8/14/2019 A Guide to Colombo for CHOGM 2013

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A Guide to Colombo for CHOGM 2013

Image courtesy AP, via Gulf News

• by Anonymous 

•- on 11/11/2013

Potemin !ity, wit" a #ifference$ A Gui#e to

!olombo for !%&G' 2013

(our )*cellency, +istinguis"e# +elegate, +ear isitor,

Ayubowan anaam .elcome to !olombo(ou may "ave "ear# of "ow General Potemin rime# !rimea for t"e leasure of !at"erine t"e

Great an# "er foreign ambassa#ors on t"eir sout"ern tri in 1 iewise, our own Potemin,

'r Gotab"aya 4a5aase, resi#ential sibling an# 6ecretary +efence an# 7rban +eveloment,

"as ersonally overseen t"e maeover of !olombo for your leasure An# we #o "oe you will

en5oy it

'any 6ri anans are referring to !%&G' as 86"ow-G'9 an# !olombo "as been

meticulously reare# an# curate# to ensure t"e rig"t image is conveye# &ne "oes you will

agree t"at t"e arts of t"e city you see are in#ee# looing beautiful %owever t"ere is muc"

more to t"is beatification After all, even t"e !%&G' signboar#s across t"e city say 86ri

ana$ A worl# wit"in9, w"ic" you will be "ar# resse# to #iscover wit"out a gui#e 6o "ere isone

&n Arrival

At t"e airort, (our )*cellency, %ea# of Government, will be ice# u in one of t"e more t"an

:0 bran# new bullet-roof 6;00 'erce#es <en= carsimorte# for t"e summit >or t"e comfort

of your #elegation t"ere is a large fleet of bran# new Nissan ?eanas, ?oyota !orollas, 100 forty-

one-seater lu*ury buses an# @0 an# 4over +efen#er 5ees t"at "ave all been imorte#

 Naturally, t"e total costs of all t"is is unnown but runs into millions of #ollars ."ile all

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ve"icles will bear secial !%&G' number lates t"ey will not reveal to you t"at 6ri ana9s ublic #ebt "as risen alarmingly, to 4s 3 trillion or nearly 0 er cent of G+P At a recent

meeting of t"e 6ri ana )conomic Association, economists were reorte#ly of t"e view t"at

t"e #ebt incurre# was too muc", at too "ig" a cost an# use# e*cessively on low ro#uctive

 urosesB

)n route

."ile you race into !olombo on t"e s"iny new 2@ ilometre e*ressway, you will not be tol#t"at it cost 1 billion ruees or 1; million 76 #ollars er ilometre, amongst t"e most

e*ensive in t"e worl#, an# t"at it was mostly finance# by a loan from !"ina, w"ose terms are

unnown As you near t"e city you will come across neatly erecte# green-coloure# screens

along t"e e*ressway, t"ese are not soun# barriers but visual barriers, to ensure t"e sig"t of

low-income settlements #oes not #isturb you

?"e main venues

?"e rimary venue is name# after 'a"in#a 4a5aase "imself an# to ensure rut"less efficiency

it is run by t"e militaryC so no worries for you t"ere An# 5ust in front of t"e venue you can

a#mire t"e newly re#eveloe# an# sruce# u lus" green i"arama"a#evi Par %owever, you

will not be tol# t"at lie muc" else t"is was t"e wor of t"e military not t"e municiality An#t"at t"e #aily wage worers emloye# by t"e municiality to clean t"e ar lost t"eir 5obs w"en

t"e Navy too over ie in every ot"er instance of re#eveloment none of t"e local resi#ents

or users of t"e ar were meaningfully consulte#

4ig"t in t"e front of t"e secon# main venue, t"e <'I!%, is an imosing tall stone-sculte#

stan#ing <u##"a In#ee#, you will notice a large number of <u##"a statues all over t"e city

?"e official gui#e "an#e# out to you will tell you about "ow 6ri ana is t"e lan# of tolerance

an# et"nic "armony u"ol#ing t"e i#eals of t"e <u##"a but t"ey will omit to tell you t"at t"ere

is a systematic attemt to ritually stam t"e city an# country9s lan#scae wit" <u##"ist icons

?"e gui#e will almost certainly not tell you t"at 6in"ala <u##"ist c"auvinism is ri#ing "ig"

wit" t"e blessings of t"e regime, an# t"at religious minorities an# 'uslim an# !"ristian lacesof wors"i an# businesses in articular are t"e targets of systematic attacs

In an# aroun# !olombo

In t"e city itself, resi#ents an# occuants on routes to be use# by our #istinguis"e# guests "ave

receive# letters reDuesting t"at we aint our e*teriors an# beautify our roerties <ran# new

fancy bus-s"elters "ave been ut u on routes to be taen by you, but t"e ictures in t"ese

s"elters will not tell you t"at little "as been investe# in imroving ublic transort t"oug"

 rices of ticets "ave 5ust been raise# significantly >or t"e recor#, in most ot"er arts of

