By MURALIDHARA KHAJANE& AFSHAN YASMEEN Kannada writer and one of the most acclaimed public intellectuals in the country, U.R. Ananthamurthy passed away at a private hospital here on Friday. He was 82. Dr. Ananthamurthy, a Jnanpith award winner, had a kidney ailment and had been on dialysis for a long time. He was put on …
By SRUTHISAGAR YAMUNAN & UDHAV NAIG Upping the ante against two Tamil movies with a Sri Lankan connection in the offing, 65 organisations with Tamil nationalist sympathies, including parties such as the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and the Tamilar Vaazhvurimai Katchi (TVK), have come together to oppose the release of Puli Paarvai and Kaththi. Speaking to …
By Ranga Jayasuriya This week, the global insurance giant, American International Group (AIG), announced that it was pulling out from Sri Lanka, effective from 31 August. The decision to withdraw from the Sri Lankan market was first communicated as early as June this year. AIG’s share in the local insurance market is a meagre 0.3 …
Gary Anandasangaree has won the nomination election for the Scarborough Rouge Park constituency on behalf of the Liberal Party in Canada. On 20th August, nomination election was held to select the next Federal Liberal candidate for the Scarborough Rouge-Park constituency for the general election to be held in 2015 in Canada. The three candidates for …
By Meera Srinivasan Senior members of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), an amalgam of Tamil political parties currently in power in Sri Lanka’s Tamil-majority Northern Province, will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on August 23. A delegation led by TNA leader and senior politician R. Sampanthan will leave for New Delhi on …
By Vishwamithra 1984 “As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying it. Words are to confuse, so that at election time people will solemnly vote against their own interests.” ~Gore Vidal “Gaveshana Charika” literally means ‘investigative tours’. Taken in …
By Dharisha Bastians On 24 July, within the musty confines of New Town Hall on Green Path, extraordinary political scenes unfolded. Ironically, the politically-charged event featured only academic, professional and civil society speakers, all of whom discussed constitution and nation building, rampant abuse of power and the broken quality of the present system. There were …
By Prof.Rajiva Wijesinha M.P. I have a great affection for General Chandrasiri, and indeed great admiration too. This began when, in 2008, he invited me to be the Chief Guest at the Future Minds Exhibition he had organized in Jaffna. The other principal invitee was to be the Bishop of Jaffna, someone else for whom …
By Desmond Tutu Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, in an exclusive article for Haaretz, calls for a global boycott of Israel and urges Israelis and Palestinians to look beyond their leaders for a sustainable solution to the crisis in the Holy Land. The past weeks have witnessed unprecedented action by members of civil society across the …
By Dharisha Bastians Brimming with confidence about being re-elected to serve an unprecedented third term in office, President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday shrugged off his political rivals and appeared undeterred by the UN inquiry into allegations of war crimes quietly gathering steam in Geneva. “I will be still be here, I am planning for the next …
By Dr.P.B.Jayasundera (Following is the full text of Keynote Address by Secretary to the Treasury Dr. P.B. Jayasundera titled ‘Sri Lanka: Challenges to a Rising Nation’ at the Defence Seminar 2014) Good Morning to all. Professor G.L. Peiris, Minister of External Affairs, Lalith Weeratunga, Secretary to the President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Secretary to the Ministry of …
By Dharisha Bastians Bishop of Colombo, Rt. Rev. Dhiloraj Canagasabey has publicly stood by Anglican priest and disappearances activist, Fr. M. Sathivel, who was recently targeted by a monk led group claiming to represent families of the disappeared in the south. The protesting group, later calling itself the Dead and Missing Persons Parents’ Front, violently …
(Text of a Media Release Issued by the National Peace Council titled “The CONTINUING SURVEILLANCE OF CIVIL SOCIETY EVENTS”) The issue of security forces personnel in uniform and intelligence officers in plain clothes performing surveillance of civil society activities in the North and East has been widely reported in the post-war period. There are reports …
(Text of Statement Issued by Tamil National Alliance(TNA) Leader Rajavarothayam Sampanthan endorsing the younger son of Tamil United Liberation Front(TULF) leader Mr.Veerasingham Anandasangaree, Mr.Gary Anandasangaree as a Liberal Party Candidate for the Scarborough-Rouge Park Constituency in elections to the Canadian House of Commons) Mr Gary Anandasangaree who is seeking nomination from the Liberal Party of …
