BBS And Wimal Weerawansa’s Big Mouth

By C. Wijeyawickrema -

One would expect Wimal Weerawansa (WW), the minister, to be different from chracters such as Mangala Samaraweera, SB Dissanayaka, Vasudeva or Amunugama when it comes to Sinhala Buddhist affairs.  If he is not acting as a reasonable person then one would wonder whether his brain is in his head or his rear end.

Part 2: Worries Of Bodu Bala Sena

By Rifai Naleemi

Dr. Rifai Naleemi

I take extra precaution when I write this series on Bodu Bala Sena. It is not my aim to hurt feeling of any religious groups or sects in Sri Lanka rather I try my best to understand the problems, challenge and social issues of Sri Lankan communities.  It is my primary objective to examine these issues objectively with sympathy and empathy from different perspectives: The majority community ought to understand the concerns, and challenges of minority communities from the perspectives of minority communities to appreciate their concerns and worries. This should be done with empathy to their feeling and needs.  At the same time minority communities ought to understand the concerns and worries of the majority community.   They should look at into them from the perspectives of the majority community with empathy to their feeling and sentiment.

චර්මඡේදනය මිනිස් ඉතිහාසය තරම් පැරණිය.

THE NEED TO REPEAL AND REPLACE THE PREVENTION OF TERRORISM ACT (PTA) -CENTRE FOR POLICY ALTERNATIVES

(Text of a Statement Issued by the Centre for Policy Alternatives)

9th May 2013, Colombo, Sri Lanka: With the recent arrest and detention of opposition politician Azath Salley, Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) has once again come under critical scrutiny. The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) and other civil society groups have condemned the use of the PTA to stifle dissent and reiterate this call yet again, urging for its repeal and replacement as set out below.

Why Treat Azath Salley as a Major Threat to National Security and Turn him into an Internationally Known Name?

 

By DR DAYAN JAYATILLEKA

“And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?”

- ‘The Second Coming’, WB Yeats (1919)

When Sri Lanka was nominated as host of the Non Aligned Conference and chair of the Non Aligned Movement under Madam Bandaranaike there wasn’t a single dissenting voice within that movement or anywhere in the world. As Sri Lanka plans to host the Commonwealth summit, there are. It is highly likely that there will be a global media and civil society campaign which causes considerable embarrassment to this country and further tarnishes its name, as the summit nears. This makes it incumbent upon Sri Lanka to demonstrate that it is indeed suitable beyond a reasonable doubt, in terms of its adherence to and practice of the democratic values, virtues and spirit of the Commonwealth to chair that organization for two years. It is against this backdrop that the Azath Salley saga unfolds.

Dalai Lama Criticises Buddhists Including Monks For Violence Against Muslims in Sri Lanka and Burma

The Dalai Lama has implored Buddhist monks in Myanmar and Sri Lanka to put an end to a series of recent attacks on Muslims in their countries, the Associated Press reported today.

The Dalai Lama spoke to a crowd of about 15,000 students, faculty, and guests as part of the Anwar Sadat Lecture for Peace on May 7th, 2013 – pic by James Levin courtesy: Diamondback-University of Maryland

Muslim Patriotism In Sri Lanka: My Questions To BBS

By: Dr. Rifai Naleemi

This article should be read contextually with all previous parts. . It is not my objective to make any derogatory criticism of any community or any religion. An attempt has been made here to illustrate how Sinhalese people have been sympathetic and companionate towards all other religious groups in the past.  Though Portuguese and Hindu invaders from South India try to destroy cultural heritage of Sinhalese Buddhist people during the colonial and pre-colonial periods, Sinhalese kings offered unconditional supports and help for all other religious groups such as Christian, Hindi and Muslims people. I shall try to illustrate this point with historical evidence to show what BBS doing today is contrary to their cultural and religious history and teachings.