Miss Srilanka 2013

Iresha Asanki De Silva says it was a childhood dream of hers to become a beauty queen; a dream which has culminated in the fresh young 22 year old being crowned Miss Sri Lanka for Miss World 2013.

A graduate of Buddhist Girl’s College in Mount Lavinia, Asanki (as she prefers to be called) followed two courses after her Advanced Level examinations. One was an IT course, and the other, a course on airline ticketing conducted by Deepal Perera of Sri Lankan Airlines.

In 2011 however, Asanki decided to participate in a competition called ‘Models of a New Generation.’ She won several titles at that competition, including ‘Body Beautiful’ and ‘Miss Continental Queen’.
“I didn’t expect to win at all, because I didn’t have any experience. Yet somehow, I won it,” Asanki says, smiling at the memory. “I felt really happy, because it is the first thing I won – the first thing I was placed first in,” Asanki said, reliving the moment.

Not all of Asanki’s family was pleased when she initially decided to enter the glitzy world of beauty pageants – her two older brothers, for instance, were against the decision. Thankfully for Asanki, her parents understood her desire to fulfill her childhood dream, and gave her the freedom to pursue it. Following her success,
Asanki says, the entire family has rallied round to support her.
It was a steep learning curve for Asanki – she certainly did not have an easy road to her titles. Although Asanki already had some experience in modeling, as a beauty queen she had to learn much more. These included not just lessons on how to walk and pose on the runway, but also how to work with people of diverse backgrounds. “Being a beauty queen is all about working with people,” Asanki said. Most importantly, she says, she has learned the value of patience.

The unexpected success Asanki earned from her first modeling experience in 2011 spurred her on to compete in other competitions, many of which she won. In 2012, Asanki was named the Best Female Model in a competition for Supermodel International. She was also chosen as one of the best ten models in 43 countries for the Supermodel International event overall that same year. Earlier on, she also shone in a provincial beauty queen contest, emerging runner up.

Asanki first heard about the Miss Sri Lanka for Miss World competition last year. She decided to take part in 2013, mainly because of the age limit on contestants.

“The competition was very tough, and all the girls were very well prepared,” Asanki said, reminiscing about the day when she won the title, and the chance to represent her country.

“I was confident, and I did have the idea of winning in my mind,” Asanki said, in fact, she says her self-confidence was a valuable asset which helped her win in the end. Having said that, Asanki was once again stunned when she heard the decision that she had won the competition – just as she had been during that very first “Models of a New Generation” competition in 2011.

Since Asanki was named Miss Sri Lanka, she will soon be departing to Bali to participate in the Miss World pageant – in fact, she is leaving to Indonesia on September 3, she says. At present, she spends all day preparing for the upcoming final competition – the most important competition she has ever participated in.
Winning the chance to compete was only the beginning of a long journey, she pointed out.
“There are so many things to train for,” Asanki explained. These range from preparing her wardrobe for the contest, to training on her modeling skills, to preparing for the mini titles. For instance, Asanki has to undergo many hours of training for the dance events. The talent competition allows contestants to show their skill and versatility through singing or dancing – Asanki has chosen the latter and will be performing a traditional dance on the big day.
On most days, Asanki says she has an 8 a.m. start, although at times she gets about her day even earlier – it is already a little less than a month to the competition.
At the moment, Asanki’s focus is on the upcoming competition in Indonesia, as she plans to do her best and represent her country. A good part of Asanki’s current day is spent doing research on the Internet, mostly on the Miss World pageant so that she can gain some idea of what the experience will be like, and in this way be better prepared for the upcoming competition. She also sticks to a strict workout regimen to keep healthy so that she looks her best on September 3, and follows other beauty routines to enhance her looks. With her confidence and poise, Asanki seems more than ready to shine in Bali – so watch this space for more on her achievements following the Miss World pageant.

Srilankan Beautyful Girls

Elections for Sri Lanka’s Northern Provincial Council

Elections for Sri Lanka’s Northern Provincial Council in 2013 September

The Sri Lankan government will hold provincial council elections for the war-ravaged Northern Province in September of 2013, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has announced.

“We want to hold elections in September 2013. We are working towards it [the elections] in a systematic manner,” the President has told the Indian daily The Hindu in a discussion.

According to the President there are many issues to be resolved ahead of holding of elections and the primary issue is the electoral registers which are over 30 years old and have no relation to the current eligible voters.

People who fled when the LTTE were active and during the war were still coming in and staking claim to their land and property after the defeat of the Tamil Tiger terrorists in May 2009, and these people too had to be accommodated in the lists, the President has pointed out to The Hindu.

Another major issue is the completion of the rehabilitation and resettlement process in the Province, which according to the President may be completed soon with the international support. Livelihood issues too were being addressed, he has added.

