#aragalaya

[hussyknee]

Trying to explain what the fuck just happened in Lankan politics today.

The leftist party has won 159 seats out of 218 in the Parliamentary elections. The single biggest landslide win since we broke from the British and achieved universal franchise in 1948.

Any party achieving a super majority in the executive and legislative is, objectively speaking, bad. It disables checks and balances, which is a catastrophic thing for any democracy, and the only two other times it's happened for us has irrevocably eroded the fabric of civic rights and democratic freedom. Also, the reason the NPP won the North and East is that the colonized, genocided and subjugated people there have no faith in electoralism anymore. The way this government has engaged minority issues has been utterly abysmal and now they've been rewarded for it.

On the other hand:

The winners. Are all. Grassroots. Candidates.¹

We have voted out every single career criminal that's been barnacled into the Lankan political arena since before I've been alive. The fascist party has only three seats.² The other fascists didn't win a single seat. The neoliberal legacy party won none. There are only forty people in Parliament that represent any sort of dynastic political legacy. After 76 solid years of nothing but political dynasties.

This is barely five years after the Rajapaksas swept in and absolutely glutted the Parliament with their family members and cronies end to end.

This is the illegitimate interim government we had for most of the last 18 months. We literally, physically, chased the Rajapaksas out of the country and this fucking demon set up a puppet government just so he could finally sit in that goddamn chair and be the despot he'd always dreamed of in exchange for letting them all come back. He's now gone. His entire circle is gone.

THEY ARE ALL FUCKING GONE.

In US terms, just imagine that, five years from now, when Trump's GOP has control of everything, the entire GOP and the worst of the Dems are all purged from Congress and Senate, the Green Party in control of all three branches of government under a pro-union left-wing President and an unmarried female LGBT rights activist Vice President, and the Dems reduced to barely 20% of the House.

This is my anthropology professor. She joined politics from the small nascent leftist coalition to help keep the government accountable. She's now the Prime Minister and the most popular Parliamentary candidate in the nation's history. (Edit: She was knocked off first place by a dude in the final result. Boo.)

(On the other hand— the woman who helped make me a radical anarchist and literally helped write a book on political dissent and resistance...now is the state. Uh.)

But there are so many women in Parliament! We had the lowest female representation in a South Asian Parliament and some of them were from the list of seats reserved for parties rather than elected ones. Most were either anti-feminist conservative embarrassments, widows and daughters of elite politicians and neoliberal shills. It's still only an increase of a few percentage points (Edit: from the previous 5% to 10% in the final result!) but now we have elected academics, feminist advocates, activists! There Is a representative for Malaiyaha Tamils in the Central Province for the first time in history and it's a young woman! (Edit: now it's two female Malaiyaha MPS!!) This is the plantation community that still live in conditions closest to the slavery the British forced upon them two hundred years ago!

I'm like. Completely mindfucked. To be very very clear, the NPP coalition formed around the nucleus of the JVP that used to be communist but haven't been in 30 years, they're now just social democrats who are left of places like the US and UK, whose "left" is now center-right. They're only threatening to the Western mainstream media for some reason who can't stop bleating about how we have a "Marxist" government now. In reality, the actual chances for radical reform are still quite low, and the opportunity for further erosion is quite high with a super majority government regardless of affiliation.

On the other hand:

What the fuck.

Sometimes living through historical events is really damn amazing.

---

¹ Well, nearly. There are a few career politicians and a nepo baby but they aren't so bad either.

² Goddamn it, Baby Rajapaksa and Sri Lanka's answer to JD Vance have wormed their way in using the list of Constitutionally reserved party seats for non-elected members. FUCK the National List.

[beardedmrbean]

Sri Lanka's new president Anura Kumara Dissanayake has been sworn into office, promising "clean" politics as the country recovers from its worst economic crisis.

The left-leaning Dissanayake has cast himself as a disruptor of the status quo, and analysts see his victory as a rejection of corruption and cronyism that has long plagued the country.

Saturday's election was the first since 2022, when discontent over the economy fuelled mass protests and chased former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa from power.

"We need to establish a new clean political culture," he said. "I commit to achieving this. We will do the utmost to win back the people’s respect and trust in the political system."

Who is Sri Lanka’s new president Anura Kumara Dissanayake?

In a political paradigm shift, Sri Lanka leans to the left

The 55-year-old, who is familiarly known as AKD, told Sri Lankans that "democracy doesn’t end with voting in a leader".

