The country is fucked. I’m joining the JVP.
Sri Lanka has a constitution. It’s not fantastic but it’s functional. It’s certainly better than Emergency Law tyranny. The Emergency Laws should not be approved by Parliament. The CFA should be respected or thrown away, not ignored like cowards. For any of these things to happen the government of Mahinda Rajapakse must be weakened and fall. Sri Lanka is not land and it is certainly not the feudal domain of the Rajapakse family. We are a nation of honor, of laws, and a Constitution. We must return to our Constitution. We must have integrity in this time of strife. I am really pissed off at the government, but for the first time in a long time I have hope. Mahinda has crossed the line by deporting Tamils from Colombo. His government is on the backfoot, and it needs to be kept on the backfoot. That is why I’m joining the JVP.
Here is the Constitution’s Greatest Hits, of sorts. Apparently we have rights. Who knew. Sri Lanka has been under Emergency Law for what feels like my entire lifespan. The Emergency Law is approved by Parliament every few months without much opposition. It should be opposed. As Benjamin Franklin said – “Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety deserve neither Liberty nor Safety”. We deserve both Liberty and Safety. We should read the Bob Marley sticker on the back of the Trishaw. We need to stand up for our rights, we need to demand a return to the Constitution. It’s better than this shit.
Freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
10. Every person is entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice.
Freedom from torture.
11. No person shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Right to equality.
12. (1) All persons are equal before the law and are entitled to the equal protection of the law.
(2) No citizen shall be discriminated against on the grounds of race, religion, language, caste, sex, political opinion, place of birth or any such grounds:
Freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention and punishment, and prohibition of retroactive penal legislation.
13. (1) No person shall be arrested except according to procedure established by law. Any person arrested shall be informed of the reason for his arrest.
(2) Every person held in custody, detained or otherwise deprived of personal liberty shall be brought before the judge of the nearest competent court according to procedure established by law, and shall not be further held in custody, detained or deprived of personal liberty except upon and in terms of the order of such judge made in accordance with procedure established by law.
(3) Any person charged with an offence shall be entitled to be heard, in person or by an attorney-at-law, at a fair trial by a competent court.
(4) No person shall be punished with death or imprisonment except by order of a competent court, made in accordance with procedure established by law. The arrest, holding in custody, detention or other deprivation of personal liberty of a person, pending investigation or trial, shall not constitute punishment.
(5) Every person shall be presumed innocent until he is proved guilty:
Freedom of Speech, assembly, association, movement, &c.
14. (1) Every citizen is entitled to –
(a) the freedom of speech and expression including publication;
(b) the freedom of peaceful assembly;
(c) the freedom of association;
(d) the freedom to form and join a trade union;
(e) the freedom, either by himself or in association with others, and either in public or in private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice or teaching;
(f) the freedom by himself or in association with others to enjoy and promote his own culture and to use his own language;
(g) the freedom to engage by himself or in association with others in any lawful occupation, profession, trade, business or enterprise;
(h) the freedom of movement and of choosing his residence within Sri Lanka; and
(i) the freedom to return to Sri Lanka.
Source: The Sri Lankan Constitution
The government has no right to deport our citizens. The government has no right to silence and jail journalists. The government has no right to support the Karuna paramilitary which abducts our children. We have rights, and we have to stand up for them. I refuse to let my nation be defined by the LTTE. We must stop reacting to them and begin acting, positively. We need to return to decency, democracy, and law. We must return to our Constitution.
Clearly by showing us all how the goverment treats the tamil community here – It tells us but one thing this country do’s not see them collectivly as citizens of this country. By simply annexing them to where they cannot be seen or heard is simply one step away from possible genicide. Or is that conclusion too melodramatic ?
In addition to above ( besides my mis-spelling of genocide), the consitution above simply implies an equal and fair society irrespective of descent or views held. We simply do not have confident and strong leaders in this country who can apply the constitution and make it a reality. Instead it remains on paper and is shown to developed countries as an excuse when human rights violations are shown to occur ( being reminded of this countries injustices by NGO’s is one source of resentment Sri Lanka has towards them.) I don’t see anybody in this country in power with enough altruism and integrity to do our constitution justice – So as such it will remain on paper but it’s true effects will never be seen. To see the effects u may have to leave this country and venture to a “first world” country where hate speech and such laws are enforced with a vigour that Sri Lankans in Sri Lanka could never believe or stomach !
