· August, 2009

Stories about Sri Lanka from August, 2009

Sri Lanka: Let The IDPs Go

  31 August 2009

Indrajit Samarajiva at Indi.ca visits a Sri Lankan IDP camp and shares his observations: “Everyone just wants to go home, or at least to stay with relatives. They don’t need charity anymore, they need the freedom to rebuild their lives with dignity.

Sri Lanka: Video Evidence Of Extra-Judicial Killings Sparks Debate

  27 August 2009

Prathapa Madhav posts the controversial video clip which was first uploaded in YouTube by the Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka (JDS) and was subsequently removed by YouTube for violating the terms of use. The gruesome video evidences the way extra-judicial killings were executed by the Sri Lanka’s army during...

Sri Lanka: Citizen Media Contest

  25 August 2009

Sri Lankan citizen journalism initiative Groundviews announced a new competition “aimed at encouraging more citizen journalism on two vital issues confronting polity and society in post-war Sri Lanka – the conditions facing Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and growing reports of Police brutality”, informs ICT for Peacebuilding (ICT4Peace) blog.

Sri Lanka: The Role Of Astrologers

  24 August 2009

Cerno tells that the social utility of astrologers in Sri Lanka extends beyond predicting the future: “They provide a system of managing one’s destiny amidst the amplified uncertainties of living in a third world country. Be it for avoiding suicide bombers, securing a promotion, overcoming mental/physical illness, entering your child...

Cricket: Pakistan Hits A Snag

  19 August 2009

In last June, when Pakistan won the world Twenty20 cup championship beating Sri Lanka in the final, the fans were overwhelmed with joy. However, their recent tour in Sri Lanka proved a disaster irking many cricket loving bloggers.

Sri Lanka: Blogs Only Source Of Information From IDP Camps

  15 August 2009

Committee To Protect Bloggers quotes an Amnesty International report, which says that anonymous blog entries are the only source of information from IDP camps where: “attacks on journalists, relentless intimidation, and government-imposed restrictions on reporting threaten freedom of expression in Sri Lanka and jeopardize the safety and dignity of civilians...

Sri Lanka: Flood In IDP Camps

  14 August 2009

GroundViews informs that “torrential rains in Vavuniya throughout the day have severely affected IDPs interned in Menik Camp, particularly in Zone 3 and Zone 4.” See Vidura's Twitter messages http://twitter.com/apelankawe for updates from the ground.

Sri Lanka: A Grieving Mother Blogs To Find Her Son

  13 August 2009

Rajeewa Mallawarachchi is a school teacher in Sri Lanka. A couple of months ago her estranged husband had abducted her six year old son violating a Court order issued regarding the custody of the child. The grieving mother resorts to Blog to disseminate news to find her son as the...

Sri Lanka: Peaceful Elections

  12 August 2009

Some are framing the results recent council elections in Northern Sri Lanka as as a victory for LTTE supporters or loss for the government. However, Indi.ca opines that: “Having elections at all is a victory against the Tigers. [..] As long as people are voting and not killing each other...

Sri Lanka: Perils Of Communal Schools

  11 August 2009

Nazeeya Faarooq at Groundviews starts the discussion describing why Sri Lankan Muslims celebrated the recent Pakistani win against the Sri Lankan cricket team and states that the ethnic segregation is perpetuated and perpetrated by having communal schools in Sri Lanka and the absence of comparative religion as a subject.

Sri Lanka: Another Case Of Plagiarism

  10 August 2009

Nisadas comments on another recent case of publishing content of a blogger by a Sri Lankan newspaper without giving credit: “what I cannot understand is, why are the newspapers paying people to plagiarize?”

Sri Lanka: Ravana Waterfall

  6 August 2009

Kirigalpoththa highlights the legendary Ravana Ella (waterfall) of Sri Lanka: “according to the great epic ‘Ramayana’ the mythical King Ravana of Lanka kidnapped Princess Sitha of India and kept her hidden somewhere close to this waterfall.”