#Sri Lanka politics

[hussyknee]

THE LEFTIST THIRD PARTY HAS WON SRI LANKA'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.

WE HAVE A PRO-LGBT, PRO-UNION, ANTI-ETHNOFASCIST, ANTI-IMPERIALIST PRESIDENT. MY ANTHROPOLOGY PROFESSOR IS GOING TO BE PRIME MINISTER. A COMPETENT ACADEMIC WHO HAS WORKED ON FEMINIST INITIATIVES AND RESEARCH ALL HER CAREER.

please please please please god don't let them fuck this up don't let them turn into a bunch of cunts to retain their new voter base don't let them fuck up the economy don't let them let the minorities down please please please they won't ever get another chance if they ruin this one we'll be stuck with more idiot corrupt nepo babies till we die please please please PLEASE LET THIS BE THE END OF THE EXECUTIVE PRESIDENCY AND PREVENTION OF TERRORISM ACT AND PERSECUTING THE NORTH please please please let them decriminalize being gay and not bury LGBT rights please please please let there be a god I can't take anymore of this shitshow please please please don't let hope be something that keeps pissing in our faces please please please please please please please

ANURA KUMARA DISSANAYAKE WILL BE THE NINTH PRESIDENT OF SRI LANKA. TAKE THAT YOU TWO PARTY VOTING MOTHERFUCKERS.

Edit:

WHAT DO YOU MEAN FUCKING COLOMBO WENT TO THE IDIOT NEPO BABY???

AKD HAD 52%!!!!! HE WAS ALL BUT SWORN IN?????

THEY HAVE TO COUNT THE SECOND PREFERENTIAL VOTE FOR ONLY THE SECOND TIME IN HISTORY??

There is a very real chance that nobody will get over 50% of the vote. That would be really, really bad.

Fuck.

I HATE YOU MOTHERFUCKING URBAN MIDDLE CLASS LIBERAL CUNTS SO MUCH. PLAGUE ON THE WHOLE DAMN COUNTRY. FUCK YOU.

Edit 2:

Ok so first counting gets AKD 42% and SP 32%. It's very likely the preferentional vote will put him over the 50% line.

It's so poetic that Ranil's greed for power ended up handing the country to the very Marxists that his uncle hunted like animals. You love to see it. 🥰

Edit 3:

So the preferential vote didn't give anyone a 50% majority and we're still at AKD 42% and SP 32%. But apparently that's enough to declare AKD President as per the Constitution. I don't think that's ever happened before. He was sworn in an hour ago.

Point of clarification: The NPP are not Marxists. Foreign news is just uncritically regurgitating the pro-government Red Scare propaganda. AKD and his JVP party used to be Marxists back in the '80s and '90s. They're now more very pro-union socialist. The NPP is their coalition, which is even more mildly social democrat and just happens to be a little more left than the other two. Calling them a Marxist is like how MAGA thinks the Dems are commies. 😂

I truly don't have great hopes that much will change, but there's a chance one or two important things might. Which is more than we've been able to hope for in decades.

See this post for a run down of the what's really been happening.

Edit 4:

I retract the "openly bisexual" part with many apologies. I completely misremembered. It wasn't AKD but JVP senior K. D. Lalkantha, who said in a 2018 interview is that he has also had same sex encounters with his friends as a boy and young man, and that he knows others who have had as well. And he specifically said he doesn't see the need to maintain a label for his sexuality. Still, the fact that his party allowed this in a country that still criminalises homosexuality, to a Sinhalese magazine, speaks to a commitment to LGBT rights. He also explicitly stated his support for women's rights, trans rights, polyamory, open relationships, explicit sexuality in media. It's impressively progressive for this country. The interview is in Sinhala and you can read it here.

Here's an excellent write-up of AKD's career, political outlook and creation of NPP in The Hindu by correspondent Meena Srinivasan, a journalist whose reporting I've always liked.

[hussyknee]

The Sri Lankan government was very much not not overthrown. The Rajapaksa enabler is now executive president with no majority, our protest village was destroyed, the people who occupied the buildings peacefully have been brutalized or thrown in prison, our economy is still in shreds and Gota has returned to enjoy all the privileges of a retired President while our people still starve and are terrorised. We didn't win, any more than the Hong Kong protestors won. Please correct this information. It's heartbreaking to see the pictures and posts of our protests being shared while the people in them are now broken and desolate. And stop grouping the political upheaval and misery of 22 million people with Tumblr memes.

