But in Sri Lanka today is the government accountable ?
The media comes in to expose when wrongdoing occur but is the media free? Is the judiciary in Sri Lanka unbiased?

K.S concludes saying what the Sinhalese and English press can possibly do to bring about ethnic harmony in the country. But before that
how can the Sinhala or English press ever play a positive role in the country when so many media persons have been killed whenever they took an independent stance and tried to expose corruption etc.etc. How many culprits were charged for the murder of journalists and proceedings intiated in court? Sri Lanka is a country where editors and journalist or their relatives and dependants are under threat by hoodlums with obscene phone calls and police harrassment on orders from government politicians.

He further said that the Sinhala and English press in this country can truly be productive in bring ethnic harmony if only they could move little away from mono-ethnic stance. Nothing could be further from the truth!

What I like to add is that if you want to change attitudes, you need to change the use of the language and metaphors. This as far as I can tell is the only way for Sri Lanka to free itself from old inertia and create and sustain a new climate to bring peace to that lovely little island. Dismissing the LTTE as terrorists and the Tamils’ claim to sovereignty as ludicrous is the wrong way to go about it. The war rhetoric, which is overwhelming under Rajapakse should be toned down substantially. It is insensitive to celebrate war victories in the manner it had happened and claim that government is keen to address the grievances and aspirations of the Tamils is simply humbug.

The entire Sri Lanka politics is on revolving around just one issue: What really is happening the Rajapakse regime has taken the Right of Self-determination of the Tamils and turned it around by unfair and brutal military means into installing Rajapakse dynasty. The helpless, but scholarly UNP and Opposition Leader, the leader of the Grand Old Party, and of course the leader of the party with highest percentage of national polls is out of his wits and thereby out of his mind – he could only do political somersaults, thereby damaging his reputation nationally and internationally. Whatever happened ‘rajayogaya’, I wonder.

The article that appeared in the TransCurrents entitle ‘One step forward and two step back’, by Pradeep Peiris and Anupama M. Ranawana is a good example where a honest attempt was made to identify the political dynamic that consistently trips all Sinhala politicians, regardless of their hue, when it comes to offering a political solution to address the grievances of the Tamils and meet their aspirations.

The JVP is obviously presumptuous when it comes offering political solutions to the Tamils. What Pradeep Peiris and Anupama M. Ranawana, identified as extremism, is what I would associate with the JVP. It is much more than extremism, but we will settle for the extremist label for now. The havoc the JVP wreaks in the southern polity is far more serious than Tamil nationalism. To get some idea, you only have read the Island’s editorials of yesterday and the day before. In typically, Island-style, in one of them it recommends trades union leaders and their errant counterparts in politics shold be publicly pizzle-whipped in the Galle Face Green. And, in the other of course is the recommendation of pillorying the student rioters at Peradeniya University be pilloried in Bogambara. I couldn’t agree with the island more. Both instances, if memory serves, were JVP inspired.

When it comes to Tamil issues JVP should mind its own business: No to federalism; no to Tamil homeland; no Ceasefire Agreement; no to north and east merger; no to the opening of the A9. In general, no to any concessions to the Tamils, whatsoever. The JVP wants to keep the Tamil polity prisoner, like its Sinhala polity, except bomb, shell, murder, abduct and enforce disappearances for good measure (Martian style), for twenty-five years, fifty years or even one hundred years. It is only the Tamils; who gives a damn about them! Nice one Amarè!

I am very pleased that Sonali Samarasinghe kicked Lakshman Hulugalle’s teeth in with her stiletto, in last week’s editorial of the Morning Leader. Hulugalle obviously doesn’t know the difference between a ‘triator’ and a ‘patriot’. Lucky, doesn’t even know the difference between his arse and his elbow. Sonali, the Lioness, did maul Lucky, in true feline quadruped fury. She was absolutely right when she said that Hulugalle and the scoundrels around him had got the definitions of ‘traitors’ and ‘patriots’ the wrong way round. Obviously, there is much more the come, Sri Lankan style, for Lucky – certainly, there are two ears to be boxed in and a nosebleed for good measure – poser. Does he even know the difference between a cricketer and a woman?

I am also glad that the Daily Mirror reprimanded Basil Rajapakse for disrupting the proceeding of COPE and abusing the AG or his representatives. Whether the Mahaveli Development Authority (MDA) has the right to withhold information or not is a moot point. What matters is that progress of COPE should not ever be impeded. Now that we are all so dependent on the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice from education to the environment would the Chief Justice kindly intervene, not to mention Malaka’s serenading episodes by pistol-whipping, instead of strumming a guitar. It is a pity that Basil did not understand that. Instead, frustrated the attempts of one the finest of politicians in Sri Lanka today, Wijeydasa Rajapakse, MP, PC, etc,etc,etc, to get to the bottom of runaway corruption. Wijeydasa Rajapakse is a rare breed and has been described as a ‘knight in shining armour’ – I believe so too. Sri Lanka needs a lot more Wijeyadasas. Basil would do well to emulate Wijeyadasa Rajapakse!

And, finally, to many of my dearest cousins who are struggling very hard to break out this state of quagmire, I take my hat off and lend my unqualified support. It really is heart-rending to see resplendent Sri Lanka struggling so hard for so long for producing absolutely nothing or more to the point less than nothing.