Features

Fear of one’s neighbour

Published

5 years ago

2021/07/29

Sahan Weerasooriya

By Kusum Wijetilleke

(kusumw@gmail.com) Twitter: @kusumw

Ahnaf Jazeem and Hejaaz Hizbullah find themselves thrust as symbols of Sri Lanka’s latest contentions with that most delicate of equations; between the rights of the citizenry as individuals and the safety and security of the country and community as a whole. Jazeem was arrested in May 2020 due to his book of poetry, called ‘Navarasm’, which was judged to have the potential to radicalize.

Mr. Hizbullah was arrested in April 2020 for aiding and abetting the Easter Bombers. No evidence has been presented in this regard. However Mr. Hizbullah was found to have represented the families of one of the attackers in a property case. Amnesty International has declared Hizbullah a ‘prisoner of conscience’ adding another layer of international pressure and media spotlight on Sri Lanka. Hizbullah was only charged some nine months following his arrest; for inciting communal disharmony and not the aforementioned “aiding and abetting”. (https://www.srilankacampaign.org/a-year-on-hejaaz-hizbullah-still-imprisoned/).

‘Navarasam’ was initially published in 2017 and as per reporting, the poetry was first discussed during a hearing for Hizbullah’s case, which then led to 26-year-old Ahnaf Jazeem’s arrest. The CID had seemingly not read the book prior to the arrest. Reports state that some poems were critical of ISIS as well as US imperialism, hardly radical positions. Further, the book was found at the premises where Mr. Jazeem had held tuition classes, giving the impression that it had been distributed to minors.

An expert panel of child psychiatrists from the Lady Ridgeway Hospital deemed the book harmful to minors. There have, however, been contentions that this panel read a translation of the poems without any understanding of the original language the book was written in. It must also be stated that there is no evidence that any minor had been radicalised by its contents, or even that Jazeem had distributed the book to minors. (https://groundviews.org/2021/05/14/the-case-of-the-poet-without-a-voice/)

Does the ‘potential to radicalize’ warrant the continued detention of Jazeem for over a year? What are the costs of his detention? From a personal perspective, Mr. Jazeem is surely suffering the sort of anguish most of us can barely imagine. Anyone familiar with the conditions in Sri Lanka’s detention system will attest to the countless hardships he is facing. What of his family, those connected to him, his loved ones and friends? Try to imagine their pain and suffering. It is also just as important to consider what effects this has on the psyche of a society, already ravaged by decades of war and the emergence of this new threat. What does this say about the freedom of Sri Lankans to express themselves; to read and write what they please?

The freedoms of speech and expression are considered keystone principles of modern civilisation. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as Sri Lanka’s own constitution have enshrined these values. There are limits on free speech and contentions surrounding where the boundary lies and what defines it. Even a superficial reading of John Stewart Mill’s ‘On Liberty’ provides an excellent introduction to the modern underpinnings of the freedom of speech.

Simply put, the freedoms of speech, expression and inquiry are the very freedoms that allow us to enact and defend all other rights. It cannot be understated; these values are foundational to the story of human emancipation. Humankind fought for centuries for the freedom to blaspheme, to question the authority of the church and god, of kings and empires.

The Easter Attacks have drawn fresh critique surrounding the freedoms of expression and specifically, the freedom of religion. While the critique exists, the debate is stifled and an acceptance that some freedoms must be sacrificed for security is now commonplace.

There are of course legitimate and urgent concerns regarding the spread of violent Islamist ideology in the country. In the five or so days that followed the Easter Attacks, over 60 people were arrested and by the end of that year, as per some reports, the number of arrests exceeded 300. (https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/easter-attacks-in-sri-lanka-terror-attack-church-attack-1595954-2019-09-05)

Investigators have been allowed to arrest and apprehend at will and while these arrests may have the effect of convincing the public that authorities are diligently bringing those responsible to justice, this assertion needs to be considered against the failures that led to the actual attack. In the weeks leading up to Easter Sunday 2019, information was available, warnings were provided and even letters dispatched to multiple levels of the security apparatus; should we give all this power back to the very authorities that failed the country in the first place? Consider also that we are no closer to uncovering the real organisers of the attack and that more questions have been raised regarding contact between police and intelligence officers with members of the National Thaweed Jama’ath and its alleged affiliates.