"We need to strengthen democracy. I pledge to do my utmost to safeguard democracy," he said.

"I have said before that I am not a magician – I am an ordinary citizen. There are things I know and don’t know. My aim is to gather those with the knowledge and skills to help lift this country."

Dissanayake received a Buddhist blessing at the end of his speech. Representatives of Sri Lanka's other main religions - Islam, Hinduism and Christianity - were also present during the oath-taking, highlighting the new president's emphasis on diversity.

In a statement on the eve of the ceremony, Dissanayake said the "unity of Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and all Sri Lankans is the bedrock of this new beginning".

During the campaign, Dissanayake promised voters good governance and tough anti-corruption measures.

He has promised to develop Sri Lanka's manufacturing, agriculture and IT sectors. He has also committed to continuing the deal struck with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to bail Sri Lanka out of the economic crisis while reducing the impact of its austerity measures on the country’s poorest.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena resigned before Dissanayake was sworn in, paving the way for the dissolution of parliament.

In an earlier interview with BBC Sinhala, Dissanayake signalled that he would dissolve parliament soon after being elected.

"There is no point continuing with a parliament that is not in line with what the people want," he said at the time.

Dissanayake won after the counting stretched into a second round on Sunday, as no candidate was able to win more than 50% of the total votes in the first round.

Once the second and third-choice votes for president had been tallied, the Election Commission said Dissanayake had won with a total of 5,740,179 votes.

Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa came in second at 4,530,902. Outgoing President Ranil Wickremesinghe got 2,299,767 during the first round of counting and was excluded from the second round.

Wickremesinghe congratulated his successor, saying: "With much love and respect for this beloved nation, I hand over its future to the new president".

Until this weekend's vote, all of Sri Lanka's eight presidential elections since 1982 had seen the winner emerge during the first round of counting. This poll has been described as one of the closest in the country's history.

Dissanayake's anti-corruption platform resonated strongly with voters who have been clamouring for systemic change since the crisis.

This enabled him to overcome trepidation over the violent past of his political party, the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which carried out two armed insurrections against the Sri Lankan state in the 1970s and 80s.

Dissanayake's alliance, the National People’s Power – of which the JVP is a part – rose to prominence during the 2022 protests, known as the Aragalaya – Sinhala for struggle.

Dissanayake has also sought to moderate the hard-left stance of his party in more recent years.

[socialistworld]

Sri Lanka presidential election: A shock result?

Sri Lanka presidential election: A shock result?

Though the establishment parties somehow survived the Aragalaya (The Struggle) in 2022, they were never able to win back the full trust of the masses. The ruling Rajapaksa family then stepped back from governmental positions […] Special financial appeal to all readers of socialistworld.net Support building alternative socialist media Socialistworld.net provides a unique analysis and perspective of world events. Socialistworld.net also plays a crucial role in building the struggle for socialism across all continents. Capitalism has failed! Assist us to build the fight-back and prepare for the stormy period of class struggles ahead. Please make a donation to help us reach more readers and to widen our socialist campaigning work across the world. Donate via Paypal

[mynewshq]