One possible and viable option that could take us out of this mess would be to ask India to annex us and make us another State under their Central Government.
We dont have anyone to lead us anymore. Our people dont have the capacity to vote in decent people to power anymore. Everyone are looking at their own pockets.
Sorry, I cannot see any other way.
You join the JVP, and give up your ‘lifestyle’? Lol…that must be more hilarious than Mahinda’s smile!
People of Sri Lanka has no option but vote for JVP……..are their better party to vote than JVP………both unp & SLFP ruined our country for decades……..we should support JVP because its our only option left………(Prabhakaran is another option ,but)………….
Lol. congratulations comrade. was the membership free?
Joining the JVP is black-hole stupid. Do you know the history of that outfit? Do you really think they will ever contribute to peace? The JVP was born out of blind hate and still carries that DNA.
The UNP is not sexy but at least Ranil created an opening for federalism — a position CBK eventually adopted. Sooner or later, after much suffering, the island will have to give federalism a try. That is the only compromise with any chance of success …
David is right – you must be stupid – or being facetious, and hopefully it is the latter. Maybe you aren’t aware of what the JVP did to this country in the 70s and 80s? And what about snakes like Weerawansa who pander to the guys you detest so much? Do you want to be in the same boat?
Actually, the J.V.P helped pass an act in parliment on March 26th 2007, to provide citizenship rights to 28,500 Tamils of “recent Indian origin” who are stranded in refugee camps in Tamil nadu.
Laksman Kadirgamar the “moderate” introduced some loopholes that stated that you need to stay continously in the Island since 1964, tragically, making these refugees stateless.
I am sure, Indi is not saying he supports the J.V.P. per se…but he is pointing out the irony, that the government of Sri Lanka is even more ruthless and unjust in the matter related to the expulsion of Tamils from colombo, than a group like the J.V.P that is commonly perceived to be extremist.
This is the reality.
Bimal Ratnayake and R. Chandrasekaran, may have been the two J.V.P members who promoted the move. Don’t know the exact details.
The photo is a bunch of fat half naked men in thong underwear. Is the joke so hard to get?
At the time of the presidential election we knew MR to be
(a) incompetent
(b) corrupt
I did not imgine that he would not respect democratic norms.
As Indi says, we need to keep him on the backfoot, but how?
The UNP needs to get its act together and work more effectively as the opposition party, there are some signs of life now but some rejuvenation , some fresh blood is needed. It may be good if Ranil leaves party organisation to someone else and remains as an advisor. Perhaps Mangala is the man to get on board?
its not thong indi,its called Amudaya………
Actually, this post struck the exact note I’ve been hearing too. I still hate those fucking commies with a passion, but what does it mean when the JVP seem to be making some sense these days in comparison to the parliament?
JVPiers are a bunch of hypocrites who can do nothing better than debate…
they are such good speakers and debtors… (and actors)
they should start a speech and drama school…
picture yourself taking speech lessons from weerawansa
“sahodara ohama kottu kaala meh eeniya chinthanaya peralanna baha”
“api hadanna owne warjana wattoruwak”
hmmm
david
dont call blackholes stupid…
thats like the only place where singularity exists
its singularity… where space-time tensors are… never mind… my point is… its not stupid…
indi
its not nice to make fun of fat ppl like that…
talking about thongs… there is this new clip on thong but its a female version…
poojitha
amudaya is an early version of the male thong
deane
are you making fun of my new speech and drama teachers? not cool…
coming to think of if… if i join… i’d get free membership… and get free lessons…
The JVP has no plan for the country either. They too are crazy lunatics. I think they too may carry out ethnic cleansing, and have no viable solution for peace. Furthermore, on the economic front .. they will nationalize all the businesses started by hardworking people. They will centralize essential services such as water, electricity, and transport under a government bureacracy. The taxpayers and country resources will be wated to pay for innefficiency created by hiring their cronies and non-workers. The JVP is no viable alternative, sorry. Please choose a party that understands basic economics and understands how to solve the war. The JVP is NOT that party. Start your own party or something, but don’t leave one set of whackos for another. We may be in minority for a hundred years but it’s a matter of principle.
