By M.A. Sumanthiran M.P There is a growing trend in the political culture of the North that the rest of the country does not seem to have taken note of. The advent of the ‘grease yaka’ saw people coming out on to the streets in large numbers to apprehend these offenders, and in several instances, [...]
Archive of entries posted on 22nd July 2012
Never ending sorrow of Northern Muslims!
By M.S. Shah Jahan “Some 40,000 deeds have been given to Tamil refugee families within the past three years. However, not a single plot of land has been provided to any one of the Muslim refugee families in the North. Why is the Muslim community in the North receiving step motherly treatment?”
Three White Tiger and Sixteen Bengali Tiger cubs have died in Dehiwela Zoo in three years
By Ifham Nizam The National Zoological Gardens in Dehiwala, despite having the services of curators and veterinary surgeons, assistant directors and deputy directors to carry out special tasks and programmes, had completely messed up at a crunch situation, particularly when it came to saving endangered species.
Douglas Devananda recalls Welikada jail massacres of July 25th and 27th 1983
By Gagani Weerakoon Black July 1983 -1 Kathiravelu Nithyananda Devananda, was in the cell facing the gallows of Welikada Prison when he heard the commotion outside the prison walls on 25 July 1983, just two days after the infamous Black July began. “We did not know what was happening at the time, and I was [...]
The mood of the military over the Thirunelvely July 23rd 1983 ambush
by An Old Soldier Black July 1983 -2 With a remarkable increase in subversive activities in the Northern Peninsula, commencing with the killing of the Mayor of Jaffna, Alfred Duraiappa on 14 May 1976, the then government introduced the Prevention of Terrorism Act on 15 July 1979.
It all began with LTTE ambush and Army retaliation
By A Thirunelvely Eyewitness Black July 1983 – 3 Many Tamils who recall horror stories of the July 1983 riots lived in Colombo at the time. This was where the worst atrocities were committed. In Jaffna, however, where Tamils were the majority, not much violence is related. I, being a native of Thirunelvely, Jaffna where [...]
Violence was perpetrated by handful of Govt sponsored Sinhala civilians – Anandasangaree
By Gagani Weerakoon BLACK JULY 1983 -4 Leader of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), Veerasingham Anandasangaree is known for his denouncement of violence committed by any party. Sangaree, who is a staunch supporter of federalism, was awarded the 2006 UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence, for being an indefatigable advocate [...]
Mano Ganesan talks about destruction of Tamil Film Industry in Sri Lanka
By Dilrukshi Handunnetti BLACK JULY 1983 -5 The late Yasapalitha Nanayakkara was a trendsetter in the Sinhala cinema with his penchant for commercially successful film-making. Often he cast the late Vijaya Kumaratunga as his chosen hero. In the late sixties, it was becoming trendy to produce Tamil twins to the Sinhala movies. Often, the Tamil [...]
Reliving horrors of Welikada Massacres – A former inmate
By Asif Fuard BLACK JULY 1983-6 Two days after Sri Lankan Tamils suffered a brutal massacre, sounds of pandemonium were still heard outside the impenetrable walls of the Welikada Prison, while the stench of burnt rubber mixed with the odour of blood and corpses filled the air.
The ’83 riots, a turning point
By A Jaffna scribe BLACK JULY -7 The communal riots against the Tamils in post-independent Sri Lanka first took place in 1958. The second unrest was experienced in 1977 and the worst was, as history recorded, in 1983 not only claiming the lives of hundreds of Tamils in the island but also destroying assets running [...]
No National Anthem yet for Bosnia-Herzegovina due to ethnic political rivalry
By Anes Alic Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) remains one of the few countries in the world without lyrics for its national anthem, as politicians have squabbled over its words since its adoption 13 years ago. Most recently, the Bosnian parliament on July 3rd rejected the lyrics proposed by its own commission.
Why The Alawites cant set up a separate state in coastal regions of Syria
By Joshua landis A sectarian look at Syrian unrest Will the Alawites try to establish an Alawite State centered in the Coastal Mountains? Many opposition figures and journalists insist that the Alawites are planning to fall back to the Alawite Mountains in an attempt to establish a separate state. This is unconvincing.