By Roma Rajpal Weiss A series of religious clashes in Myanmar and Sri Lanka in recent years has increased international concern about the role of Buddhist clergy in fuelling anti-Muslim violence. Deadly riots broke out between Buddhists and Muslims in southern Sri Lanka on 15 June. Three people were killed and 80 injured in the …
By Vishwamithra 1984 “Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.” ~Helen Keller The Colombo Magistrate’s Court issued on Tuesday, August …
By C.A.Chandraprema Last Tuesday Sri Lankan history would have changed drastically if action had not been taken to prevent a clash between Muslim and Buddhist extremists in Colombo. SSP Premalal Ranagala and the police should be commended for the way they acted to contain the situation that was developing. SSP Ranagala was shown bundling the …
33 Tamil National Alliance(TNA)Provincial councillors comprising 28 from the North and 5 from the East have written to outgoing UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Ms.Navanetham Pillay outlining three specific requests regarding the on going investigation into Sri Lanka by her office.The TNA councillors have jointly urged ms.Pillay and her in coming successor to take …
BY Ruwan Laknath Jayakody The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) has threatened to field a candidate at the next presidential election, if President Mahinda Rajapaksa and other political leaders, do not accept their soon to be presented ‘comprehensive policy framework’. General Secretary of the BBS, Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera said the Buddhist group will present its …
BY CHRISHANTHI CHRISTOPHER Last week controversy prevailed over 16 women taken into custody by the police, from an Ayurvedic Centre from Bambalapitiya, on charges of prostitution, then stripped bare and searched at the Welikada Prison. The arrested women allege the female Army officers in the Prison had insisted they remove their clothes to perform body …
He promised not to cry but millions of cricket fans including President Mahinda Rajapaksa and some 4,000 spectators were close to tears when one of the world’s greatest Test cricketers Mahela Jayawardena said farewell at his home-base SSC ground in Colombo yesterday. Captain Angelo Mathews and other players carried Mahela Jayawardena on their shoulders for …
By J. Venkatesan BJP’s Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament, Tarun Vijay on Monday urged the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee to request the Centre to take immediate steps for declaring Tamil for use as a language of the Madras High Court for passing orders and judgments. It might be recalled that Tamil Nadu government had …
By Wright Thompson (This article which appeared first on October 5th 2012 is being reproduced without any changes here from Cricinfo in honour of Mahela Jayawardene) Three years ago, the Sri Lankan cricket team rode through the streets of Lahore, Pakistan, on the third day of a Test match. Captain Mahela Jayawardene, who is to …
Continue reading ‘Mahela Jayawardene:A man who speaks for a nation’ »
By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene When a country or a people are starved of basic compassion, profit alone cannot ensure stability. Equally, toleration of savagery in one form can only breed greater savagery in many other guises. This is the abiding lesson surely that all great religions teach us. Greater scrutiny required of deportation policies Even …
Army troops serving in different areas of the Jaffna peninsula have started a programme to provide drinking water to the people affected by the severe drought. Plastic water tanks have been placed in public places. In addition water bowsers have also been sent to rural areas. As in many parts of the country, the prevailing …
By Chandani Kirinde Veerasingham Anandasangaree is not someone who is afraid to speak his mind. At 81 and semi-retired from politics, the onetime Parliamentarian and General Secretary of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) has made some new public disclosures, questioning the legitimacy of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi …
By Franklin R. Satyapalan The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) has prepared the draft of a policy document to develop the country based on Buddhist principles and traditional Sinhalese values, the organization’s CEO, Dilantha Withanage said. This broad-based document includes policies on diverse subjects such as health, education, nutrition, law and order and good governance, he …
By Franklin R. Satyapalan The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) has prepared the draft of a policy document to develop the country based on Buddhist principles and traditional Sinhalese values, the organization’s CEO, Dilantha Withanage said. This broad-based document includes policies on diverse subjects such as health, education, nutrition, law and order and good governance, he …
