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August 19, 2010 Click here to view the debate _________________________________________________________________________________ |
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September 01, 2010
Click here to read the entire press release _________________________________________________________________________________ August 19, 2010 _________________________________________________________________________________ August 18, 2010 Two hundred days have passed since Sri Lankan journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda disappeared. Prageeth, who regularly contributed to LankaeNews web site, went missing 24th January 2010. Prageeth is a political analyst and a cartoonist known for his outspoken views critical of the government of Sri Lanka. _________________________________________________________________________________ August 18, 2010 _________________________________________________________________________________ August 07, 2010 USP Launches a New Book By Lankasocialist Correspondent Left - "Discourse between Reality and Expectations" On August 12, 2010, the USP will be launching a new book written by Siritunga Jayasuriya. The book will focus on the political discussions which took place during the 80s and 90s within the Nawa Sama Samaja Party (NSSP). Written in Sinhala, the title is to be read as “Left: Discourse between Reality and Expectations”. The book will be launched at a meeting scheduled to take place at the National Library and Document Services Board auditorium at 4.30 pm on August 12, 2010. The price of a copy of the book is SL Rs.350.
Prof. Desmond Mallikarachchi is the guest speaker at the meeting. (On the left hand column, please read Siritunga’s interview with “Ravaya” Newspaper on the new book, which was extracted from “Samabima.com” web site.) _________________________________________________________________________________ July 30, 2010 Dear fellow fighters against oppression and injustice, It is very painful to see the Photo Document of the three decade war in Sri Lanka where my fellow Tamil brothers and sisters have been slaughtered without any mercy by the Racist Sinhala regime. While no words of praise can be attributed to these ghastly episodic events, but I would unreservedly congratulate the efforts of you all for documenting this as a lesson of reminder for future generations. Presently the Sri Lankan regime is still basking in the shine of “winning” the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, and are behaving as if the problem of the Tamil nationality struggle is over and done with. But the reality of life is different from assumptions, new seeds of discontent are being sown in the North and the East of Sri Lanka, a communalisation drive is on under the patronage of the Sri Lankan state to coerce the Tamil and Tamil speaking population into further submission. Read More... _________________________________________________________________________________ July 20, 2010 Government's victory celebrations and building the country By Srinath perera The Sri Lankan government celebrated the first anniversary of the war victory achieved over the LTTE and killing of Prabakaran on June 18, 2009. President Mahinda Rajapakse, well known for his gimmicks such as speaking few words in Tamil, spoke only in Sinhala at this big ceremony. The ceremony was conducted in a manner which glorified the Sinhala nation, further pushing the Tamil people away from the Sinhala capitalist ruling class. The first anniversary of the victory over the LTTE was celebrated barely a month before the 27th anniversary of the black July of 1983, which happened to be the bloodiest attack ever against the Tamil community in Sri Lanka. Tamils who lived in Colombo and the southern part of Sri Lanka were subjected to inhuman attacks by Sinhala goons led by a Cabinet Minister of then J.R Jayewardene government. Hundreds of Tamils were killed, some burnt alive, and their properties were looted or set on fire. Finally, whoever survived was evicted and chased away from their homes. The exodus of Tamils particularly to the western countries began after this pogrom. Read More... _________________________________________________________________________________ June 24, 2010
Cited directly from http://www.lankaenews.com/Sinhala/news.php?id=13845 _________________________________________________________________________________ |
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June 21, 2010 Press Release Defeat Undemocratic Constitutional Amendments! The Sri Lankan government has announced its proposals for the amendment of the constitution. The main item of these proposals is the removal of the existing two term limit to hold office as the president. President Mahinda Rajapakse wants to amend this provision so that he can contest the election for the presidency any number of times and he seems to believe that he could win presidential elections as long as he would contest. The whole set of proposals are aimed at the strengthening the post of executive president. Previously, President Rajapakse promised that he would abolish the post of executive president at the end of his first term. Now he wants to remove all the fetters that are in place to check the seemingly unrestricted and absolute powers of the president. Read More...