Sri Lanka swears in new left-leaning president

Sri Lanka's new president Anura Kumara Dissanayake has been sworn into office, promising "clean" politics as the country recovers from its worst economic crisis. The left-leaning Dissanayake has cast himself as a disruptor of the status quo, and analysts see his victory as a rejection of corruption and cronyism that has long plagued the country. Saturday's election was the first since 2022, when discontent over the economy fuelled mass protests and chased former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa from power. "We need to establish a new clean political culture," he said. "I commit to achieving this. We will do the utmost to win back the people’s respect and trust for the political system." The 55-year-old, also known as AKD, told Sri Lankans that "democracy doesn’t end with appointing a leader". "We need to strengthen democracy. I pledge to do my utmost to safeguard democracy," he said. "I have said before that I am not a magician – I am an ordinary citizen. There are things I know and don’t know. My utmost objective is to gather those with the knowledge and skills to help lift this country." Dissanayake received a Buddhist blessing at the end of his speech. Representatives of Sri Lanka's other religions - Islam, Hinduism and Christianity - were also present during the oath-taking, highlighting the new president's emphasis on diversity. In a statement on the eve of the ceremony, Dissanayake said the "unity of Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and all Sri Lankans is the bedrock of this new beginning". During the campaign, Dissanayake promised voters good governance and tough anti-corruption measures. He has promised to develop Sri Lanka's manufacturing, agriculture and IT sectors. He has also committed to continuing the deal struck with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to bail Sri Lanka out of the economic crisis while reducing the impact of its austerity measures on the country’s poorest. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena resigned before Dissanayake was sworn in, paving the way for the dissolution of parliament. In an earlier interview with BBC Sinhala, Dissanayake signalled that he would dissolve parliament soon after being elected. "There is no point continuing with a parliament that is not in line with what the people want," he said at the time. Dissanayake won after the counting stretched into a second round on Sunday, as no candidate was able to win more than 50% of the total votes in the first round. Once the second and third-choice votes for president had been tallied, the Election Commission said Dissanayake had won with a total of 5,740,179 votes. Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa came in second at 4,530,902. Outgoing President Ranil Wickremesinghe got 2,299,767 during the first round of counting and was excluded from the second round. Wickremesinghe congratulated his successor, saying: "With much love and respect for this beloved nation, I hand over its future to the new president". Until this weekend's vote, all of Sri Lanka's eight presidential elections since 1982 had seen the winner emerge during the first round of counting. This poll has been described as one of the closest in the country's history. Dissanayake's anti-corruption platform resonated strongly with voters who have been clamouring for systematic change since the crisis. This enabled him to overcome trepidation over the violent past of his political party, the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which carried out two armed insurrections against the Sri Lankan state in the 1970s and 80s. Dissanayake's alliance, the National People’s Power – of which the JVP is a part – rose to prominence during the 2022 protests, known as the Aragalaya – Sinhala for struggle. Dissanayake has also sought to moderate the hard-left stance of his party in more recent years. The country's new president will be faced with the twin tasks of reviving the economy and lifting millions from crushing poverty. An economic meltdown fuelled the Aragalaya uprising that unseated Rajapaksa from the presidential palace in 2022. At that time, Sri Lanka's foreign currency reserves had dried up, leaving the country unable to import essentials such as fuel. Public debt ballooned to $83bn while inflation soared to 70%. This made basics such as food and medicine unaffordable to ordinary people. The country's economic misery has been blamed on major policy errors, weak exports and years of under-taxation. This was exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, which choked tourism, a key economic driver. Many people have also blamed corruption and mismanagement, however, stoking anger against Rajapaksa and his family, who collectively ruled Sri Lanka for more than 10 years. "The most serious challenge is how to restore this economy," Dr Athulasiri Samarakoon, a political scientist at the Open University of Sri Lanka, told the BBC Sinhala Service. During his termWickremesinghe secured a $2.9bn lifeline from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which is crucial to opening additional funding channels but comes with strict economic and governance policy reforms. Sri Lanka is restructuring the terms of its debt payments with foreign and domestic lenders, as mandated by the IMF. The main focus has been the country's $36bn worth of foreign debt, of which $7bn is owed to China, its largest bilateral creditor. Like Dissanayake, Premadasa also pushed for IT development, as well as the establishment of 25 new industrial zones. He said tourism should be supported so that it becomes the country's top foreign currency earner. Wickremesinghe said during the campaign that he would double tourist arrivals and establish a national wealth fund, as well as new economic zones to increase growth. Read the full article

[thezeusos]

Apolitical dynasty chased out by Srilanka people plots its comeback

Rajapaksas’ fall, certain the family was finished. But was it? Cut to two years later, and Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son, Namal, has thrown his hat into the ring for the presidential election to be held on 21 September. “It is bad enough that the people who were driven out after the aragalaya [mass protests] are contesting these polls,” Lakshan Sandaruwan, a university student who took part in the…

[wikiuntamed]

On this day in Wikipedia: Friday, 15th March

Welcome, добредојде (dobredojde), 欢迎 (huānyíng), välkommen 🤗 What does @Wikipedia say about 15th March through the years 🏛️📜🗓️?

15th March 2022 🗓️ : Event - 2022 Sri Lankan protests The 2022 Sri Lankan protests begins amidst Sri Lanka's economic collapse. "The 2022 Sri Lankan protests, commonly known as Aragalaya (Sinhala: අරගලය, lit. 'The Struggle'), were a series of mass protests that began in March 2022 against the government of Sri Lanka. The government was heavily criticized for mismanaging the Sri Lankan economy, which led to a subsequent..."

Image licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0? by AntanO

15th March 2019 🗓️ : Event - 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests Beginning of the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests. "The 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests (also known by other names) were a series of demonstrations against the Hong Kong government's introduction of a bill to amend the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance in regard to extradition. It was the largest series of demonstrations in the history of Hong Kong.The..."

