Formation et Recherche

Conférence annuelle de la Political Studies Association of Ireland (PSAI)- Association irlandaise d’études politiques, Université de Cork, Irlande, du 20-22 octobre 2006

La PSAI constitue en Irlande, l’organisme principal qui réunit les chercheurs universitaires, professionnels et d’autres spécialistes en science politique de l’île (Irlande du Nord incluse). Parmi de nombreux événements organisés par cette association très dynamique, la conférence annuelle est au premier plan. Pour l’an 2006, elle sera accueillie par la célèbre University College, Cork-UCC, université irlandaise très appréciée pour ses résultats de haut niveau dans tous les domaines académiques. Je suis invité à présenter une communication sur les questions de nationalisme et la construction étatique dans le monde post-coloniale, sous une approche comparative. Le titre provisoire de ma communication est : Influential Experiments : Nationalism and State-Building in the Post-Colonial Space : Eire/Ireland and Ceylon/Sri Lanka. Je metterrai cette annonce à jour dès que j’ai plus d’informations sur le déroulement de ce colloque aussi prestigieux qu’international.

Conférence de la Conflict Research Society, Birmingham, Royaume Uni, le 6 septembre 2006

La Société pour la recherche sur les conflits (Conflict Research Society-CRS) est l'organisme le plus important au RU dédié entièrement à l'étude des conflits armés et les enjeux de sécurité. Chaque année, la CRS organise une conférence internationale, dans un centre universitaire au RU. Cette année, la conférence s’est tenue à Aston University, Birmingham. On m’a accordé l’occasion d’intervenir lors de cette conférence et ma présentation était intitulée : Revisiting History : Contemplating a New Approach to Resolving the Sri Lankan Conflict. C’était la dernière intervention de la journée, et elle était très appréciée par l’audience composée de spécialistes de renommée pour la plupart et de 3 doctorants. Encouragé pleinement par la présidence de la CRS, ce texte est en cours de révision pour être considérée pour une éventuelle publication dans une revue académique britannique.

Je tiens à remercier la CRS pour leur soutien financier, qui m’a énormément facilité ce voyage de recherche.

Chaminda WEERAWARDHANA
Tours, le 20 septembre 2006

Here’s a little excerpt from a piece of writing I’m working on at the moment. I have been writing quite a lot lately, but it's very difficult to fnd the time to sit and revise, & work on more writing. The following excerpt is a letter written by the main character, a Sri Lankan student in France, to an academic who treated him in a way that the French would call spéciale… More about the story soon.

Open Letter to Ms .............,
Dear Ms ............,

I write this letter to you directly, simply because I am not the kind of person who speaks behind peoples’ backs.
I remain shocked and extremely appalled by the way you expressed yourself at the ......(censured)...this evening, and I do not refer to yourself as Mrs .......(censured).... hereafter, as I deem it a most intolerable insult upon your husband, for whom I harbour a very high sense of respect.

You certainly succeeded in overtly expressing your sheer unwillingness to see me actively involved in the work of the organisation, and I am glad about this, as I was under the false impression that you were as diplomatic, generous and open-minded a person as your husband.

I can hardly think of any harm I have committed upon you, to receive such a dramatically disgusting reaction. I would never have expressed any desire to work for the organisation if I did not have “enough time”, and I wander since when my “time” became your problem. At the same time, I may very humbly remind you that I am in no way an office assistant or valet of yours, to be asked to “go looking for” your favoured candidate for the post in front of an educated and distinguished gathering, which fully displayed a shocking absence of anything even remotely close to the slightest diplomacy, respect and neutral, equal treatment to younger members of the association. You may certainly have been involved in the birth of this organisation, but I wish to note that it will be detrimental to its future if you wish to run it the way YOU want, ignoring all democratic procedure.
Your proposition of someone’s name for the secretarial position was done in an extremely disgusting and disrespectful manner, expressing a great desire to take an exceptional upper hand in the association. It was far from proposing the name of another person for the job, but a “need” to see the person you proposed as secretary and me out. I got the message very clearly, and you can certainly be pleased about your communication skills!

I may make it a point to note that office bearers of this organization are apparently appointed on a vote, and the thoroughly outspoken manner in which you supported one candidate is very, very distant from any “democratic” procedure.

I have strictly nothing to be doing in a group that excludes me, and I will certainly make it a point to avoid engaging in any activity with the your organisation hereafter, which should certainly be good news for you. I am a person who says what I have to say right on the face, (to anybody), but, as a grateful person, I make it a point to remember people, both good and bad, and more importantly ways they have treated me (good and bad), and be very 'grateful' in both cases in the best possible manner.

Kevin Shivmalan