Genuinely 2022 has been an amazing year for tumblr memes

I mean we had so many good ones:

#girl ban

Horse Plinko

Blorbo from my shows

The variations upon blorbo(glup shitto, skrungly, poor little meow meow)

Eeby Deeby

It's me boy, the PS5 inside your brain

Live Slug reaction

Crabs

Eurovision Pussy

Tumblr Blaze Launch ft. Catholic evangelism and My immortal

Twitterpocalypse

Dracula Daily

Thank goodness he's straight actually

July(Shinso Abe's death, British gov collapse, Overthrow of the Sri Lankan government)

September 8th(Queen dead, sansweep)

They unbanned tits- wait no they didn't

The Lettuce is Pm now

Twitterpocalyspe 2 he actually bought it this time

Tits are legal for real this time

2nd Anniversary of Nov 5th ft. Ryan Reynolds

And Now

Goncharov

In general something has definitely been in the water this year when we look back at the memes.

[dailyhistoryposts]

On This Day In History

July 20th, 1960: Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) elects the world's first female head of government, Sirimavo Bandaranaike.

[odinsblog]

Tourism minister Harin Fernando told Daily Mirror that the ministry has been receiving complaints of some Russian tourists running unregistered and illegal businesses in the southern part of the country.

Raids were conducted by the authorities following discussions with the Immigration Department, he said.

It comes amid a furious social media backlash over Russian-run businesses with a “whites only” policy that strictly bars locals. These businesses include bars, restaurants, water sports and vehicle hiring services.

(continue reading)

[lokuhapuarachchi]

The Working-Class Candidate Gaining Global Attention as Sri Lanka Seeks a New Path

In recent weeks, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, leader of Sri Lanka's National People's Power (NPP) alliance, has emerged as a formidable presidential candidate, drawing significant international media attention. His rise is particularly notable as Sri Lanka grapples with an unprecedented economic crisis, a situation that has left the country in dire need of new leadership capable of steering it toward recovery and stability.

Dissanayake has positioned himself as the candidate of the working class and the disenfranchised, groups that have been hit hardest by the country’s economic collapse. The crisis, which reached its peak in 2022, was characterized by severe shortages of essential goods, including fuel, cooking gas, medicines, and food. These shortages were compounded by unsustainable debt, poorly timed tax cuts, and the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. The public’s frustration culminated in mass protests that eventually led to the ousting of then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa​.

Why Sri Lanka Needs New Leadership

Sri Lanka’s current situation demands a leader who can address both the immediate economic hardships and the underlying issues of corruption and governance that have plagued the country for years. The existing political elite has been widely criticized for prioritizing personal gain over public welfare, leading to widespread disillusionment among the population. Dissanayake’s campaign is built on the promise of anti-corruption measures and economic reforms designed to benefit the broader population rather than just the elite.

Dissanayake’s leadership of the NPP, a coalition of 21 groups including political parties, trade unions, and civil society organizations, highlights his broad-based appeal. His commitment to systemic change resonates with those who believe that Sri Lanka’s traditional political structures have failed to serve the people effectively. This sentiment is particularly strong among the younger generation, who see in Dissanayake a leader capable of breaking away from the old, failed system.

International Perspective

The global community has taken note of Dissanayake’s rise, particularly his pragmatic approach to Sri Lanka’s relationship with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). While he has acknowledged the necessity of continuing with the IMF program, given the country’s financial collapse, he has also stressed the need to renegotiate terms to alleviate the burden on ordinary Sri Lankans. This balanced approach suggests that Dissanayake is not only aware of the need for economic stability but is also committed to ensuring that recovery efforts are equitable and just​.

As Sri Lanka prepares for its next presidential election, the need for new leadership has never been more apparent. The country stands at a crossroads, and the choice of its next leader will determine whether it continues to struggle under the weight of its challenges or embarks on a path toward genuine recovery and renewal. Dissanayake’s candidacy, with its emphasis on anti-corruption, economic reform, and working-class representation, offers a vision of change that many Sri Lankans—and international observers—find compelling.

[zatdummesmadchen]

Woah

Beware the Pride

Being a model minority will not save you. It did not save the Sinhalese from the English; it did not save the Tamils from the Sinhalese; it will not save the Muslims. And once we are done eating them it will not save the Christians. And most of all It will not save us.

Not the poor Not the former war heroes with their limbs blown off their minds cracked open like eggshells seeping yellow drowning in the blood on their hands while their families starve and fathers take their lives because the crops have died.

But there are still enough with working limbs Expendables with no crops no jobs nothing but empty stomachs (acid rising between their teeth); to give them a gun point it at a human dartboard and let them all die as fodder for another Glorious Victory. Another slew of mothers to mourn at mass graves on roadsides.

For another ten years of the rich sucking the marrow bone of a steadily growing hoarde underfoot.

Being a model minority will not save us. Us the majority middle-class, with our struggling, smiling middle-class lives. Heads down, teeth closed, pontificating on these social media posts. They will take our voices one by one. Rupees dwindling to nothing one by one. Our children going bedraggled one by one. Until for them also awaits only a uniform and gun, and the promise of a glorious tomorrow.