Image licensed under CC BY 2.0? by Studio Incendo

15th March 2014 🗓️ : Death - Clarissa Dickson Wright Clarissa Dickson Wright, English chef, author, and television personality (b. 1947) "Clarissa Theresa Philomena Aileen Mary Josephine Agnes Elsie Trilby Louise Esmerelda Johnston Dickson Wright (24 June 1947 – 15 March 2014) was an English celebrity cook, television personality, writer, businesswoman, and former barrister. She was best known as one of the Two Fat Ladies, with..."

Image licensed under CC BY 2.0? by Mark Robinson

15th March 1974 🗓️ : Event - Transvestism and Transsexualism in Modern Society Transvestism and Transsexuality in Modern Society, the UK's first trans-rights conference, opened with an evening reception in Leeds. "Transvestism and Transsexualism in Modern Society, also known as The First National TV.TS Conference was a conference held in Leeds from 15 to 17 March 1974. It was the first such event to be organised by members of the community. With an educational remit, the conference sought to further..."

15th March 1922 🗓️ : Event - Egypt After Egypt gains nominal independence from the United Kingdom, Fuad I becomes King of Egypt. "Egypt (Arabic: مصر Miṣr [mesˁr], Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [mɑsˤr]), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and the Sinai Peninsula in the southwest corner of Asia. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the..."

Image by Open Clip Art

15th March 1824 🗓️ : Birth - Jules Chevalier Jules Chevalier, French priest, founded the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (d. 1907) "Jules Chevalier (15 March 1824 – 21 October 1907) was a French Catholic priest and founder of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC), the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (FDNSC), the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart, along with their lay associates, known collectively as the..."

Image licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0? by Francis Hannaway

15th March 🗓️ : Holiday - Christian feast day: Saint Longinus "Longinus () is the name given to the unnamed Roman soldier who pierced the side of Jesus with a lance; who in medieval and some modern Christian traditions is described as a convert to Christianity. His name first appeared in the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus. The lance is called in Christianity..."

Image licensed under Copyrighted free use? by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680)

[drew-mga2022mi6021]

Research | Restructuring the Focus Group

via Ideascale

Since I intend on conducting a control group session as well, this allows me to restructure the focus group in a more convenient way. This way, I can start the session by showing off the Dear Alice short and building questions that work for both groups around that.

The beginning of the session needs to be short and snappy, and should include a brief overview of the topic and some ground rules. For the benefit of participants, the topic should be conveyed in the most simple manner possible. I found a bulleted guide for the beginning of a focus group illustrated by Professor A. Kreuger of the Eastern Illinois University. It is as follows;

via Professor A. Kreuger

The general formula to follow for questions used in a focus group tend to be open ended, which avoid dichotomous answers. These are the types of questions generally asked;

Opening Question - Begins the discussion

Introductory Question - Introduces the topic

Transitionary Question - Shifts the focus of the discussion

Key Questions - Key topics that should be touched on

Ending Questions - Summary of the discussion or a final call for additional thoughts

Using this framework, I have devised the following questions.

Introduction to the topic: Solarpunk -> Ground Rules of the Discussion -> Beginning of discussion

How does this animation/the concept of Solarpunk make you feel?

On a scale of one to five, one being the least likely and five being the most, how likely are you to want to live in a world like this one? (follow up questions could be asked based on the response of participants: "does anyone else agree with this?"/"why?"/"what is your ideal vision of the future?")

Think back to the fuel crisis last year (in reference to the Aragalaya, and the lack of money in Sri Lanka in 2022), would you say it is feasible for us as Sri Lankans to create a world like this?

Would you say this world is a realistic idea of what our future could be, or is it unrealistic? (once again, similar follow up questions could be asked in the same vein as earlier)

How hopeful are you for the future after this discussion?

What do you think it would take for us to build a future like this?

Is there anything more you would like to discuss in regards to this topic? / Is there anything we missed in today's discussion?

Any other questions that could be asked would be based on participant responses. In order to remain truly unbiased, I intend on implementing a dueling moderator system, partly to record the data that I cannot and partly to represent the other side of the discussion. This would help participants consider a wider range of points while staying relatively unbiased. As mentioned earlier, a control group would be used to identify the change between the former and the latter group, if any.

