Victor Ivan

Ivan in his book "Pansale Viplawaya" published in Sinhala in 2009, which has been translated into English titled "Revolt in the Temple-The Buddhist Revival up to Gangodawila Some Thera –" has made an in-depth analysis of this proposition explaining the impact of caste discrimination on Buddhist political trends that emerge intermittently in Sri Lanka. In another book written by him on "Caste, Family & Politics" Ivan makes a deep analysis on how the caste system has impacted on politics of Sri Lanka since of independence to date.

He has an acidic criticism about the media culture in Sri Lanka and some acknowledged theoretical aspects of media as well. His experience and views on the subject are amply expressed in the book titled ‘Innocence of the Pen Questioned' that he published in 2009. He criticised others and similarly let others criticise him. Perhaps, the Ravaya may be the only newspaper which has allowed others to criticise the editor of it in the same newspaper. This can be reckoned to be a new tradition added to the media culture.

Ivan lost the case and he made an appeal to the committee for Human Rights in Geneva under U.N. Convenat on Civil and Political Rights against the verdict of the Supreme Court. The Human Rights Committee in Geneva conducted an inquiry on his appeal (by that time the government had already abolished the Law of Criminal Defamation and had been informed to the Human Rights Committee) and reached the verdict the fundamental rights of Victor Ivan had been violated and ordered to pay compensation for the damage caused to him. (CCRP/C/81/D/909/2000 August 2004)

The International Bar Association, in a report published in November 2001 on caption 'Sri Lanka: Failing to Protect the Rule of Law and the Independence of the Judiciary’ has given a comprehensive account of the illegal manner and ludicrous nature in which this inquiry was held. Victor Ivan, throughout the tenure of the new chief justice vehemently and persistently criticised all illegal actions and injustices that he committed in the arena of judiciary. Based on a comprehensive study of the telephone correspondences over a period of three months he was able to prove that the chief justice has had connections with the underworld. Based on the resultant crisis situation in the judiciary following the appointment of Sarath Nanda Silva as the chief justice, Victor Ivan published a book titled ‘Unfinished Struggle-For the Independence of the Judiciary’ while Sarath Nanda Silva was holding the post of Chief justice . Addressing the Second Global Conference of the Investigative Journalists held in Copenhagen from 2–4 May 2003, which he attended on invitation, Victor Ivan shared his experience of investigative journalism that he practised in regard to the judiciary of Sri Lanka and the legal battle he had to pursue in the process.

Ivan admires Bertrand Russell, so his son is named Athula Russell. Russell was a six-time Sri Lanka chess champion from 2003 to 2010.

Of all the struggles made by Victor Ivan, the one he launched against Sarathnanda Silva, the Chief Justice of Sri Lanka (1999– 2009) which he aimed at safeguarding the independence of the judiciary is reckoned to be the most outstanding and daring struggle. The Ravaya once exposed a Magistrate who had been accused of raping a female respondent of a court case heard by him. Sarathnanda Silva, the Attorney General, adamantly maintained a rigid stand of safeguarding the accused when the Criminal Investigations Department had confirmed after investigations that the accused magistrate had actually committed the offence. Under the circumstance, Victor Ivan, began to delve into the character of the Attorney General himself on the presumption that he too, might be a corrupt person as much as the accused he was safeguarding. He was able to discover a good incident that revealed the corrupt nature of his character.

Until then the society in general, and even the social scientists, considered caste a taboo and an issue not to be discussed openly. The insights that he made persistently on this subject has eventually resulted in the social scientists in Sri Lanka too, sharing his view and admitting that the caste constitutes an important factor affecting the social crisis the country is faced today. The report submitted by the Presidential Commission appointed in 1990, pursuant to the suppression of the second JVP insurrection in 1989, to investigate into the factors that had caused the youth insurrections admitted that the caste system had played a crucial role in the Sinhala and Tamil youth uprisings.

During this period, a large number of media people were assassinated by the JVP and the security forces alike on account of their taking sides of either of the two parties. Those who were sympathetic to the JVP came under severe wrath of the security forces and vice versa. The rebels proscribed the 1988 presidential election declaring it is illegal and demanding the voters to boycott it. The JVP adopted a policy of assassinating those who defied their orders. Victor Ivan, through the Ravaya magazine appealed to the people to ignore the orders of the rebels and exercise their right to vote.

Victor Ivan entered the field of journalism in 1986, at a time when the country was in turmoil with the outbreak of violent youth insurrections triggered by the Sinhalese in the South and the Tamils in the North. "The Ravaya", the monthly magazine that he launched soon became popular among the readers and turned out to be the magazine of highest demand at that time. Revelation of the presence of radio-active substances in the products of "Nestle" company in the aftermath of the Chernobille Disaster was one of the most remarkable article published by Ravaya magazine.

While in prison, Victor Ivan wrote two books: The first was entitled "The challenge of tenant farming" (අඳ ගොවිතැනේ අභියෝගය; published in 1979), which explored the feudal character of taxation on cultivations and the tenant farming system in Sri Lanka, and its adverse impact on productivity.

In 1977 he was released with others on an un-conditional pardon given by Jayawardena Government. Later he joined LSSP and unsuccessfully contested the Galle by-election. He now recalls that the insurrection was a "foolish dream" [1]

The leaders prosecuting the 1971 April insurrection trail began on 12 June 1972, at the Queen's Club, located at the Baudddhaloka Mawatha, before the Criminal Justice Commission composed of Chief Justice H N G Fernando (Chairman) Justice A C A Alles, Justice V T Thamotheram, Justice H Dheragoda and Justice T W Rajaratnam. Those pleading not guilty were brought in batches before the commission. The main case consisted of 41 suspects which included Mr Ivan. They were considered to be the main architects of the uprising and the youth rebellion. Ivan and several other rebellions were found guilty and were punished with imprisonments.

He was the 7th accused of the main court case on the Youth Insurrection 1971. The panel of judges described him as the most colourful character of all suspects respondents. Judgment of the Criminal Justice Commission. Inquiry No, 1 – Government Printer- page 255. He was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment at the end of the inquiry. During his imprisonment he abandoned the doctrine of the JVP as well as that of Marxism. While rejecting the doctrine of violence he became an ardent follower of Mahatma Gandhi adopting the philosophy of non-violence expounded by him.

He was a leader of the 1971 insurrection of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and used the nom-de-guerre Podi Athula (as opposed to "Loku Athula" the former minister Athula Nimalasiri Jayasinghe). He was unable to take part in the insurrection has he was badly wounded months before while making bombs for it and had undergo surgery at a private hospital in Colombo.

The other was on the History of JVP and 1971 Insurrection. In that he claims that the prevailing discriminatory caste system in the Sri Lankan society had been an important contributory factor in the 1971 insurrection. Later, he wrote another book titled "Social background of Youth Rebels of Sri Lanka" in which he argues that the caste system, apart from being a major factor in the youth insurrections in the Sinhala South, has equally become a crucial factor in the youth insurrections triggered by the Tamil youths in the North as well. This is a new dimension that Victor Ivan has added to the intellectual stock of reflective analyses of the social issues of Sri Lanka.

Born on 26 June 1949, Ivan was educated at St. Anthony's College, Kandy.