They will rule this pile of skeletons. They will suck and suck the rivers dry, the fields arid, the villages buried under landslides, and swept away in avenging monsoons; while we burn alive under a steadily more blazing sun.

They will thrive as the poorest die; the middle class of today take their places. There will always be enough mouths to feed into the maw of greed. lions are gorgers you see.

As long as the saffron beasts roam unchecked; scavenging hyenas following our prides, feeding on the Buddha’s carcass; we are doomed. As long as we shake our heads and watch as the Devaduttas roar at mobs; tolling their gleeful war-bells, our death-knells - we are doomed. As long as democracy is just a screaming mob with a puppet or despot at the top - we are doomed. In a land of ten thousand temples there is no salvation of the Buddha. You see the lions ate Him first.

[reasonsforhope]

One country in the [climate-change] firing line is Cape Verde. The West African island nation, where 80% of the population lives on the coast, is already feeling the brunt of rising sea levels and increasing ocean acidity on its infrastructure, tourism, biodiversity and fisheries.

The country desperately needs to both mitigate and adapt to these problems, but – as with many Global South countries at present – simply lacks the budget to do it: Cape Verde’s debt reached an all-time high of 157% of GDP in 2021.

In a bid to address both issues simultaneously, the country has signed a novel agreement with Portugal to swap some of its debt for investments into an environmental and climate fund. The former Portuguese colony owes the Portuguese state €140m ($148m) and Portuguese banks €400m.

On a state visit to Cape Verde on 23 January, Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa announced the debt would be put towards Cape Verde’s energy transition and fight against climate change. Costa earmarked projects involving energy efficiency, renewable energy and green hydrogen as possible targets for the fund.

“This is a new seed that we sow in our future cooperation,” said Costa. “Climate change is a challenge that takes place on a global scale and no country will be sustainable if all countries are not sustainable.”

“Debt-for-climate swaps” allow countries to reduce their debt obligations in exchange for a commitment to finance domestic climate and nature projects with the freed-up financial resources. The concept has been knocking about since the 1980s, typically geared at nature conservation. However, after recent deals for Barbados, Belize and the Seychelles, and huge $800m and $1bn agreements in the offing for Ecuador and Sri Lanka, is this financial instrument finally coming of age?

How It Works

Debt-for-climate swaps typically follow a formula. First, a creditor [here, a group or government that money is owed to] agrees to reduce debt, either by converting it into local currency, lowering the interest rate, writing off some of the debt, or a combination of all three. The debtor will then use the saved money for initiatives aimed at increasing climate resilience, lowering greenhouse gas emissions or protecting biodiversity.

The original 'debt-for-nature swaps' began as small, trilateral deals, with NGOs buying sovereign debt owed to commercial banks to redirect payments towards nature projects. They have since evolved into larger, bilateral deals between creditors and debtors...

Debt-for-climate swaps free up fiscal resources so governments can improve resilience and transition to a low-carbon economy without causing a fiscal crisis or sacrificing spending on other development priorities. [These swaps] can create additional revenue for countries with valuable biodiversity or carbon sinks by allowing them to charge others to protect those assets, thereby providing a global public good.

Swaps can even result in an upgrade to a country’s sovereign credit rating, as was the case in Belize, which makes government borrowing cheaper [and improves the country's economy.]

Right now, these [swaps] are needed more than ever, with low-income countries dealing with multiple crises that have put huge pressure on public debt...

Debt-for-climate swaps: “Increasing in size and scale”

Although debt-for-climate swaps are not new, until recently the amount of finance raised globally from the instrument has been modest – just $1bn between 1987 and 2003, according to one OECD study. Just three of the 140 swaps over the past 35 years have had a value of more than $250m, according to the African Development Bank. The average size was a mere $26.6m.

However, the market has steadily picked up pace over the past two decades... In 2016, the government of the Seychelles signed a landmark agreement with developed nation creditor group the Paris Club, supported by NGO The Nature Conservancy (TNC), for a $22m investment in marine conservation.

The government of Belize followed suit in 2021 by issuing a $364m blue bond – a debt instrument to finance marine and ocean-focused sustainability projects – to buy back $550m of commercial debt to use for marine conservation and debt sustainability.

Then, last year, Barbados completed a $150m transaction, supported by the TNC and the Inter-American Development Bank, allowing the country to reduce its borrowing costs and use savings to finance marine conservation.

“Two or three years ago, we were talking about $50m deals,” says Widge. “Now they have gone to $250–300m, so they are definitely increasing in size and scale.”

Indeed, the success of the deals for the Seychelles, Belize and Barbados, along with the debt distress sweeping across the Global South, has sparked an uptick of interest in the model.

Ecuador is reported to be in negotiations with banks and a non-profit for an $800m deal, and Sri Lanka is discussing a $1bn transaction – which would be the biggest swap to date."