In the aftermath of the attacks, the public were uninterested in the intricacies of due process and legal rights, we wanted to know that those responsible would be brought to justice. It is that culture of fear that brings a society to a reckoning with itself. When we trade our ethical and moral standards, seemingly to protect the greater good, the results can be devastating.

“So long as the utility which dominates moral value-judgments is solely that which is useful to the herd, so long as the object is solely the preservation of the community and the immoral is sought precisely and exclusively in that which seems to imperil the existence of the community: so long as that is the case there can be no morality of love of one’s neighbour. Ultimately ‘love of one’s neighbour’ is always something secondary, in part conventional and arbitrarily illusory, when compared with fear of one’s neighbour. Once the structure of society seems to have been in general fixed and made safe from external dangers, it is this fear of one’s neighbor which again creates new perspectives of moral valuation.”

This passage is from Friedrich Nietzsche’s ‘Beyond Good and Evil’ in which he discusses the concept of universal morality i.e. of right and wrong. Nietzsche divides morality into ‘master morality’ and ‘slave morality’. The former defined as judging good and bad; virtues vs vices while the latter considers morality against a scale of good or evil intentions.

Nietzsche’s work has been discussed and dissected throughout history; his reflections on what constitutes right and wrong and where the source of this morality can be located is a definitive consideration within philosophy. Nietzsche considers whether the condition of morality can be separated from the culture which places value on that condition.

Sri Lanka’s social evolution has been marred by externalities and molded by the constant fear of an “enemy at the gates”. These include the colonial oppression, the JVP insurrection, the LTTE, even international organisations and our neighbours across the pond. The most recent enemy to emerge has been the threat of radical Islamism, bringing Samuel Huntington’s “Clash of Civilisations” to Sri Lankan shores.

The Easter attacks revealed to Sri Lankans an unexpected, new enemy. Sri Lanka had now caught up with the rest of the world with having to contend with Islamist ideology and its violent effects. In many ways, the west caught up with Sri Lanka on September 11th 2001 in understanding that terrorism cannot be contained, that it is international and that it can strike anywhere, at any time, not bound by the geographical restrictions of traditional theatres of war.

What followed in the US and other western democracies was an assault on all manner of freedoms, denigrating the very values that liberal societies had stood for and those which purportedly differentiated these societies from the terrorists. Mass surveillance, the rounding up of Arab Americans without due process, the social vilification of Muslim minorities and of course, the infamous Guantanamo Bay, are just some of the symptoms of the mass fear that gripped society.

The stain of Guantanamo Bay (Gitmo) will not easily wash off the US Government, nor should it. President Obama first campaigned on the pledge to close Gitmo in 2007, it must be said he reduced numbers from 245 to 40, yet this was another entry on the “yes, we tried” side of his scorecard.

There was certainly a popular movement for the closure of Gitmo, but nowhere near as powerful as the silent majority that perhaps took the view that Gitmo was a necessary part of the wider apparatus to ensure the safety and security of the homeland. It is not a wholly irrational reaction, though predictable and ill-considered.

Those aspects of the War on Terror such as “Gitmo”, the unconstitutional attacks on privacy and data, drone attacks, racial epithets and Islamophobia have served to reinforce the thesis of Islamist ideology and its critique of the West. In short, these policies only serve as tools for radicalization.

Against this context, Sri Lankans must contend with the source and the structure from which the Easter Attackers emerged, how their thinking was manipulated; it is vitally important to our understanding of just how pervasive the ideology might be within our shores.

As important, however, is that Sri Lankans understand the link between national security and preserving constitutional norms and societal values; that targeting members of the Muslim community with little basis, and even less accountability will have its own consequences.

Does the imprisonment and continued detention of Hizbullah and Jazeem make Sri Lanka safer from violent extremism? Does the moral cost of this behaviour justify the benefits to our country’s society, does it even improve racial harmony? It is left to the readers, to society at large to ask and answer these questions for themselves.

Ultimately, the Sri Lankan citizenry must realize that the violation of the civil liberties of Hejaaz Hizbullah and Ahnaf Jazeem threatens the civil liberties of every Sri Lankan. We cannot allow this fear of the neighbour to become the foundation upon which we try to shape the moral structure of our community. The Treasury can borrow money from the Exim Bank of China and build all the expressways and flyovers we want, but these will not mask our inability to build the kind of society that all Sri Lankans can be truly proud of.