By Paneetha Ameresekere The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) will decide whether it is to field a presidential candidate or not only after the announcement of a presidential election is made, TNA parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran told Ceylon Today in an interview on Thursday (16). “Only then will we also decide on the other option whether to …
By Kalana Senaratne Many of Sri Lanka’s opposition movements that have sprung up in more recent times especially in the South, movements which seek to construct an alternative discourse, appear to be oscillating somewhat ambivalently between the ready desire to affect course-correction and the very reluctant ambition of initiating regime-change. Those which have the greatest …
BY MENAKA INDRAKUMAR Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, that is the physical aspect of it, while inner beauty shines from within. When a woman’s physical beauty fades, it is said the eyesight of a man of her age too weakens. But, women strongly feel that physical beauty can be revived. Pandering to …
By Prasad Gunewardene Very few communist comrades possess humour as they are known to be serious politicians. For communist comrades, it’s difficult to add one magical component to their socialist skills to make their contributions more palatable and enjoyable. That magical component is humour, which many comrades lack. However, Parliament had a comrade from the …
By Prasad Gunewardene In a bid to unite and strengthen the United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickremesinghe is to appoint Sajith Premadasa as his deputy very shortly, sources close to the UNP leader revealed yesterday. This would be the third time Premadasa would occupy that position in the Party. This follows several rounds of …
by Rex Clementine Pope Francis would visit the historical Madhu Shrine during his stay in Sri Lanka in January next year, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the Archbishop of Colombo announced yesterday. The Cardinal was at the Madhu Shrine to celebrate the Feast of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary to heaven that fell yesterday. The Shrine …
Mahela Jayawardena, arguably Sri Lanka’s most elegant batsman of his generation and second only to Arjuna Ranatunga as a captain, leaves the game’s biggest stage this week, playing his last Test Match against Pakistan at his favourite hunting ground, the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) in Colombo. Jayawardena had indicated that he would continue playing in …
By Sarath Fernando It is not incorrect to work with foreign assistance if one is doing the right thing. So, we have to fight against any attempts to restrict such assistance. But there are advantages too in working with less or no foreign assistance. What are these? If a programme depends on local strength, strength …
Continue reading ‘Non -Governmental Organizations are not an Illegal Phenomenon’ »
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) has no intention of abolishing the Executive Presidency, according to SLFP General Secretary and Minister of Health, Maithripala Sirisena. The Minister was responding to a question, at a media briefing yesterday (15) at the SLFP Headquarters, Darley Road. He was responding to a question about the initiatives taken by …
By Susitha R.Fernando The country’s oldest community dates back to thousands of years. The Vedda community or the indigenous community held its annual Wariga Sabha (Council of the Clan) to take crucial decisions on behalf of its nearly 500,000 members. The Council held to coincide with the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People is …
By Taylor Dibbert President Obama recently made a decision. Consequently, the U.S. is launching limited airstrikes in Iraq and has also undertaken a humanitarian operation in the northern part of the country. Obama’s press conference last Thursday was difficult to watch. He couldn’t conceal the disgruntled look on his face; it appeared that he was …
By Vishwamithra 1984 “The true test of civilization is not the census, nor the size of cities, nor the crops – no, but the kind of man the country turns out.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist, philosopher and poet Exaggerations of the truth are quite common in any human endeavor. When exaggerations are driven into …
On the occasion of International Youth Day 2014, we, the undersigned members of the Young Political Leader’s Forum of Sri Lanka, welcome the publication of the Sri Lanka National Human Development Report 2014, by the United Nations Development Programme Sri Lanka, together with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Skills Development, and the Ministry of …