Have I missed something???
Reading through this….I can’t see anybody under any of these comments or even the main post by Indi who has seriously suggested that JVP is a “viable alternative”!!!
Hindustan Times
ethnic cleaning in the east…
this colonization has been going on since indipendance…
People are pretty naive about the current situation in Palestine. Out of all the Arab countries there is an underlying unity based on the determination to end the occupation and build a nation. I think I sense a similar complacency here. This incident in Sri Lanka is simply going to re-inforce support for secession.
Regarding colonisation this a very good report by authors of the Broken Palmyra about those sinhalese communities who are also being used as pawns in such schemes:
http://www.uthr.org/bulletins/bul4.htm
PADAVIYA-WELI OYA: BEARING THE BURDEN OF IDEOLOGY
JVP is not bad as you think,they are not stupid as you say,some of their ideas are good for the country…….Other 2 main parties doesn’t even have a proper plan for the country,they say different thing in different situations ,just to get votes,at least JVP was saying the same thing for the past 10-20 years
1. Like not selling our resources to multinational companies
2. We should develop agriculture first
3. No talks with terrorists
4. Single country but only devolution of power
5. Jobs according to the education
6. Minimum political corruption
7. Not to let other countries handle our problems
I think to address issues in the country, one has to go beyond party politics. Within the UNP, SLFP, and probably even the JVP surely there has to be even just one or two commited individuals. They are the people one should appeal to. There has to be bilateral support for fundamental issues related to for instance transparency and accountability. After all we are talking about the future of the nation, not just a particular political party.
The recent crossing over of UNP members to Rajapakse’s side, would have been commendable if for instance they were supporting something like this. Unfortunately it was done due to sheer greed, and opportunistic self interest.
Forgot to add: We are looking at a future of a nation and it’s people, this is not a football game where teams play against each other to win or lose. All parties should have the will to change the underlying framework of the constitution that facilitates the rot in the system.
hmmm…. so you guys are against the JVP starting a speech and drama school….
Need to give credit where credit is due. Coincidently, just after I put this comment up Voice of Colombo makes a similar point far more effectively than I did.
I would like to put forward some suggestions that would change the structure of governance. It is a concept and I would say it is very original and that there is system similar to what I suggest. But it is quite long and there is not enough space here since the document in three parts is about 12 pages. You con request via email. My email address is published in another comment. For your inormation it is or . If the email address appears with this comment you may use it. Otherwise request the owner.
Withou going to federalism we can overcome the present turmoil by strengthening the present unitary system of governance with enougjh ‘checks and balances’ that will bring in enough transparency and accountability. The M.PP must not have any executive power , the ‘chit’ systemmust be abolished, any privileges – salary, free vehicles and other perks – to the MP’s must have the previous approval of the people and no person shall be permitted to contest at the immeadiate subsequent election i.e. cannot be an MP continiously.
The present powers enjoyed by the MPs must be decentralised. . We must try to evolve a system that will be instrument in reducing our problems. The power inherent in the people must not be surrendered in whole to any one MP. It has to be distributed among the MPs. Planning, plan implementation, law-making, etc must be the same MP. We must have different sets of MPS for each work. No MP shall be paid a salary.
Representation must be distributed – males, females. young, old, professionals, workers.
All those elected to parliament be considered as independents – permanant cross-overs No psarty system within paliament.
A full set of suggestions on the above lines are available. Those interested may write to me at 217, Station Road, Vavuniya, Sei Lanka giving their email addresses. The suggestionswill be emailed to them.
We are not worried or need not worry as to who promoted the idea. It may not have been promoted by anyone. It might be part of their policy.
May be your want to support the LTTE indirectly by pretending to support the JVP. Good. go ahead
Your email address did not appear with the comment. So how do I get it. But I would like to have copy to find out as to what your solution is and whether it will be of any good to the country. What is the other way of contacting you