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Features

‘The devil is in the details’ in West Asian peace

Published

15 hours ago

2026/06/18

Sahan Weerasooriya

President Donald Trump at the current G7 summit in France. Evelyn Hockstein/Getty Image

It is obviously too early for an outpouring of joy over the seeming cessation of hostilities between the main antagonists in West Asia. While the prospect of there being a measure of calm in the region is being welcomed by considerable sections of the international community, what is ‘on the table’ currently is only a Memorandum of Understanding between the US and Iran to give peace a chance. The hard part in the peace effort remains to be achieved.

In the Middle East of today we have one of the most complex conflicts to break out in modern international politics and the observer would be naive in the extreme to expect a facile and early closure to the tangle. Yet, for the sake of the world’s publics who have been hurting badly in the prolonged hostilities one could only hope that the US-Iran MoU that is expected to be signed by the sides on Friday would lead eventually to a substantive peace. The world’s thanks are due to Pakistan in this connection for its sustained support in the peace drive.

While the sides have agreed to a ceasing of hostilities in the most general terms and have reached accord on the facilitation of uninterrupted oil and gas supplies to the rest of the world, for instance, the ‘devil will prove to be in the details’ in an envisaged comprehensive peace settlement. It is these details that would make or break peace if the negotiations go on in earnest.

Nevertheless, the details would need to be worked out consensually in a spirit of compromise with an eye to the greater good of the world community. Realpolitik or a narrow focus on solely the national interest among the protagonists, for example, would need to give way to a measure of humanity that would encompass within it a consideration of the overall well being of the world. In other words, it is statesmanship that would crucially matter.

The next few weeks would establish whether humanists are ‘asking for far too much’ when they broach the questions at issue in these terms. Yet it is essentially self interest and national security considerations of the first importance that drove the conflict from even prior to February this year and these questions would need to be taken up and resolved to the satisfaction of the US and Iran in the main if some headway is to be made towards a durable settlement.

The nuclear issue would prove to be the proverbial Gordian Knot. From a realistic viewpoint, Iran could not be expected to be without a potential nuclear deterrent in the face of perceived nuclear threats emanating for it from the West and Israel. In the short term, Iran would need to possess this deterrent to a measure, within a mutually agreed international legal framework maybe, until wide agreement is reached on the nuclear tangle. Specifically, Iran’s immediate threat perceptions with regard to her nuclear-powered rivals would need to be defused during initial negotiations.

Ideally it is a world free of nuclear weapons that must be aimed at but since this goal cannot be achieved in the near or medium terms, unfolding negotiations would need to ensure Iran’s absolute security in a world of powers that continue to swear by the nuclear deterrent, if it is to give up the suspected latter capability.

However, it is to the degree to which the present nuclear powers divest themselves of this capability that Iran could be put at ease on this score. Accordingly, it is nothing short of a complete elimination of nuclear weapons from the world that could dissuade keenly security conscious states from developing nuclear weapons of their own with a mass destruction capability.

This is the number one dilemma the international community needs to grapple with going forward and it is to the extent to which it resolves it that a nuclear weapons free world could be envisaged. No doubt, an uphill challenge.

Compelling Israel to support the present negotiatory process constitutes another grueling challenge for the US. Currently the Iranian position essentially is that a Middle East peace is inseparable from a normalization of the security situation in Lebanon. That is, the present Israeli attacks on the Hezbollah presence in Lebanon must cease if a comprehensive peace is to be realized in West Asia.

However, Israel is showing no signs of drawing back from its attacks on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon since the security of the Israeli state is being seen as threatened by the militant group. Co-opting Israel into the negotiatory effort therefore would turn out to be a matter of paramount concern for the US.

Moreover, elements in the rightist administration in Israel are seeing the current peace efforts as a ‘sell out’ to the enemies of Israel. They would have none of it. It is left to be seen how the US would be managing these virtual storm centres in the diplomatic process that could very well bring down the overall purported peace drive.

A recent pronouncement by US Vice President J.D. Vance points to yet another problem area in the US’ current peace overtures. He said that, ‘Regional peace and stability includes stopping the funding of terrorist organizations.’ He was obviously referring to the support extended by Iran to Hezbollah when he mentioned ‘terrorist organizations’ but he has given fresh life to the age-old conundrum of ‘Who is a terrorist?’ by these words.