By Priya Gupta Yuvan Shankar Raja, 34, called lovingly Yuvi at home, is not just the legend Ilaiyaraaja’s younger son, but is also India’s youngest composer, who did his first Tamil film music at the age of 16. While Yuvan in his name stands for young, Shankar was added by a pandit and Raja, his …
BY ENID NEMY Lauren Bacall, the actress whose provocative glamour elevated her to stardom in Hollywood’s golden age and whose lasting mystique put her on a plateau in American culture that few stars reach, died on Tuesday in New York. She was 89. Her death was confirmed by her son Stephen Bogart. “Her life speaks …
The Police yesterday dispersed a group of extremist Buddhist monks led by Bodu Bala Sena secretary Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thero who arrived in Muslim-dominated Maligawatte area to clash with a Muslim organisation protesting against Israel. The BBS monks argued with the police not to allow the Muslims to hold protest demonstration from Maligawatte to Colombo Fort. …
A forty seven year old woman doctor who visited a private beauty parlour named ‘Cosmetic Surgery Clinic’ in Bambalapitiya, Colombo today and obtained an injection to improve her looks and to become young and pretty had the misfortune of dying at the beauty parlour itself, police said. Preliminary investigations had revealed that the doctor who …
by Col R Hariharan [Answers to some of the questions on India-Sri Lanka relations and China raised by an international news agency answered on August 11, 2014 are given here.] How do you see the diplomatic, economic, political relationship between Sri Lanka and India before the end of the war and after the end of …
By Dharisha Bastians Under the glass deck at the entrance to Independence Arcade on Bauddhaloka Mawatha, hundreds of ornamental fish swim hypnotically to and fro, delighting children and visitors to the latest entertainment spot in the capital. The glass is tough enough to walk on and the pond is lit up beautifully at night, making …
President Mahinda Rajapaksa has ordered the relevant officials to take steps to release Indian fishermen in Sri Lankan custody to mark Indian Independence Day which falls on August 15, President’s Media Coordinating Secretary Vijayananda Herath said.
By Sarah Hannan India yesterday renewed its commitment to the sustenance of peace and development in Sri Lanka as the giant neighbour documented over $ 1.3 billion in post-war support. “As Sri Lanka strives towards a peaceful future, the Government and the people of India remain committed to assist Sri Lanka in its endeavours of …
By Upul Joseph Fernando When Mahinda decided to hold a snap poll for a third term Presidency he was smitten with fear of an Opposition backlash against his erratic foreign policy, which had embittered relations with world powers. He felt timorous about America spearheading an economic sanction programme, which could affect the economy of the …
by Jeevan Thiagarajah The international engagement in a call for action on Sri Lanka’s accountability arising from the last stages of the war, and the upcoming resolution in this regard at the UNHRC sessions in March this year, brought together the Marga Institute and the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies (CHA) in a joint endeavour to …
ROBIN WILLIAMS, an actor and comedian, died on August 11th, aged 63. The flood of grief-stricken commentary that followed news of his death has not simply been a response to his many achievements as a corruscating comedian and award-winning actor. It has also been a sign that audiences felt they knew him as a friend. …
Continue reading ‘Remembering Robin Williams as Entertaining Actor and Endearing Friend.’ »
By Devirupa Mitra NEW DELHI: He came to the national capital alone at the tender age of 20, but with a determination to learn. Exactly 44 years on, Sudharshan Seneviratne is back in the city for a long haul — this time as Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India. The nomination of Seneviratne, a renowned …
By C.A.Chandraprema Last week, a presentation made to the US Congress by an American Professor of Law by the name of Ryan Goodman outlining how Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa can be tried in a US court for war crimes committed in Sri Lanka gained much publicity in this country. The American government has been pushing …
By Ryan Goodman (Ryan Goodman is co-editor-in-chief of Just Security. Ryan is the Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Professor of Law at New York University School of Law.This opinion piece is reproduced from Just Security) This is the second post arising out of a presentation I made at a congressional briefing earlier this month on issues …
By Ryan Goodman The Obama administration has taken the lead internationally to promote accountability in Sri Lanka. The principal focus is on war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the country’s decades long civil war. But those efforts are also important to addressing the situation of Tamil, Muslim, and Christian minorities in Sri Lanka …
