Posts by Buddhika Harshadeva

From the field Questioning democracy: Local elections in Sri Lanka

On 17 March Sri Lanka will hold elections in 235 provincial councils. Despite the end of the civil war, and the heralding of a peaceful era prioritising development and promoting tourism through government policy, the times are not peaceful. Election violence, as happens in almost all the elections, is taking place at the moment without exception. Read more >>>

From the field Displaced again: IDPs hit by floods in Sri Lanka

Under the post-war recovery programmes launched by the Sri Lankan government, people in North and East cultivated many more paddy fields as increasing numbers of refugees returned to claim their own agricultural lands. This was a hopeful beginning for young people, many of whom have spent much all their lives between conflict zones and refugee camps. Read more >>>

From the field Ajith Kumarasiri: A musician confronting war with music

Can one man make a change in the war torn context of Sri Lanka through music? Ajith Kumarasiri believes he can, and is showing that he can make a difference through his work. Ajith is a musician who travels with his guitar in the war affected areas of the country, singing freely for humanity. He traces his activism to 1980’s. This decade witnessed two of the most appalling humanitarian crimes in Sri Lanka: Black July in 1983 in which there was mass killing of Tamils and the 1989 insurgency, where a significant number of young people were arrested and killed after the attempted Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna rebellion against the state. Ajith lost many of his friends – both Tamil and Sinhala – in both these events. As Ajith says, this was the ‘turning point’ for him, veering him towards making a statement for peace through his life and career, using his one passion: his music. Read more >>>

From the field 18th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution

We have recently added a new organisation to our Sri Lanka section, the National Peace Council (NPC). I took the opportunity to ask the Director of the NPC about the big debate in Sri Lankan politics at present – the 18th Amendment to Constitution, which has just been passed in Parliament. In this video, Dr Perera gives his perspective on the Amendment, and some of the dangers it represents. Read more >>>

From the field Hope of peace in Sri Lanka

The armed conflict in Sri Lanka is over, but still the government has not given a satisfactory political solution for the Tamils who live in North and East Sri Lanka. After 30 years, people have to face and deal with so many new things – such as a new governing system and a new laws. The post-war period of Sri Lanka is complicated, primarily because people do not have any support to overcome their sadness, loss, tension and frustrations from the conflict. Read more >>>

From the field Sri Lankan interpretation of R&B

The R&B star Akon was planning to hold a concert in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on the 24th of April and around 12,000 of Akon’s fans were hoping to enjoy the sound of R&B music. But the video, ‘Sexy (Bitch) Chick”, which included a visual of a Buddha Statue as background to a scene, was disturbing to the Buddhist community in Sri Lanka, leading to loud protests against the proposed visit. The story on the Buddhist protests towards Akon’s visit can be found in more detail at …. Read more >>>

From the field UN and Sri Lanka

Last week, the General Secretary of United Nations, Ban-Ki-Moon proposed to appoint a panel of experts to investigate the recent human rights situation of Sri Lanka. This suggestion to appoint a panel of experts to advise the General Secretary has been opposed by Sri Lankan president, Mahinda Rajapaksha, and other leading political parties of the country. The main argument is that United Nation is trying to intervene into the internal matters of an independent country and that it would challenge the sovereignty of Sri Lanka. This news has become a hot topic in the election campaigns for forthcoming parliament elections on 8th of April. Read more >>>

Commentary Non-violent communication training in Sri Lanka

The Sandhi Institute in Sri Lanka has announced a 10-Day In-depth Residential Training in Nonviolent Communication at the beginning of February 2010. To find out more visit www.sandhi.org Read more >>>

From the field IDP camps to be opened

News from Sri Lanka: The Sri Lanka government has announced that 130,000 people in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in Sri Lanka will be given the freedom to go in and out of the camps next month, by order of the President, Mahinda Rajapakse. Read more >>>