To the Netanyahu government the Hezbollah and other militant organizations fighting Israel are ‘terrorists’ but from the viewpoint of the Iranian regime they are ‘freedom fighters’. This seemingly insurmountable definitional issue would not only stubbornly bedevil the peace effort but could even figure in bringing about its collapse, unless judiciously handled.

Thus, it’s the thorny details that need to be watched to keep the West Asian peace process afloat, once it gets going in earnest. There is no doubt that US President Trump would be receiving a considerable amount of support from the G7 in this historic peace undertaking and his personal appeals to the grouping currently meeting in France for continuous support are likely to elicit a positive response from it.

Likewise, Trump would need to appeal to also the BRICS countries if almost total global support is to be garnered for the peace drive in West Asia. BRICS’ solidarity with the US and the West is likely to carry considerable weight with Iran and other Eastern actors who are key to a sustained peace drive in the Middle East.

Features

Sri Lanka’s elephant paradox: Govt. counts tourism dollars while playing a dangerous numbers game: Expert

Published

15 hours ago

2026/06/18

Sahan Weerasooriya

At a time when Sri Lanka is enjoying a resurgence in wildlife tourism, with elephants remaining the undisputed stars of the country’s national parks and one of its most marketable natural assets, elephant conservationist Supun Lahiru Prakash has sounded a stark warning: the nation is in danger of losing the very species that helps attract millions of tourism dollars while sustaining some of the island’s most important ecosystems.

Supun says repeated claims by authorities that Sri Lanka’s elephant population is increasing, despite the absence of a final survey report and amid continuing elephant deaths, risk creating a misleading narrative that could undermine conservation efforts and encourage retaliation against elephants.

According to Supun, the issue is not merely about numbers. It is about political priorities, scientific credibility and the future of one of Sri Lanka’s most iconic species.

“Repeatedly claiming that the elephant population is increasing appears to be an attempt to hide the Government’s inability to manage the rising annual elephant death rate and the complications of human-elephant conflict,” Supun said.

For decades, the Sri Lankan elephant has been a symbol of the country’s rich natural heritage. It is the centrepiece of wildlife tourism, drawing visitors from across the globe to national parks such as Yala, Udawalawe, Minneriya, Kaudulla and Wilpattu. International wildlife documentaries, tourism campaigns and social media promotions frequently place elephants at the heart of Sri Lanka’s nature tourism brand.

Yet, according to Supun, the country’s conservation policies do not reflect the value of the species.

“On one hand, the Government is enjoying increasing tourism revenue, and elephants remain one of Sri Lanka’s most important wildlife attractions. On the other hand, narratives are being promoted that could encourage retaliation against the very species that contributes significantly to the country’s tourism industry,” Supun said.

According to the First Countrywide National Survey of Elephants conducted in 2011, Sri Lanka had 5,879 elephants. However, official statistics show that 4,167 elephants died between 2012 and 2024.

Supun stressed that these figures represent only the deaths officially recorded by the Department of Wildlife Conservation.

“In a context where more than 70 percent of the country’s elephant population reported in 2011 has died within 13 years, it is difficult to accept claims that the population has increased,” Supun said.

The conservationist pointed out that elephants have the longest gestation period among land mammals and that scientific studies have reported increasing interbirth intervals among female elephants together with high calf mortality.

“When such biological realities are taken into consideration, claims of a dramatic increase in elephant numbers become difficult to understand,” Supun said.

Supun believes that repeated references to increasing elephant populations risk fuelling public hostility towards elephants, particularly among farming communities already affected by crop raids and property damage.

“Such claims can create the impression that elephant populations are exploding and thereby promote retaliation against elephants as well,” Supun said.

According to Supun, Sri Lanka’s elephant crisis cannot be understood solely through population estimates. The real issue lies in the country’s failure to address human-elephant conflict through long-term, science-based solutions.

Sri Lanka continues to record among the highest levels of human-elephant conflict in the world. Every year, hundreds of elephants and dozens of people lose their lives as competition for land and resources intensifies.

Despite the scale of the crisis, Supun says authorities continue to rely on strategies that have repeatedly failed.

Lahiru Prakash

These include driving elephants into protected areas, strengthening electric fences to confine them there and allocating additional manpower to maintain fencing systems.

Supun was also critical of several proposals that emerged from district-level discussions on conflict mitigation, including the sowing of paddy and corn using Air Force drones and the planting of fruit orchards within protected areas.