By Dr. Wickrema Weerasooria Hon. The Chief Justice, and Other Judges, the Attorney General and Mr. Upul Jayasuriya, President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, Ladies & Gentlemen. When I was asked to speak a few words on behalf of the lawyers being felicitated today, I felt both humbled and privileged. I felt humbled …
STATEMENT ISSUED BY THE PROVINCIAL SUPERIOR OF THE OBLATES OF MARY IMMACULATE (COLOMBO PROVINCE) ON THE ILLEGAL INTRUSION AND DISRUPTION OF A MEETING AT CSR As the Provincial Superior of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (Colombo Province), I wish to express my feelings of deep disappointment and frustration over the deplorable and despicable incident that …
By Mangala Samaraweera M.P. The United National Party (UNP) has consistently maintained that the opening of the floodgates of international scrutiny can be avoided only through an independent and credible local investigation to inquire into the serious allegations against the Rajapaksa regime of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. In fact when the …
Turn off the TV, calm down and stop trying to convert people to your religion. His Holiness Pope Francis-pic via: twitter.com/Pontifex These are among the top 10 pieces of advice issued by Pope Francis this week as part of his recipe for a happy, more fulfilled life. Speaking in a very frank interview published in …
The 15th Neelan Tiruchelvam Memorial Lecture titled “Stone and Flower: Truth as a Foundation for Community Learning and Reconciliation”, will be delivered by Ms Galuh Wandita Soedjatmoko from Indonesia on Sunday 3 August 2014 at 6 p.m. at the BMICH, Committee Room A. Ms Soedjatmoko has over the last two decades worked with several local …
by Shamindra Ferdinando Taking into consideration the failure on the part of the British government to restraining the UK based LTTE groups during his previous visits, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has decided against attending the World War I Commemorative Service for the Commonwealth at Glasgow Cathedral on August 4. External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris, …
By Upul Joseph Fernando When former President D.B. Wijetunga met people at his retirement home in Kandy, he used to say that his engagement with the Southern Provincial Council was a folly. UNP was never strong in the South. The UNP strategy at the Southern Provincial Council election finally paved way for Chandrika to come …
By Dharisha Bastians The Presidential proclamation came like a bolt from the blue. For one endlessly-suspended moment, the world according to the Rajapaksa administration had turned topsy-turvy. After five years of stringent denials and rejections, zero casualty claims, military courts of inquiry and war censuses, President Mahinda Rajapaksa issued a proclamation last Thursday announcing the …
By Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha M.P. In July 2008, when I was head of the Peace Secretariat, I published a volume entitled ‘Lest We Forget’, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the ethnic violence of July 1983. I had wanted the President to preside over a meeting to express regrets, but he did not think this …
Continue reading ‘“Lest We Forget”: The Ethnic Violence of July 1983’ »
In Remembrance of ‘July 83’ by the Young Political Leaders Forum (YPLF) Dated July 23rd, 2014 | Colombo We, the undersigned members of the Young Political Leaders Forum of Sri Lanka (YPLF), recall the events of ‘July 1983’ with deep regret. Today, thirty-one years later, we strongly believe that Sri Lanka has the opportunity to …
By Dharisha Bastians The hardline Bodu Bala Sena organisation has criticised efforts by certain groups to get its General Secretary Galagodaththe Gnanasara Thero’s Australian visa cancelled, calling it a ‘third class act’. “There are extremist groups and Muslim organisations behind the moves to get his visa cancelled,” BBS CEO Dilantha Withanage told a media conference …
COLOMBO, July 22 — A firebrand Sri Lankan monk today criticised the Dalai Lama for urging the island’s Buddhists to halt violence against minority Muslims and rejected him as a global spiritual leader. Buddhist monk Galagodaatte Gnanasara said the Dalai Lama was ignorant of the “true situation in Sri Lanka” and accused the Nobel Peace …
By Meera Srinivasan India will be far more supportive of Sri Lanka’s position at the United Nations Human Rights Council than ever before, former Union Cabinet Minister and the chairman of the BJP Committee for Strategic Action Subramanian Swamy said here on Monday. Speaking on ‘India under Modi: relevance for the region and the world’, …
By Meera Srinivasan There is a need for India and Sri Lanka to engage in a strategic dialogue, chairman of the BJP Committee for Strategic Action Subramanian Swamy said after a meeting with Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa here on Tuesday. “We discussed a gamut of issues, and felt such a strategic dialogue would …
