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This tweet by Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, shows him attending the funeral for Sri Lankan film producer Lester James Peries.  Lester James Peries wasn’t just any film producer though. His work was so well received that in 2007 he was awarded the Sri Lankabhimanya, Sri Lanka’s highest civilian award, in cinema. Only 8 people have ever received the award since its establishment in 1986 when it was awarded to  Ranasinghe Premadasa, the president who was assassinated by the LTTE in 1993. The most recent one was awarded posthumously in 2017 to musician W.D. Amaradeva. As president, Sirisena can award this honor. Will he honor any others during his presidency, and if so then who?

Help Received: Lester James Peries and Sri Lankabhimanya wikipedia pages

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In this tweet, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe wishes his twitter followers a happy Sinhalese and Tamil New Year. Both the Sinhalese and Tamil New Year fall around the same time of year (mid April). The festivities are celebrated in similar fashion as well. The civil war from 1976-2009 was fought over sectarian divisions between Tamil and Sinhalese Sri Lankans. Perhaps this is a gesture to demonstrate that this is a new Sri Lanka where the Tamil and Sinhalese can coexist peacefully. Despite the war being over for almost a decade, there are still tensions. The important question is, what will the government’s next move be to ensure that neither side takes up arms again?

Help Received: Tamil and Sinhalese New Year Wikipedia pages.

This blog is run by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board and is on their official website. The EDB is a state run organization under the Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade. As the name would suggest, the EDB concerns itself with Sri Lanka’s exporting industries. The blog has been around since 2013 and still is updated regularly with articles on many different topics. These topics range from economic politics, stories on exporting businesses, conferences and events sponsored by the EDB, and the general state of Sri Lankan exports. The site appears well designed and easy to use. The content appears to be articles that have been pulled from other sources. Most, if not all, of these articles appear to be positive and celebratory. Surprisingly, there is no option to leave comments on the blog posts. There is an option to follow the EDB on social media, but there is no social media embedded in the site.

Given that it is a blog run by a state organization, is the blog under pressure to produce only positive content? Perhaps the blog’s sole purpose is to make the EDB look good, for fear that they could lose funding, be replaced, or shut down entirely if they don’t achieve desired results. The lack of negative stories on the state of Sri Lankan exports seems suspicious, unless the Sri Lankan export sector is doing extremely well. They could easily cherry pick articles from news sites, articles on export related successes. This may also be the reason why there is no ability to leave comments, the EDB does not want negative news to reach their blog. Maybe a private interest group would run the blog differently, but maybe they wouldn’t. I guess I can’t really blame them though, their goal is to foster and encourage exports, but the lack of negativity is definitely worth noting. Another thing to note is that this blog is essentially e-governance on behalf of the EDB. While it’s certainly not sophisticated, it nevertheless could have information that is useful for those in Sri Lanka’s exporting industries. If I ran a company that exported goods from Sri Lanka, I would probably visit the blog to keep track of events and news.

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My fellow Sri Lankans,

In the northern and eastern parts of our great country live tigers, endangered tigers. While conditions for these tigers have gotten better over the past few years, now is not the time for us to give up on our tigers. I know many of you are concerned with the tiger maulings that were once prevalent in the past, but the tigers have become more tame. Poor treatment of our tigers may lead to the reopening of wounds that we’ve been trying to stitch up from our past. This is why it’s critical that we save our tigers, and allow them the dignity that tigers are entitled to.

A number of factors contribute to the endangerment of our tigers. First and foremost, the military continues to occupy the tiger’s land as if the tigers are our enemies. Too many tigers can’t be in the same place at the same time in an effort to voice their concerns. The tigers are being silenced. When facing abuse, no one will be able to hear their tiger roar. The police, who are supposed to protect our tigers have been abusing them. The tea plantations have been abusing them as well. Even their fellow citizens sometimes seek to abuse them. They are not allowed to roam free within their tiger territory. Some of their territory has been taken, yet has not been returned. Some of those that try to speak out for the tigers find themselves silenced by the state. If this pattern of abuse continues against our tigers, we stand to lose them.

In order to ensure that we do not return to the times when the tigers bear tooth and claw against their neighbors, their countrymen, and their government, we must take action. We must show the tigers that they are not alone in their struggle to live dignified lives. While the tigers are prohibited from gathering, the rest of us are not. I am calling on Sri Lankans that are willing to look past the bloody history with the tigers, towards a future of mutual respect and cooperation. I am calling on those Sri Lankans to gather in solidarity with our tigers. Gather at day or night, in the territory of the tigers or in your home towns. The important part is that we show the tigers that they are not alone, and we show the state and other Sri Lankans that we care about our tigers. While we may face resistance, the tigers will surely appreciate our gesture and may one day return the favor if you yourself end up on the receiving side of abuse. Good luck my fellow citizens, I hope to see you out there.

Help Received: Freedom of The World: Sri Lanka 2017 report & Freedom of The Net: Sri Lanka 2017 report

Shortly after a motion by the government to lift a ban on women purchasing alcohol, President Maithripala Sirisena announced that the ban will stay in effect. The government had announced that it was repealing the ban, citing the law’s discrimination of women as their reason for doing so. The initial ban was passed in 1955, and it prevents women over 18 from purchasing alcohol or working at bars without a permit. The proposed repeal of the 1955 ban upset leaders within the country’s Buddhist community. They claimed that the repeal would be harmful to Sri Lankan families. While President Sirisena ran an anti-alcohol campaign, he also claimed to be in favor of gender equality. This has gotten him considerable backlash from many Sri Lankans. Many took to twitter to express outrage and call out President Sirisena for his hypocrisy. Despite the backlash, it would appear that the ban will stay in effect for now.

The backlash from both the Buddhist community and bloggers online demonstrate that the issue of allowing women to buy alcohol is still a controversial one in Sri Lanka. President Sirisena’s decision to reinstate the ban despite the motion of the government to end it, also shows that there is a disconnect between the president and the rest of the Sri Lankan government. Twitter was clearly used as a method for disgruntled citizens to not only express their outrage, but hold their president accountable for his perceived hypocrisy. While no mention was made of how leaders in the Buddhist community reached out to President Sirisena, it would appear that twitter has become a tool for voicing concerns over women’s rights in the country. Time will tell if the backlash will cause yet another reversal on the issue. Perhaps criticism over twitter will not be enough to sway President Sirisena’s position.

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