By Eric Ellis –
Eric Ellis
Sri Lanka’s paradise betrayed by monks, thugs and smugglers
Four years after its brutal victory over Tamil Tiger rebels that ended a 26-year-long civil war, Sri Lanka’s Sinhalese-led government is at pains to persuade the world that it has at last brought peace and unity to this troubled island. And the captain of the flag-carrying SriLankan Airlines flight 423 from Bangkok seems keen to do his national bit.
Easing his Airbus over the tea-studded plantations of the island’s central highlands for the approach into Colombo, the pilot primes those on board for landing.
“A warm welcome to Paradise for all our passengers….” he cheerfully intones in a voice as rich as the coconut curries ‘Mother Lanka’ is famous for. “That is, welcome to Paradise Regained.”
Which Sri Lanka certainly is if you’ve holidayed on its hedonistic beaches – arguably Asia’s most divine. It’s also been a political Shangri-La for the many members of the triumphalist Rajapaksa clan crowding government ranks, led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa and three of his brothers. They’ve ruled Sri Lanka since 2005 and, in South Asia’s dynastic style, are now positioning the family for yet another generation at the top. Ditto for the ruling brotherhood’s business cronies and military chums, as they pile into cosy government sinecures and the lucrative reconstruction deals that are spurring a modest economic surge now that the guns have been silenced in the Tamil north.
Read more in the The Globalmail
*Eric Ellis is an award-winning journalist who writes about the politics, economics and societies of South and South-East Asia. He has written for a range of international journals; Fortune Magazine, Forbes, the Financial Times, Time Magazine, The Times, The Bulletin/Newsweek, The Spectator,Institutional Investor, Euromoney, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Australian Financial Review and the International Herald Tribune.
Other stories;
Sri Lanka: The Smugglers’ Prey
Sri Lanka’s Army Of Buddhist Power
abhaya / August 24, 2013
this is a good example on how not to write and objective article .
go in with a preconcieved notion .
fine all the facts that support it .
ignore all the facts that point away from it .
duh !
/
Dinuk / August 24, 2013
Don’t be silly Abaya!
This is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth – minus the spin!
There are 4 CORRUPT and UNEDUCATED Rajapassa brothers, more sons and 60 odd family members looting the public wealth and living the high life, while letting loose the saffron clad thugs, to DISTRACT the Sinhalalaya modayas and DIVIDE and RULE Lanka!
Sooner the Sinhalaya modaya (like you) wakes up and takes a hard look at reality in Banana Republic the better!
/
abhaya / August 24, 2013
really you idiot is that whay you take a fake sinhala name and call us sinhala modayas . be careful when you meddle with us modayas . It always ends badly . and if we dont like our rulers we will vote them out but not because the superior demelas tell us . lol
/
John / August 26, 2013
“*Eric Ellis is an award-winning journalist”
Who awarded this Idiotic – one sided- blind “Journalist” ?
Isn’t he another cheap US/West NGO Mafia’s paid writer ?
Writing Crap for Bread & Butter ??
Looks LTTE Diaspora Terrorists too are awarding Eric with US$ lavishly.
/
Punitham / August 24, 2013
1.This is in agreement with all the daily reports that have been coming out of the North and the East over the last years and decades:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/157525888/Reports-on-Sri-Lanka-by-Human-Rights-Organisations
2.We know how not to write about the submissions made by conscientious Sinhalese to LLRC or how to distort their submissions:
http://groundviews.org/2010/08/30/jayantha-dhanapala-responds-to-erroneous-and-selective-media-reports-of-his-submission-to-llrc/
/
abhaya / August 24, 2013
heopfully you did not spend on this a hole just like you do on boyle and the others . lmao
/
Fathima Fukushima / August 24, 2013
Too bad!
SL WON the wars.
/
K.A Sumanasekera / August 24, 2013
Looks like the “Curry accent” of our Airbus Driver is not to the liking of this eveidently well credentialled Bob.
Surely race relations can’t be in that long list of South ,and South East Asian journalism.
/
K.A Sumanasekera / August 24, 2013
Sorry ,It is Eric not Bob.
