Why the HEAL LANKA music video is NOT being released!

It is with great regret that I write this update in regards to what has happened with the music video for my song Heal Lanka. After dealing with the repression of the song getting banned from the radio and my Sri Lankan video production team getting their studio raided back in March of 2013, we hoped that after a few months things would calm down and we would be able to release the video as originally planned. Unfortunately this is not the case and we are now facing more political pressure than ever before.

The music video, much like the song Heal Lanka was very intentional in illustrating that unity and reconciliation are the most crucial issues to be embraced in a post-civil war Sri Lanka. The song and video is/was in no way anti-government, rather it was a plea for a new era for all Sri Lankans to live in lasting peace together.

Since dealing with the radio ban and subsequent intimidation, the music video was re-edited by the production team and was actually screened for the Ministry of Defence & Urban Development of Sri Lanka. The response from the government after viewing "Heal Lanka" the music video is that they will not approved to be released domestically in Sri Lanka and my Colombo based video production team has now been temporarily banned from producing films. The company was also advised by the government to detach themselves from me, my music and especially the Heal Lanka movement that we were building.

There are many contradictions that are presently happening in Sri Lanka and while I am never afraid to voice my opinions, I recognize that there are consequences to articulating this position of justice for all and I do not want my words or art to negatively effect my people on the ground in SL, anymore than it has already. That being said, I will continue to work for social change here in North America locally and globally through my music, organizing and youth development work. Furthermore in order to bring more clarity as to why a song about HEALING could be so controversial, I will be independently developing the footage that was shot in Colombo for Heal Lanka and other media from when I was living there, into a more comprehensive documentary to give my audience worldwide an honest look at what has happened in Sri Lanka thus far and what should happen moving forward to ensure a lasting peace for all Lankans.

The struggle in Sri Lanka is like a microcosm of the problems in the world today, where people are discriminated against based strictly off their religious/ethnic background and not the content of their character/behavior. This must change if humanity as a whole wants to thrive in this 21st century.

Still decolonizing,

Ras Ceylon