India-Sri Lanka accord of 1987 which later became the 13th Amendment to Sri Lanka’s Constitution created the provincial council system to devolve power to the minority communities. All the provinces except the Northern Province in the country had elected councils and received the benefits of the 13th Amendment. Northern Province lagged behind due to the protracted war waged by the Tamil Tiger terrorist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The international community considers Northern Province Council (NPC) elections as an urgent step towards reconciliation with the Tamil minority and has urged the Sri Lankan government to hold the elections for the province to restore civil administration in the region.

When asked about the ’13 plus’, the President’s pledge to seek a solution to the ethnic issue beyond the 13th Amendment, the President has clarified that the ’13 plus’ refers to creation of a senate which will act as an advisory body to the legislature.

The President has made it clear that the creation of a Senate and the formulation of a solution have to come from Parliament.

“This is [where] the Parliamentary Select Committee is important,” he has said.

The President has rejected the notion that the Indian vote against Sri Lanka in the United Nations Human Rights Council was because his government did not implement the promises it made to the Council in 2009. He has insisted that his government had worked on all the promises that were delivered and was serious about fulfilling all undertakings that were given and he was even willing to go beyond the 13th Amendment

Devoloping Srilanka

 After the Civil War - Sri Lanka relies on Tourism 

The guns have fallen silent in Sri Lanka's bloody civil war, but the deep wounds of conflict have not even begun to heal. The re-election of President Mahindra Rajapakse seems unlikely to move Sri Lanka to long term peace. His post war policies are deepening the division between various ethnic groups. There is no effort to make Sri Lanka a more inclusive state. Yet, tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka have increased significantly.

According to the tourism officials of the country, tourist arrivals grew by an impressive 50 percent or an increase to 160,000 from 106,000 visitors in the first quarter of 2010, compared to 2009. This year, the island expects over half a million tourist arrivals. However, the shrinking democracy under President Rajapakse prevents the majority from getting the benefits of this post war-economic development. Rather, this development is going to help mostly business interests.

In the rush of bringing new tourism projects, government started appropriating Tamil territories and bulldozing various Tamil landmarks. The authorities also proposed to replace the homes of the LTTE leaders with hotels and accommodation facilities. The Sri Lankan tourism industry creates new inequality and is further increasing the conflicts rather than bringing peace and cross-cultural understanding.

Many tourists hardly leave their hotels and meet the local people. They are not aware of Sri Lanka's poor human rights record. An estimated 300,000 Tamil civilians remain prisoners in internment camps run by the Singhalese government using military. The country is rated as the fourth most dangerous place in the world for journalists, even more dangerous than Afghanistan. Many journalists have been killed or jailed in this country.

New challenges

Government is announcing mega tourism projects and incentives to attract foreign investment. The tourism sector is earmarked as the most priority sector. 45 tourism zones have been introduced by Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority. Most of the new projects are planned in the North East. An investor from South India enjoys a lot of support from the Sri Lankan government, such as subsidies, free land for lease for 35 years. "Sometimes you can get exemptions from certain laws and regulations", he says.

Sri Lanka is developing a highly centralized, investment-intensive mass tourism in a post-war situation. All these developments are not considering the environment. In many locations along the coast, mangrove forests have already been cleared over the last twenty years to make way for tourism. Various tourism policies mention environmental protection and coastal conservation, but in reality there is no weight on this. The livelihood options of traditional communities like fisher folk are at stake. In many tourism destinations, their access to the beach and adjacent land is denied by the hoteliers. 

Lack of transparency and participation

Many tourism projects are proposed in ecologically sensitive areas and needs lot of resources which are essential for community livelihoods. There are no consultations with local communities and local participation in decision making, policy formulation and implementation is completely lacking. John Pilla Padmanabhan*, a fisherman from Kalpitiya, has no information about the proposed project there. His community lives in fear because they can be displaced at any time. Now the development of roads is taking place.

"In Batticaloa even ministers are allocating land to many people. No information is available and there is no transparency in these deals. They are taking advantage of the post-war situation for their business interests. We do not have any idea what is coming in and where. Everything is rumours. People cannot do anything against this", says Sunitha Kumari*, a social activist from Colombo. Nobody even wants to talk about these issues. People are really afraid of military and police actions, especially in the North-East. 

Tourism fosters military

Out of every tourist dollar spent in the country, a significant portion goes to the island's military, further contributing to human rights violations. Though the civil war officially ended in May 2009, Sri Lanka's military spending still accounts for 15 percent of budget expenditure. The government is maintaining the huge military apparatus to strengthen the military occupation of the island's Tamil dominated districts of the north and the east. The defence spending for 2010 has been estimated to be $1.64 billion, only slightly less than the $1.65 billion in the previous year.

In the decades long civil war Sri Lanka lost an active civil society which can pressurize and act for better civil liberties and rights for its citizens. The recent change of Colombo's economic strategy to rely on Asian countries for arms, aid and investment made European intervention more difficult. But in the case of tourism, Sri Lanka is still relying on the western market