/
Sumith / August 24, 2013
/*ignore all the facts that point away from it .*/
Abhaya what facts ? -:)
/
Sumith / August 24, 2013
/*Sri Lanka’s paradise betrayed by monks, thugs and smugglers */
Country was rescued from Prapbhakaran.
Now we have to rescue the country from Rajapakse’s.
/
spotlight / August 24, 2013
He wrote an article in 2008 (or thereabouts) criticising the Army and Government and predicting the LTTE would never be beaten and that the Government would be ‘laughed out of office’. He also thought that NIB stands for National Intelligence Board (must have thought about the Milk Board of a bygone era)!
/
George Jilmart / August 24, 2013
What crap abyaya- these are facts and face up to it. Nothing said by Eric is closer to the truth.
/
Punitham / August 24, 2013
Eric
Thank you for bringing the ground picture to the outside world.
Have yo seen the three (monstrous) monuments – note the dates when they were built with A9 closed to the public and when 300,000 were detained in camps within barbed wire and army guard):
President unveiled monument on 9 December 2009, http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20091209_06
Defence Secretary unveiled monument on 30 April 2010, http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20100430_09
Defence Secretary unveiled war memorial on 9 May 2010, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEes9C-TB00
Please contrast it with the Twisted Gun:
Twisted Gun, http://www.redbubble.com/people/jenniezoso/works/5296848-twisted-gun-non-violence
/
lal / August 24, 2013
So, Eric with the wide, smug grin of a face says nothing in Sri Lanka (or Ceylon for him) has changed since “kooli” bashing, aparthied days of white English rule! Time to ponder with likes of him, why they got their asses kicked from everywhere they set up “shops”.
/
Patriot / August 24, 2013
There is no way for us to reply for rubbish and lies that Ellis like cowards write in ‘The Globalmail’. I am sure the bugger is paid lavishly by rump LTTE.
/
Punitham / August 24, 2013
Has Eric said anything that isn’t here:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/sri-lanka
http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/asia/south-asia/sri-lanka.aspx
http://www.ibanet.org/Human_Rights_Institute/Work_by_regions/Asia_Pacific/Sri_Lanka.aspx
http://www.icj.org/country/asia-pacific/south-asia/sri-lanka/
http://www.humanrights.asia/countries/sri-lanka
http://www.forum-asia.org/?countries=sri-lanka
http://www.peace-srilanka.org/media-centre/political-analysis
http://en.rsf.org/sri-lanka.html
http://cpj.org/asia/sri-lanka/
http://www.minorityrights.org/?lid=745&fr=1&minority_type=1831&Countries=2322&action_5=Go&Minorities=0&Publications_Theme=2370&Year_Filter%3A=0
/
Punitham / August 24, 2013
Has Eric contradicted what is in this:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/104705097/Conscientious-Sinhalese-Tell-LLRC
/
Punitham / August 24, 2013
Eric,
http://www.scribd.com/doc/158649137/Sri-Lanka-Must-Transform-Its-Education-for-War-Into-Education-for-Peace
/
Punitham / August 24, 2013
Eric
Any UN/Commonwealth member should ask Sri Lanka to publish reports in:
A List of Commissions of Inquiry and Committees Appointed by the Government of Sri Lanka (2006 – 2012)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/85007346/A-List-of-Commissions-of-Inquiry-and-Committees-Appointed-by-the-Government-of-Sri-Lanka-2006-%E2%80%93-2012
This govt has been doing only the previous ones had been doing – om=nly better performance:
Sri Lanka: Twenty years of make-believe. Sri Lanka’s Commissions of Inquiry, Amnesty International, 11 June 2009, https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA37/005/2009/en
/
Sanjee Goonetilake / August 24, 2013
Dear Eric, When you write’ a voice as rich as the coconut curries ‘Mother Lanka’ is famous for.’, it is difficult to imagine any thing else on the subject that can be less subjective than this opinion of yours. We Sri Lankans who feel for what is happening in the country and who may have any sense of dissidence will stick with the ruling elite when we see racist bigots like you attempting poor journalism with the usual arrogant leer.
