Came across two new sites for dissent and critical perspectives in Sri Lanka have cropped up recently.
Forgotten Diaries was started in June ’08 and only has a handful of posts. However, the content in these posts is very thought provoking, though judging by the paucity of comments, it is unlikely that this blog is well known.
Just Dissent is brand new. Begun in March 2009 it already has content in English and Sinhala which is largely linking to wire reports on the web. The latest post at the time of writing, I am a Traitor, challenges apathy and encourages pro-active participation to strengthen democracy.
The idiom in Just Dissent is more immediate and visceral, whereas the prose in Forgotten Diaries, which features content from In Mutiny, is more measured. Both however offer new sites for debate and discussion for those connected to the web and interested in civic identity, nationalism, democracy and conflict transformation.
That’s two more valuable spaces in a context where independent media and the freedom of expression are almost non-existant.
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[...] For Peacebuilding (ICT4PEACE) blog features two new dissent websites, which are voicing critical perspectives on the current affairs of Sri Lanka. Cancel this [...]
[...] be celebrated and supported. Given the vicious and violent clampdown on media in Sri Lanka, perhaps the web and the diversity of voices therein offers some degree of dissent in a country where there is really little to be found [...]
[...] given the Rajapakse regime’s dispensation. This is where new individual voices of dissent, new architectures of dissent on the web and citizen journalists are play an increasingly important and influential role – packing a punch [...]
[...] progressive youth initiatives like Beyond Borders along with others on Facebook and a range of independent, compelling voices on the web have used new media for years to publish and disseminate critical content and engage local and [...]