Home

Register |  Forgot Password
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Introduction
    • Policy
    • Feeds
  • Blog
    • Feed
  • Tidbits
    • Feed
  • News
    • Bangladesh
    • India
    • Nepal
    • Pakistan
    • Sri Lanka
    • Diaspora
    • Other

"Build a New Sri Lanka: 'Cuz We've Sure Screwed This One Up, Haven't We?"

By: vivek on 3 May 2007

So concluded Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse in his Labour Day address. Ok, maybe not quite:

"While expecting the constant co-operation of the working people to enhance development of the country by successfully overcoming the challenges before us, and safeguarding both the country and its territorial integrity; on this May Day I wish the working people of Sri Lanka all strength and courage to build a New Sri Lanka" (news.lk).

That's right, the working people's prez, standing up for truth, justice, and the Sri Lankan way!

What's the matter? Don't have a job? Treated poorly in the job you DO have? Then work for Sri Lanka's largest employer, which every year creates 10,000 new jobs EXCLUSIVELY for Sri Lankans: THE ARMY!

What more could you ask for than comfy boots and job security? Sure, you might end up dead but then what does it matter anyway? And the working people's prez and the working people's guerrilla are there for you to make sure that this war never ends, guaranteeing that you'll never be jobless again! Because of you, the generals can try out all of the nifty new toys they get from Israel, the Czech Republic, and Pakistan! Not only that, but everything you destroy - all of the people you kill, the forests you decimate, the buildings you blow up - will pave the way for a new, better Sri Lanka!

What's that you ask? Who's a Sri Lankan?

Why, we all are!

  • vivek's blog
  • Share this
1 | Raman (not verified) | 04 May 2007 at 7:26 pm:

No offence, but Sri Lanka is leagues ahead of India when it comes to human development. In that respect, India is a toilet bowl.

  • reply
2 | Raman (not verified) | 05 May 2007 at 3:52 pm:

Read more. Educate yourself. Or else next time you'll be asking people to wipe your ass for you.

  • reply
3 | vivek | 04 May 2007 at 10:33 pm:

What's human development?

  • reply
4 | Raman (not verified) | 05 May 2007 at 10:52 am:

It's what India doesn't have.

  • reply
5 | vivek | 05 May 2007 at 11:14 am:

It was a serious question. I'm not sure what you mean by human development, and if you'd care to define it, I might be able to respond to you.

  • reply
6 | Desi Italiana (not verified) | 11 May 2007 at 11:51 pm:

Raman:

Read more. Educate yourself. Or else next time you’ll be asking people to wipe your ass for you.

Wow, what an incredibly hostile answer that not only flings poo, but doesn't really say anything.

I think you have the right to make the assertion that "human development" in Sri Lanka surpassing India- ok, that's fine, although like Vivek, I'd like to know how you're defining "human development." Literacy? Standard of living? Access to health services? Sanitation and potable water is accessible to everybody? Foodstuffs for people? A right to elect who you want and criticize who you want? People not living in perpetual fear?

But putting aside the comparison with India (which to be honest, I don't see how this plays into Vivek's post), do you think that every Sri Lankan's "human development" is to the max with a war raging?

In order to anticipate another hostile answer, I'm asking this because I sincerely want to know.

  • reply
7 | vivek | 21 May 2009 at 10:15 am:

Since this post was written, the Government of Sri Lanka suspended its soldiers' casualty figures. The Army also changed its website to no longer advertise itself as the country's largest employer. Thankfully there's archive.org so we'll always know it once did.

  • reply
8 | dr anonymous | 21 May 2009 at 4:41 pm:

sounds like a good time to pester the government with journalists asking them who the biggest employer in sri lanka is.  can't lose no matter what they do.

  • reply

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Input format
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.

More information about formatting options

CAPTCHA
Please enter the two words you see into the box below

Tags

Afghanistan Bangladesh civilians diaspora gosl human rights imperialism India internally displaced people journalism ltte military nepal obama pakistan politics refugees South Asia sri lanka sri lanka civil war tamil nadu United Nations violence war war crimes
more tags
Technorati Profile