from Samajavichara facebook page
Friday Forum which describes itself as a “gathering of public spirited persons who are dedicated to promoting peace and development in Sri Lanka within a framework of democracy, social justice and pluralism” has aligned with an NGO named Rights Now, Collective for Democracy which acts as a front for a political group known as the Sri Lanka Vanguard Party (Sri Lanka Peratugami Pakshaya) which follows a fascist and anti-feminist agenda.
This new alliance has come to light with Samabima, the Sinhala monthly magazine published by the Rights Now, Collective for Democracy in its Febraury 2014 issue carrying a special four page supplement under the title Friday Forum in which it carries in full a recent statement by the Friday Forum. The supplement is presented as an official publication of the Friday Forum with its contact details and the list of names of Firday Forum’s currently active members given as follows: Dr. Jayantha Dhanapala, Professor Savitri Goonesekere, Dr. G. Uswatte Aratchi, Professor. Camena Gunaratne , Ms. Suriya Wickremasinghe, Rt. Reverend Duleep de Chickera, Professor Arjuna Aluwihare, Mr. Ahilan Kadirgamar, Mr. J.C. Weliamuna, Dr. A. C. Visvalingam, Ms. Anne Abayasekara Mr. Tissa Jayatilaka, Radhika Coomaraswamy, Rev. Dr. Jayasiri Peiris, Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne, , Dr. U. Pethiyagoda Prof. Gananath Obeysekera Mr. Danesh Casie Chetty, Professor. Ranjini Obeyesekere, Dr. Deepika Udagama, Ms. Sithie Tiruchelvam, Ms, Damaris Wickramasekera, Dr. Selvy Thiruchandran, Faiz Ur-Chandran, Ms. Manouri Muttetuwegama, Ms. Shanthi Dias, Javed Usuf and Mr. Chandra Jayaratne.
Sri Lanka Vanguard Party, formerly named X Group is well known for its vituperative attacks against members of civil society with the detrimental effect of silencing independent minds among the youth. It has also taken an anti-feminist stand in persistently and viciously attacking in a sexist manner female members of civil society whom they consider their political enemies. For example, the Sri Lanka Vanguard Party, on their web pages has been hounding for a long time a senior female academic mounting a massive and continuing sexist attack against her dragging her personal life into public discussion because she has been critical of authoritarian politics of Sri Lanka Vanguard Party/ X Group.
Leader of the Rights Now who appear in public as a civil rights activist has been a long standing leading member of the Sri Lanka Vanguard Party/ X Group and the Rights Now, Collective for Democracy which is known to be funded by the European Union among other international donors is seen to channeling the NGO funds to Sri Lanka Vanguard Party. The leader of the Sri Lanka Vanguard Party and a team of party cadres lead the training of young interns recruited to Rights Now via its internship programme mainly offered to young school leavers and undergraduates which functions as a front for recruiting cadres to the Sri Lanka Vanguard Party. Sama Bima the monthly Sinhala publication of Rights Now which also publishes weekly in a full page advertisement in the Ravaya Sinhala newspaper is the Sinhala publicity arm of the Rights Now, Collective for Democracy. It is by making Samabima their official publicity provider in Sinahala that the Friday forum has aligned with the Rights Now, Collective for Democracy.
Are the members of the Friday Forum aware of the far reaching implications of Friday Forum linking up with the NGO, Rights Now, Collective for Democracy? Are Friday Forum funds channeled to Rights Now, Collective for Democracy? Members of the public who have come to appreciate the work of Friday Forum would like to know the response of the Friday Forum to these questions.
එක්ස් ෆයිල්ස් 