Please allow Sri Lankan journalists to deal with Sri Lanka’s miseries. And leave the curry out of your speech. It is time that the East London’s old habits of curry and all that are removed for education’s sake. After all, we are not bashing the old Colonial master even if the history is only 65 years away before all this was created.
/
Rita / August 24, 2013
”…all this was created …” in Mahavamsa !
/
abhaya / August 25, 2013
no it is your [Edited out] created by mahavansa .
/
hannah rajaratnam / August 24, 2013
Hi sanjee,you forgot to be thankfull for the lagacy of our Tea Estates the money spinner ,the beautifull roads up country and amazing train system an educational system that took many out of the country.The devil has to be paid its dues.Be gratefull for somethjngs made easy for your life.
The only brain wave we had after the britishers lef was to sell our women to the arab world raking in the money.It cost us dearly when the men in the south enjoyed their women’s money lived in style having mistreses too.Marriages broke at what cost?
Then we sold ‘us’ to the Chinese.Finally we will have nothing more to sell but bow down to his master’s voice.
So much for Patriotism,BBs and the likes of them.
/
abhaya / August 24, 2013
are you kidding me , do you have to thank them for nearly destroying our reliegeon and reaping and pillaging when we rose up against them . seriously its time to stop worshipping your colonial masters , hanna
/
Rita / August 24, 2013
Can anybody destroy Buddhism? Only some ignorant Buddhists can believe it. Many Christians in the Western countries follow Buddhism classes and are practising Buddhism by respecting ”others”.
Some of the Sri Lankan Buddhists are madly filling up the island with Buddha statues, instead of practising Buddhism. They are destroying the living space of living species, including man. All because they don’t know how to ”live” Buddhism.
/
abhaya / August 25, 2013
dont be idiotic . I am talking about the state of buddhisum in Sri Lanka . they had to import buddhisum from Siam and Burma to reestablish it in the country . if you dont know your Sri Lankan history you should keep your trap shut .
/
Marwan / August 24, 2013
What’s with Eric Solheim asking for an International Tribunal to inquire into war crimes committed to Sri Lankan government. Any truth in that? can anyone confirm and elaborate? Sure appreciate it.
/
Rita / August 24, 2013
Independent inquiry into crimes is part of the UN policy. Why is Sri Lanka a member of the UN? It can leave the UN if it doesn’t wish to follow its principles and practice. Why is it sending ”Pecae-keeping Forces” to other countries as part of the UN? PKF earns them money! Irrational leaders are teaching their citizens irrational ideas.
/
abhaya / August 25, 2013
This is from an article this[Edited out] eric ellis wrote in 2007 .
“
Colombo’s politicians did the rest. Saturday’s press carried bitter attacks from the opposition United National Party, whose government had signed the 2002 ceasefire with the LTTE, which is now in tatters under Rajapakse They charged that the president had abandoned the country, likening Rajapakse to Nero fiddling while Rome burned. The Tigers attacked a day later and, doubtless, will do so again and again, probably until Rajapakse is laughed out of office.”
oh the poor fool. now he is back to his biased best .
/
hannah rajaratnam / August 26, 2013
Abhaya- why are you harping that the British destroyed your budhist religion.No one can destroy another religion.Forget it.Don’t blame others for your own folly.
Plundered and pillaged.?What exactly?
Did you want them to destroy the Railways tracks,Trains,Tea Estates,vehicles and all the buildings we still are happily using?
Never heard before that SL had to ‘import’ budhism from other countries after the British left.Sounds rediculous.
You are suffering from an IMPORT syndrome.
Ha!– ‘when we rose up against them’!! No way.
Independence was handed on a platter to Sri Lanka when they gave India Independence.India fought for its Independence.
Know your history.
/
abhaya / August 27, 2013
sucking up to the colonials is this womans forte as is obvious from the name she has taken . The british did not build the railways for the natives you fool . they built them to take the riches from the island to their nation . unfortunately they also left a bunch of half breeds like hanna who still worship them .
/