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Sustaining Sri Lanka's greatness
The confirmation of Sri Lanka as the next venue for
the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting is clinching
evidence that Sri Lanka is continuing to command the respect of
a substantial proportion of the international community; the
barbs being directed at her from some quarters notwithstanding.
In the days ahead Sri Lanka would do well to steadily build on
this trust and confidence. This would prove her best guarantee
against attempts to victimize her in the fora of the world.
The fact that Lanka's critics could not prevail against her
at the just concluded CHOGM in Perth, Australia, is resounding
evidence that the majority of Commonwealth states are of the
conviction that this country is being treated unjustly in the
context of the issues growing out of the closing stages of the
humanitarian operation of May 2009. It is proof that a great
many members of the international community are avoiding being
roped into the anti-Sri Lanka mudslinging effort of this
country's critics, evidently on the basis of the conviction that
Sri Lanka is being sinned against.
However, Sri Lanka has won an abundance of goodwill and this
fund of positive emotion in regard to us must be both sustained
and steadily consolidated. For instance, Russia is a very good
friend of this country and it is perhaps not very widely known
that besides further enriching Russia-Sri Lanka relations over
the past couple of years or so, the Russian Federation's
Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Vladimir P. Mikhaylov, has been playing
a dynamic role in voluntarily projecting to the world Sri
Lanka's abundant beauty and charm, in terms of its human and
natural resources. For instance, on the evening of October 30th
the Sri Lanka-Russia Friendship Society held an exhibition in
Colombo of photographs taken by the Ambassador during his
travels in Sri Lanka, which brought out the many alluring human
and natural charms of this country. The pictures bespoke the
Ambassador's respect and admiration for this country.
Likewise, there was a US Congressional delegation in Sri
Lanka recently, which was full of commendatory comment for this
country, both while here and after it returned to the US. For
instance, one of the delegates, Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC) was
quoted saying in connection with this country's post-conflict
progress: 'Now you have the opportunity to show the rest of the
world how vigilant you can be, how great you can be as a nation,
that you can succeed because of the great things that this
country has stood for.'
These are just some instances of how the true worth of this
country has been gauged by impartial minds. And Sri Lanka could
be certain that the majority of minds the world over are
impartial ones that recognize objective reality. The biggest
diplomatic challenge facing this country in these post-conflict
years is to build steady bridges with such minds and to
progressively consolidate them. The reconfirmation of Sri Lanka
as the next venue for the CHOGM is the latest evidence that
sinister attempts to undermine Sri Lanka's standing and dignity
in the world would not have many backers.
Nevertheless, such attempts to denigrate and undermine Sri
Lanka could be expected to continue apace. These efforts must be
repulsed through a stout defense of Sri Lanka's credentials and
irreproachability, in the Councils of the World and other
relevant fora. While the multifarious concoctions against this
country must be continuously exposed and shown to be without
foundations, the progress made by us in the area of national
reconstruction should be amply highlighted internationally.
However, it is through flawless nation-building that this
country's greatness could be proved conclusively. President
Mahinda Rajapaksa has pledged to bring into being a Sri Lanka
where man-made differences would be totally irrelevant and where
the only identity which would matter is membership of the
Motherland. So be it, is our wish too. Narrow ethnic and other
identities which are inherently divisive must cease to matter
entirely and it is through a Sri Lanka where the citizenry is
equal in every respect that true national rejuvenation could be
brought about. |
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Current phase of global recovery and implications for Sri Lanka
In the aftermath of the global economic crisis,
there has been a noticeable shift in economic clout, moving from the
USA and the debt-plagued countries of the eurozone, to the emerging
markets of Asia.
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Asian Americans most bullied in US schools: study
Asian Americans endure far more bullying at US
schools than members of other ethnic groups, with teenagers of the
community three times as likely to face taunts on the Internet, new
data shows.
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Ananda College:
Education Colossus turns 125
Ananda College, Colombo celebrates a very
significant milestone today. The premier Buddhist educational
institution for boys originally known as the English Buddhist
School, turns 125, having opened its doors to just 37 students on
November 1, 1886 at 61, Maliban Street, Pettah. C. W. Leadbeater was
the first principal. It was named Ananda College in 1895, after
Arahat Ananda Thera, the Buddha's most devoted disciple. Today, it
has nearly 7,000 students in all grades and over 250 teachers.
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YAKADAYA: from Iron Man to Serene Man
I was there when hundreds of people thronged and
stormed the Chilaw Magistrate's Court to catch a glimpse of Yakadaya
(the 'Iron Man') who was brought on a stretcher and produced before
magistrate L.W.L. Waidiyaratne in connection with three plaints
filed against him by the Chilaw Police on March 15, 1978.
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