[kalharaisa]

“Nikes Aragalaya”

#collage #kolaj #digitalcollage #collageart #kolajart #art #lk #kavindukalhara #lka #photoshop #gohomegota

[probablyasocialecologist]

From where I’m standing, ultimate blame lies with the Western-dominated neoliberal system that keeps developing countries in a form of debt-fueled colonization. The system is in crisis, its shaky foundations exposed by the tumbling dominoes of the Ukraine war, resulting in food and fuel scarcity, the pandemic and looming insolvency and hunger rippling across the world.

Sri Lanka is Exhibit A. We were once an economic hope, with an educated population and a median income among the highest in South Asia. But it was an illusion. After 450 years of colonialism, 40 years of neoliberalism, and four years of total failure by our politicians, Sri Lanka and its people have been beggared.

[...]

Sri Lanka — like so many other countries struggling for solvency — remains a colony with administration outsourced to the International Monetary Fund. We still export cheap labor and resources and import expensive finished goods — the basic colonial model. The country is still divided and conquered by local elites, while real economic control is held abroad. The I.M.F. has extended loans to Sri Lanka 16 times, always with stringent conditions. It just keeps restructuring us for further exploitation by creditors.

And as much as the West blames Chinese predatory lending, only 10 to 20 percent of Sri Lanka’s foreign debt is owed to China. The majority is owed to U.S. and European financial institutions or Western allies like Japan. We died in a largely Western debt trap.

[churail]

[hussyknee]

I love living in this fascist shithole.

[socialistworld]

AKD Wins 2024 Presidential Election, The Turning Point of Sri Lanka?

AKD Wins 2024 Presidential Election, The Turning Point of Sri Lanka?

The ninth presidential election that took place on 21 September 2024 is nothing like what has happened in the past. It is the first election since the mass movement (Aragalaya) that ousted the former president […] Special financial appeal to all readers of socialistworld.net Support building alternative socialist media Socialistworld.net provides a unique analysis and perspective of world events. Socialistworld.net also plays a crucial role in building the struggle for socialism across all continents. Capitalism has failed! Assist us to build the fight-back and prepare for the stormy period of class struggles ahead. Please make a donation to help us reach more readers and to widen our socialist campaigning work across the world. Donate via Paypal

[crimethinc]

It Takes a Whole Village

http://crimethinc.com/GotaGoGama

A Sri Lankan anarchist who participated in the Gota Go Gama movement reflects on the lessons of the occupation at the heart of the uprising that toppled president Rajapaksa.

"GGG was Sri Lanka’s first truly leaderless movement."

"Undercover cops and political spies asked us who the leader was... But like Ravanan [the mythical ten-headed demon king of Lanka] the Aragalaya [Sinhala for “struggle”], too, was many-headed."

[arucreations]

aragalaya (the struggle) , A.r.u

[tumbirus]

Countinu. .The uncertainty is likely to give rise to a second contradiction.The chances of Prime Minister Ravi Wikremesinghe becoming the new president are strong since he will be backed by the MP'S of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, the party of the Rajapaksa. Incidentally, Mr.Wickremesinghe has of late re-invited himself as an ardent protector of Rajapaksa interests. Thus,the continuation of Rajapaksa rule under a different name is most likely to ignite between the aragalaya and what would emerge as the ew government. Such a scenario has the potential to crate a situation where an open confrontation between he two computing centers of political power - one represented in parliament and the president, and the other located on the aragalaya site of Colomo's Gallery Face - is inevitable. This new phase of the conflict will most likely be directed towards spring out the question of political power.And history tells us that political power is an issues that has been resolved not always by peacefully means. World Human Right Commitee 's first decion is political party and leaders aganist also ,political party ,leaders ,trade unions and leaders are fruad in any country ,peopls tax money and other way money get after this peopls life ,harrasing ,cheating ,violating and killing one political party leaders name criminals aime is fruad proof to in the world .Sri Lanka under Gotoabya Rajapaksa 's party or members are no more want to new government under ,Ranil Wikremesinghe 's any activities no more ,Sri Lankan peopls are defeat one Wikremesinghe's ideolgy is power ,so own president making systems is crime ,Wikremesinghe's any order under police and militry not any activities making to India ,Wikremesinghe's president power world social justice defeat to today ,international businesses ones and European leaders unity help want to ours ,this one's help joint new tempravery government making to peopls ,Rajapaksa 'so party members no more involve to new government under .Sri Lanka 'so supreme court judges decide the new government. By WHRC. (at Mumbai, Maharashtra) https://www.instagram.com/p/CgXFulEF8Ps/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=