_________________________________________________________________________________ May 07, 2010 USP Celebrated 2010 May Day in Colombo No to Capitalism and Communalism By Lankasocialist correspondent This year, the USP held its May Day celebrations consisting of a demonstration and a rally in Colombo. The demonstration was started at Orugodawatta and the public rally was held at Kosgas Handiya, Grandpass. The public rally was chaired by Government Printing Workers Union Joint Secretary Reginald Fernando. Siritunga Jayasuriya was the main speaker at the rally. Other speakers were USP Women’s Front Organizers Dhammika Silva and Anoma Adikaram, PS Member M.K.Piyarathna, ‘Rathu Tharuwa’ Editor Srinath Perera, Free Trade Union Nuwaraeliya District Secretary Murugasu Chandiran, and Jaffna USP Organizer Subramaniam Nagularagah. A USP spokesperson reported to lankasocialist that the USP considers the 2010 May Day to be very significant at this moment. This year the USP May Day theme was “no to capitalism and communalism and build working class unity in the north and south to over throw the capitalisms”. Read More... _________________________________________________________________________________ April 26, 2010 USP Socialist May Day 2010 By LankaSocialist Correspondent The United Socialist Party, it's affiliated trade unions and youth organizations have scheduled their May Day celebration to be held in Colombo on May 1st. On that day, USP will have a demonstration and a rally; the demonstration will start at Meetotamulla Railway Gate Junction at 2.00 pm and will progress along Avissawella Road to Orugodawatta Junction, Stays Road, and Grand Pass Road to Kosgashandiya. May Day rally will be commenced at Kosgashandiya Junction at 4.00 pm. The Leaders of USP, trade unions, and youth organizations will address the meeting. _________________________________________________________________________________ |
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April 26, 2010 General Election 2010 Consolidation of Chauvinism - Mass Opposition Needed www.socialistworld.net, Siritunga Jayasuriya, United Socialist Party (CWI in Sri Lanka) & Senan, CWI After much delay and the re-running of the election in a couple of districts because of election violence, the final result of the Sri Lanklan general election was announced on Wednesday, 21 April.A record 7,680 candidates contested 196 seats in 22 electoral districts in the 14th In fact this election registered a record low turnout, with the average ranging just above 50%. The lowest turnout was in the Jaffna district with just 18%. If the internally displaced people (IDPs) were included, this only rose to 23%. This was the lowest turnout in the country’s history since its independence from British colonial rule. This is a shocking result as Sri Lanka has a long history of high turnouts of somewhere around 80% in elections. In the last election it was 76%. The lowest ever was 64% in 1989. This election was also marked by a record increase in violent intimidation and corruption. Around 1,000 complaints were recorded. On the day of the election, the Centre For Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) recorded 84 major incidents, including 53 incidents near the poling stations and 189 violations of electoral law. But the actual number is believed to be even higher as the monitoring agencies were prevented from functioning properly. The seriousness of the violence and violation of electoral law resulted in the suspension of ballot-counting in 34 poling stations and re-elections had to be called in two districts - Trincomalee and Kandy and was rescheduled for 20 April, after the Tamil/Sinhala new year holiday period. Read More... _________________________________________________________________________________ April 05, 2010 Dictator can be overthrown! By Siritunga Jayasuriya What are the political perspectives for Sri Lanka in the coming period? Since 2007 there has been wave after wave of elections. After the parliamentary and provincial elections due in 2010, however, no further elections are scheduled for some time. Under normal circumstances, elections under capitalist rule provide an opportunity for the masses to weigh, measure and exercise their democratic rights; however in Sri Lanka, the ruling capitalist parties use elections for exactly the opposite purpose – to subvert, claw back and destroy democratic rights of the people. The Rajapakse regime uses elections to try to drown out and suppress the rising anger and militancy of the working class, youth and poor masses, and to bury the democratic rights of the masses one by one and the press freedom by arousing Sinhala Buddhist chauvinism in the country. Amidst grave fraud and procedural malpractice, Rajapakse has been re-enthroned as president. The government has already brazenly declared that this second chapter of Rajapakse rule is to be extended to 7 years – contemptuously dismissing the constitution’s requirement that a presidential term be limited to 6 years. Not sated with even that fraud, the Rajapakse ruling gang demands of the masses a 2/3rd majority at the upcoming parliamentary general election. Why? Precisely to establish an autocratic political dictatorship, beyond all democratic control and accountability, with gigantic political power concentrated in its own hands. Read More... |
parliamentary election in Sri Lanka held on 8 April 2010. Thirty six political parities and a large number of individuals participated.; 836 candidates stood in the Colombo district alone. These figures were paraded by the ruling class as a sign of a flourishing democracy. They claimed it was a ‘new beginning’ after 30 years of civil war, which was brought to its brutal end in May last year. But this talk of ’flourishing democracy’ is far from the truth. 
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