“Such proposals fail to address the real ecological and social dimensions of the conflict,” Supun said.

While welcoming reports that the Government intends appointing a national-level mechanism to tackle human-elephant conflict, Supun said the challenge required intervention at the highest level of government.

“Given the gravity, complexity and geographical spread of human-elephant conflict, appointing any committee other than a Presidential Task Force is not useful,” Supun said.

He argued that a Presidential Task Force chaired by either the President or the Secretary to the President would be better positioned to overcome the bureaucratic delays and institutional fragmentation that have hindered previous efforts.

Supun also stressed the urgent need to restore and protect elephant corridors and home ranges that allow elephants to move safely across landscapes.

He cited the Koholankala elephant corridor in Hambantota as one example where removing obstacles could help reduce conflict while improving habitat connectivity.

At the same time, Supun questioned policies that permit the allocation of forest lands in areas identified by environmental assessments as crucial elephant ranges and movement corridors.

“The opening of elephant corridors and the protection of elephant home ranges must be carried out scientifically and consistently if they are to succeed,” Supun said.

Beyond tourism, Supun emphasised the ecological importance of elephants.

“Elephants are ecosystem engineers. Through their feeding habits and movements, they help maintain habitats that support numerous other species. In many ways, they create safer and healthier environments for wildlife,” Supun said.

According to Supun, protecting elephants means protecting entire ecosystems and the biodiversity upon which Sri Lanka’s wildlife tourism industry depends.

“By protecting elephants, we are also protecting the biodiversity that makes Sri Lanka one of the world’s premier wildlife tourism destinations,” Supun said.

As Sri Lanka seeks to expand tourism earnings and strengthen its reputation as a wildlife destination, Supun believes the country faces a defining choice: continue with policies that have failed to stem elephant deaths and human-elephant conflict, or embrace a science-based conservation strategy that safeguards both people and wildlife.

Without a fundamental shift in policy and political will, Supun warned, Sri Lanka risks losing not only one of its most iconic species but also the ecological and economic benefits that elephants continue to provide.

“The suffering of both farmers and elephants will only intensify unless meaningful action replaces rhetoric,” Supun said.

By Ifham Nizam

Features

Top Model of the World 2026

Published

15 hours ago

2026/06/18

Sahan Weerasooriya

Back-to-back victory for Colombia

Katherine Castaño of Colombia claimed the Top Model of the World 2026 crown, securing a historic back-to-back victory for her country. Angelica Sanchez of Puerto Rico was named first runner-up, and Eunice Deza of the Philippines finished as second runner-up.

Katherine was crowned by outgoing titleholder Natalia Garizabal Vera of Colombia.

Several special category awards, and subsidiary titles, were also presented during the Top Model of the World 2026 pageant.

These awards recognised excellence in modelling, peer support, and regional representation.

Primary Subsidiary Titles

Sri Lanka’s Netalie Withanage: Top 16 at
the grand finale

Miss Globe 2026: Valentina Tabares (Ecuador) — Awarded to the contestant who perfectly balances fashion modelling with traditional beauty queen qualities.

Queen of Europe 2026: Mia Danielle Williams (United Kingdom) — Given to the highest-ranking candidate from a European nation.

Special Awards Recognition

Audience Iconic Award: Charly (Dominican Republic) — Won via the official public online vote, granting her a fast-track direct entry into the Top 6.

Exotic Model of the World: Angel Emeka (Nigeria) — Awarded for exceptional editorial presence and strong runway performance.

Best Body Award: Thailand — Voted directly by fellow contestants at the Flow Spectrum Hotel. The highest-ranking runners-up for this category included Zambia, South Africa, Colombia, and Ghana.

Angelica Sanchez (Puerto Rico): 1st Runner-up

Final Placement

Winner: Katherine Castaño (Colombia)

1st Runner-Up: Angelica Sanchez (Puerto Rico)

2nd Runner-Up: Eunice Deza (Philippines)

Top 6 Finalists: Included contestants from the Dominican Republic, Romania, and Germany.

The pageant, known for focusing on professional modelling careers over just beauty, brought together 36 models from around the globe for two weeks of runway, photoshoots, and cultural events.

Sri Lanka’s Netalie Withanage walked among 36 of the world’s best and powered her way into the Top 16 at the grand finale.