Most Sri Lankan politicians are second or third generation. Many hold seats held by their fathers.

The president of Sri Lanka and the Leader of the opposition are related. The mother and father of the current president were prime ministers. The president is grooming her children to be the next leaders. In the meantime, she is planning to change the constitution to stay for a third term or get her brother elected as the president. The first president of Sri Lanka was the uncle of current leader of the opposition.

This political family owns most of the media.

Therefore, it doesn't matter who you vote for. Sri Lanka has more in common with the feudal system than a democracy. Next time you think Dubya is bad, just think about what Sri Lankans have to put up with.

This topic is in the Human Rights forum and the Ban the LTTE Terrorists from Canada petition forum.

The Sinhalese are really caught between the Devil and the sea. It is either these crooks who have ruined the country or the JVP which admires North Korea's "socialist" policies.

It is not just Tamils who do not want to be Sri Lankans. Sinhalese who can afford to leave are leaving the island in droves.

According to U.S. Library of Congress, the first prime minister was Don Stephen Senanayake. When he died, he was succeeded by his son, Dudley. Then Dudley’s uncle John Kotelawala became the prime minister. Then the power passed on to a distant relative Junius Richard (J.R.) Jayewardene. This man is the uncle of the current leader of opposition. The “other major party” was founded by S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, whose wife Sirimavo Bandaranaike would become the prime minister when he died. Their daughter is the current president of Sri Lanka. Their son is also a very powerful politician who could be the next president.

Source: U.S. Library of Congress
http://countrystudies.us/sri-lanka/68.htm

Sri Lanka is like the Bizaro version of the real world.

In university admissions, Sri Lanka has affirmative action but it is for the majority community. 70% of all the seats are reserved for affirmative actions. Only 30% of the seats are set aside for admission by merits.

Since Sri Lanka is a socialist country, many of the jobs are in the government sector. Jobs are not awarded based on merit but on a “chit system’ where the influence of a politican was needed to secure a government job.

Source: U.S. Library of Congress
http://countrystudies.us/sri-lanka/71.htm

Almost all of Sinhalese leaders came from this elite clan. They belong to the goyigama caste and consider themselves to be descended from the old Sinhalese aristocracy. However, they was one exception:

There were two revolts against the goyigama domination of Sinhalese society by the lower castes. Led under the pseudo-Communist-Buddhist banner of JVP, they were brutally crushed both times. The second time the JVP almost succeeded. The revolt was so successful that the Sinhalese elites were forced to do the unthinkable. They elected Premadasa (who came from a low caste that washed the dirty clothes of upper castes) as their leader to counter the lower caste dominated revolt. Since he had very little support within the UNP power structures, they probable thought he could be controlled to do their bidding. Many Sinhalese elites were disgusted at the idea of a low caste being their leader. Two powerful men within the UNP Gamini Dissanayake and Lalith Athulathmudali would leave to form their own party. They would even succeed in bringing in an impeachment motion against Premadasa. All these attempts by the Sinhalese goyigama elites to undermine him fed his caste resentment and he turned the terror machinery he used to crush the JVP against them. Many Sinhalese goyigama elites began to disappear. Even today, family members and supporters of Defense Minister Ranjan Wijeratne, Lalith Athulathmudali and General Denzil Kobbekaduwe believe that it was Premadasa who was responsible for their death. Premadasa himself would die in a bomb blast. Officially the cause of death was “an LTTE suicide bomber”, but many (including top Sinhalese bureaucrat Bradman Weerakoon who had served nine Sinhalese leaders) believe that it was his goyigama enemies who finished him off. They point to the unusual action of hosing down of the bombing site before a forensic team could gather evidence. After his death, the power would go back to the same elite goyigama clan that had ruled Sri Lanka since independence. During Premadasa’s rule, 100,000 Sinhalese would were either dead or “disappeared”. Most like him came from the Sinhalese lower castes.

I can understand why the Hindus have a caste system (part of the religion) but why would the Buddhist practice caste system which is against their religion?

.ko tuoba gniklat ekil r llay taw aedi gnikcuf on ekil evah dna derob m'i llay yeh----> i typed it backwards woo hoo go me oh ya uh huh oh ya uh huh.