Lanka Citizen

Many thanks to all the folks who have shown their enthusiasm to comment on what we publish here and who want to defend the freedom to criticize and also to publish. We are happy that our intervention has stirred a conversation. In fact that is our objective. However, a few words are in order here to clear some misunderstandings.

Lanka Citizen was born out of the felt need on the part of some of us to interject some different perspectives on otherwise generally one track discussions on Sri Lankan politics on the Net.

For this purpose, we chose the ‘blog’ as the most convenient form. The blogsome format we use allow the blogger to allow or dis-allow ‘comments.’ So, by technical definition the blogger can disallow ‘comments’ and still it is a blog. But the technicality apart, let us turn to the more ‘political’ issue of ‘freedom to comment.’ This is how we see it. We sympathize with the almost innate urge to ‘comment’ you feel when you see a posting you disagree with. However, we prefer that we write our own comment on our own blog on anything we believe worth our comments. If you have any serious interest on what we write apart from your dislike and protest and the urge to silence us, we prefer you write a post on it developing the topic rather than getting into useless nit-picking arguments. And if we feel like it is worth responding, we will. That way, the public discussion develops. (Remember, if you are serious about your views on our posts you can always email us).

We are not taking away anyone’s freedom to reply, comment or criticize.

Anyone who reads our posts have ‘the right of reply’ even though we are not part of the mass media by ‘blog definition.’ We need to understand the context in which ‘the right of reply’ applies. If you believe that your interests are affected, please, send us your comments as you would do in the case of a newspaper article. Like editors of newspapers do, then we will publish it after due consideration. Just imagine, if newspapers allow everyone to just ‘visit’ them and ‘publish’ any ‘comment’ they wish! Who would want to read those comments.

Well, in doing this are we deviating from the accepted norms of running a blog? May be. But technology for us only a tool not a totem to worship. It is imagination that moves the world. Not sticking to rules for the sake of rules as in the puritan ethic. We will use the blog to our purpose of publishing. And if someone wants to restrict us waving a rule book the indictment will be on them and not us.

Last, but not the least, we are not an organ of the Liberal Party. (They have their own web site.) We published some of their material as we felt they make sense in the present context of Sri Lankan politics where, right wing neo-conservative dogma is threatening to take over our polity. So, don’t blame the Liberal Party for what we are doing. Our interest is not to blindly push ideology, party politics, or individuals. We are not liberals. We are not right wing libertarians either. (We don’t know what is our label.) We are a group of citizens who want to see the space of freedom for diversity and plurality is preserved in our society. That’s all. If that is there people will sort out things. If political freedom is not there, as it happened under the infamous regime of JR Jayawardena, then we will traverse the path of destruction yet again, in the South of Sri Lanka. This is our fear. We want to share this with the public. Hence this blog.

If you share our views, please write to us and help us in this endeavour.

Lanka Citizen collective

email us at :

lankacitizen@gmail.com