-via Energy Monitor, 2/1/23

Note: I'm leaving out my massive rant about how the vast majority of this debt is due to the damages of colonialism. And also countries being forced to "PAY BACK" COLONIZERS FOR THEIR OWN FREEDOM for decades or in some cases centuries (particularly infuriating example: Haiti). Debt-for-climate swaps are good news, and one way to help right this massive historic and ongoing economic wrong

[indizombie]

Religious nationalism is rampant in South Asia and it is most alive and well in Sri Lanka. And to the degree to which religious nationalism thrives in Sri Lanka, to the same extent could Sri Lanka be considered as deviating from the cardinal principles and values of democratic governance. It is obligatory on the part of those posing as Sri Lanka’s national leaders to reject religious nationalism and take the country along the path of secularism, which essentially denotes the separation of politics and religion. Thus far, Sri Lanka’s political class has fought shy of taking up this challenge and by doing so they have exposed the country as a ‘facade democracy’. Religion per se, though, is not to be rejected, for, all great religions preach personal and societal goodness and progress. However, when religious identities are abused by political actors and forces for the acquiring and consolidation of power, religious nationalism comes to the fore and the latter is more destructive than constructive in its impact on societies. It is for these reasons that it is best to constitutionally separate religion from politics. Accordingly, secularism emerges as essential for the practise of democracy, correctly conceived.

‘Religious nationalism suffers notable setback in India’, Island

[salvadorbonaparte]

I'm trying to sort my postcard collection by country but I only have a certain number of dividers and a certain number of countries which led to me sorting a lot of them into regions that, if applied anywhere else, would be hugely controversial

[hussyknee]

The Sri Lankan mainstream media and foreign media repeatedly calling AKD a "Marxist" reminds me of this old tweet:

AKD and NPP is a lot more left than any USAmerican party because even their current fairly tame socialism evolved from a Marxist insurgency in the '80s and South Asia has a socialist bedrock. And I'm praying he won't turn out to be a disappointment like Biden and will actually hold some of these corrupt yahoos to account. But they're very much establishment liberals. "Marxist"—bitch they wouldn't pass muster with a Tumblr Tankie, sit down. 😂

[cavalierzee]

Intelligence Agencies Coordinate ISIS Attacks In Sri Lanka

"Channel 4 interviewed a man who said he arranged a meeting between a local Islamic State-inspired group, National Thowheed Jamath, and a top state intelligence official to hatch a plot to create insecurity in Sri Lanka and enable Gotabaya Rajapaksa to win the presidential election later that year."

[rpcrimeboys]

Sex penis

Sex Penis am I right bros?

[bd442]

অন্তর্বর্তী সরকার গঠনে ত্রুটি থাকলে প্রশ্ন তোলা যাবে না

অন্তর্বর্তী সরকারের মেয়াদ হবে ত্রয়োদশ জাতীয় সংসদ গঠিত হওয়ার পর নতুন প্রধানমন্ত্রী দায়িত্ব নেওয়ার দিন পর্যন্ত। আর অন্তর্বর্তী সরকার গঠন, সরকারের প্রধান উপদেষ্টা বা কোনো উপদেষ্টার নিয়োগে কোনো ত্রুটি থাকলে শুধু এ কারণে তাঁদের কোনো কাজ অবৈধ হবে না। এ সম্পর্কে কোনো আদালতে কোনো প্রশ্নও তোলা যাবে না। এমনকি মামলা করা যাবে না। এমন বিধান রেখে চূড়ান্ত করা হয়েছে অন্তর্বর্তী সরকার অধ্যাদেশের খসড়া।…

[head-post]

Sri Lanka closes schools as death toll from floods rises to 16

Sri Lanka closed schools in its capital Colombo and its suburbs on Monday as heavy rains caused flooding in many parts of the island nation.

Heavy rains over the weekend devastated many parts of the country, flooding homes, fields and roads. Three people drowned and about 134,000 people were affected by the floods, according to the country’s Disaster Management Centre.

The rains and floods damaged 240 homes and nearly 7,000 people were evacuated, the centre said. Authorities have cut electricity in some areas as a precautionary measure.

Naval and army forces were deployed to rescue victims and provide food and other essentials.

Local TV channels showed flooded towns in the suburbs of Colombo. In some areas, water reached up to the roofs of houses and shops. Floods and landslides caused by heavy monsoon rains have caused 16 deaths since May.

Read more HERE

[drjacquescoulardeau]

Hong Kong über alles and elections, fake or not, in so many places you cannot keep track of them

[cyndaquillt]

What if.....I write well researched essays.....on South Asian political movements especially geared towards a western diaspora audience to break the perception that South Asian or 'desi' identity is a political and ideological monolith ..... Hahaha jk......unlessss.......