!olombo t"ere are in fact no bus s"elters of any in# at all, usually 5ust a little sign

(ou will be lease# to see t"at t"e streets of !olombo are clean but muc" of t"is is t"ans to a

large force of mostly oor an# el#erly #aily wage-worers emloye# on "ars" terms by rivate

contractors to w"om soli# waste management "as been outsource# &f course you will never

meet t"ese eole, t"ey are not invite# to t"e !%&G' banDuets Again, no one will tell you

t"at a clean !olombo #oes not mean t"ere is no corrution >orget about t"e corrution in "ig"

value lan# an# roerty #eals, even t"e custom-ma#e brooc"es your #istinguis"e# first la#iesare to be resente# wit" are at t"e "eart of an allege# 1: million ruee scan#al

+uring your stay you will meet many young an# ol# 6ri anans w"o will tell you !olombo is

s"ining t"ans to t"e 4a5aases %owever, none of you Eor even t"em for t"at matterF are

liely to meet one of t"e 0,000 families w"o will be forcibly evicte# an# move# to nort"ern

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an# eastern arts of t"e city to ensure !olombo becomes a worl#-class gar#en city ?"ey willcertainly not meet 'a#onna Ename c"ange#F, a #omestic worer, w"o "as live# in a low

income settlement near !astle 6treet in <orella for more t"an 30 years but w"ose family is

 being forcibly move# into a muc" smaller flat in a "ig"-rise locate# furt"er away 6"e will not

 be able to tell you t"at rat"er t"an receive any comensation for "er "ouse t"at is to be

#emolis"e#, s"e actually "as to ay 5ust over a million ruees to t"e state over t"e ne*t 20 years

to secure a title to t"is flat, starting wit" a #own-ayment of :0,000 ruees very soon, w"ic"s"e #oes not "ave Nor will s"e able to tell your #istinguis"e# selves t"at t"e 7rban

+eveloment Aut"ority E7+AF #i# not even "ee# "er community9s simle reDuest to resettle

t"em toget"er in t"e "ig"-rise blocs

'any of you are liely to #ro in or ass-by t"e renovate# +utc" %osital, t"e mini-stan# of

t"e ol# 4ace !ourse, an# t"e In#een#ence 6Duareinitiatives t"e 7+A loves to boast about

An# for once, wit"out anyone "aving to tell you, if you sen# enoug" time to loo carefully

you will see yourself t"at t"oug" ro5ecte# as 8ublic9 saces, t"ese are in fact saces w"ere t"e

less rivilege# come to labour an# t"e well-"eele# to slae t"eir t"irst for a life-style

Per"as you will also notice t"at many of t"ese 8ublic9 saces are not gate# but no one will tell

you t"at internal frontiers, far from #isaearing are only becoming more aest"eticise# .it"low-income communities being us"e# out, t"e city is "ea#ing towar#s becoming more

segregate# An# not everyone can actually even enter !olombo, lie t"e "un#re#s of family

members from t"e Nort" of t"ose #isaeare# w"o were revente# from coming to !olombo

for a #emonstration some time ago Again, you may not meet any of t"em for t"ey too are not

invite# to t"e !%&G' #inners an# arties

?"ings you s"oul# miss

?"e little of !olombo an# 6ri ana t"at will be on #islay for (our )*cellency, +istinguis"e#

+elegate an# +ear isitor, fortunately #oes not inclu#e some sites an# events of ugly

imortance &ne suc" you s"oul# avoi# is t"e 6ureme !ourt in %ulfst#or <ut you may run

into !"ief Hustice 'o"an Peiris w"o until 5ust a few mont"s ago was serving as a loyalAttorney General before being su##enly elevate# to !"ief Hustice after t"e unconstitutional

imeac"ment of t"e former !"ief Hustice

'ae sure you #on9t atten# t"e #iscussion organise# by t"e <ar Association of 6ri ana on

commonwealt" values an# t"e rule of law >ortunately, t"e current an# a former 7N 6ecial

4aorteur on t"e In#een#ence of Hu#ges an# awyers an# a senior reresentative from

International <ar Association won9t be t"ere eit"er as t"eir visas, grante# in August, "ave now

 beenrevoe#

.ell, t"at9s t"at, almost ?"is gui#e woul# be incomlete if it #i# not recognise t"e glorious

ac"ievements of our military in transforming !olombo9s lan#scae 7n#er t"e lea#ers"i of

Presi#ent 4a5aase an# "is belove# brot"ers an# family, t"ey are being use# to fun#amentally

restructure t"e 6ri anan ublic an# olitical s"ere Isn9t it won#erful t"at #esite all t"e

accusations of egregious brutalisation #uring an# after t"e war t"ey are now a force for

e*tensive beautification ?"is is 5ust one of t"e many stes on a uniDuely 6ri anan at" to

 ost-war reconciliation, about w"ic" we "oe you will try an# learn more8Imagine, e*lore an# #iscover t"e Islan# of en#less oortunity9