmar and Sri Lanka were praised for minimal progress. Now it’s all falling apart. by Kate Cronin-Furman, ‘Foreign Policy,’ Washington, DC, November 5, 2018 Thousands of Sri Lankans poured into the streets on Oct. 30 to demand that President Maithripala Sirisena obey the country’s constitution. The protests came after Sirisena shockingly announced that he was… Read more »
Sri Lanka’s Homegrown Crisis
The constitutional chaos is rooted in domestic politics, not geopolitical machinations. by Taylor Dibbert, ‘Foreign Policy,’ Washington, DC, November 5, 2018 Sri Lanka is a country in crisis. The coalition government has fallen apart. President Maithripala Sirisena has dismissed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replaced him with Mahinda Rajapaksa. Sirisena also suspended Parliament until Nov. 16…. Read more »
Stepping Back from a Constitutional Crisis
by International Crisis Group, Brussels, October 31, 2018 The return to power of controversial former President Mahinda Rajapaksa as Sri Lanka’s prime minister is unconstitutional and destabilising. International actors should make future security and economic cooperation contingent on parliament reconvening immediately to select a prime minister through legal channels What’s new? On 26 October, Sri Lanka’s President… Read more »
The Geopolitical Dimension
Sri Lanka’s Constitutional Crisis by Ana Pararajasingham, ‘The Diplomat,’ Tokyo, October 30, 2018 The sacking of Sri Lanka’s prime minister bodes poorly for India and the US, but is a welcome sign for China. The entire country, not to mention the international community, was taken unawares on October 25 when Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena… Read more »
‘The Fear Is Coming Back’
As Political Crisis Brings Sri Lanka to Brink by Maria Abi-Habib and Dharisha Bastians, ‘New York Times,’ October 29, 2018 When Sri Lanka’s president was elected in 2015, he was given a sweeping mandate from voters to investigate accusations of war crimes and graft against his predecessor’s government and to cancel deals with China that… Read more »
SLC: What is Happening in Sri Lanka?
by Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace & Justice, London, October 27 & 28, 2018 Situation updates: 28 October 2018 Last night Sri Lanka’s president, Maithripala Sirisena, attempted to replace Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa – a man against whom there are credible allegations of complicity in the murder of tens of… Read more »
Sri Lanka’s Tamils are at Imminent Risk after Rajapaksa’s Return
Following the former president’s return to power, international community needs to take urgent action to protect Tamils by Mario Arulthas, AlJazeera, Qatar, October 29, 2018 On October 26, Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, and replaced him with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. This sudden challenge to Sri Lanka’s regime blindsided some political observers and members… Read more »
HRW: Political Turmoil Puts Rights At Risk
Failure to Address Past Abuses Underlies Crisis by Human Rights Watch, New York, October 27, 2018 (New York) – Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s decision on October 26, 2018, to appoint former President Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister has raised fears about a return to past abusive practices in the country, Human Rights Watch said today. The… Read more »
Amnesty: GoSL Cannot Afford to Fail the Office on Missing Persons
Sri Lanka: The government cannot afford to fail the Office on Missing Persons by Biraj Patnaik, South Asia Director, Amnesty International, 21 October 2018 https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2018/10/sri-lanka-the-government-cannot-afford-to-fail-the-office-on-missing-persons/ Amid the furore around the Joint Opposition’s political mobilisation last month, a key event was overlooked. The Office on Missing Persons (OMP), a key body, empowered to search for and trace… Read more »