By Lakna Paranamanna Dr. Subramanian Swamy – Chairman, BJP Committee on Strategic Action and Member of BJP’s National Executive Committee in an exclusive interview with spoke candidly on what to expect in changes to India’s foreign policy under Prime Minister Modi’s administration and on India’s support to Sri Lanka. Following are the excerpts: Q In …
By Vishwamithra 1984 “Through me you go into a city of weeping; through me you go into eternal pain, through me you go amongst the lost people” ~Dante Alighieri, The Inferno All indications of certain societal decay are present; the symptoms of a terminal sickness are frighteningly manifest in the body politic of the country. …
The Liberal Party emphatically welcomes the recent gazette notification expanding the scope of the Presidential Commission on Disappearances. Though it is worded in a circumspect, and indeed circumlocutory, fashion, it fulfils the long expressed need for an internal inquiry into possible violations of law during the conflict. Thankfully, coming hard on the heels of the …
BY A.R. VENKATACHALAPATHY Born in 1882, Subramania Bharati’s political career began in the end of 1904. Less than four years later he would be forced into exile, an ordeal that would extend to well over a decade. The years spent in exile in the French enclave of Pondicherry, between mid-1908 and late 1918, subsume the …
Continue reading ‘How the Famous Tamil Poet Subramania Bharati Responded to the First World War’ »
By Ranat The news that Ceylon Theatres has opened a state-of-the art 100-seat cinema at the recently-opened Arcade complex and named it the Empire Cineplex made me hunt for the origins of the once-popular cinema by the same name. We used to frequent the place in Braybrooke Place in the good old days where quality …
Continue reading ‘The New Empire Cineplex and the old Empire Cinema Theatre in Braybrooke Place’ »
The grey slender loris is found only in Sri Lanka and parts of India. Human activity is threatening the habitat of this nocturnal primate, but one site in Sri Lanka is now seeing a boost in numbers.
By Srinivasa Ramanujam Hailing from a filmi family can pose a huge challenge for some. Like Gajesh. He’s the grandson of veteran comedian Nagesh, who set a benchmark in Tamil cinema with his effortless portrayal of roles. And, he’s the son of Anandbabu, who appeared in several memorable roles in the 1990s, and is widely …
by S.Saraswathi Director Gnana Rajasekaran’s Ramanujan is a well researched, well-written and brilliantly directed film dedicated to India’s mathematical prodigy, Ramanujan, whose genius hung like an albatross around his neck, his entire life, says S. Saraswathi. Yet another masterpiece by the man who gave us films like Bharati and Periyar. Gnana Rajasekaran is back with …
By Susitha R.Fernando Former diplomat, educator and peace activist Javed Yusuf in an interview over recent development says it is very unfortunate that when we as a country are facing a number of challenges on the international front we are shooting ourselves in the foot by creating another problem which has already drawn unfavourable international …
By Taylor Dibbert The U.S. Congressional Caucus on Ethnic and Religious Freedom in Sri Lanka held a hearing on July 9 [2014] in Washington, D.C. The caucus, created in 2013, is co-chaired by Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) and Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio). It remains to be seen how effective this newly created group will be …
Popular actor Dhandapani known widely as “Kadhal Dhandapani” passed away on July 20th 2014 morning in Chennai due to a cardiac arrest.He made his debut in 2004 as the villainous father of the film’s heroine Sandhya in the successful film “Kadhal”directed by Balaji Sakthivel and produced by Shankar .Thereafter both Sandhya and Dhandapani got the …
BY S VENKAT NARAYAN NEW DELHI, July 20: The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is moving its popular Tamil language service from London to New Delhi. It will be relocated with the BBC Hindi service, according to new plans announced to cut costs until 2017. A BBC World Service spokesman said in London: “In India, BBC …
Continue reading ‘BBC to Relocate its Tamil Language Service”Thamizhosai”From London to New Delhi’ »
By C.A.Chandraprema Last week, the government’s decision to appoint three ‘international experts’ to advise the Presidential Commission to Investigate Cases of Alleged Disappearances of Persons in the Northern and Eastern Provinces is the equivalent of a muscular tough guy breaking coconuts on his own head to show his opponents the kind of punishment he can …
by Shamindra Ferdinando Top UN coordinator in charge of the ongoing war crimes investigation into accountability issues in Sri Lanka, Sandra Beidas and Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative in Geneva, Ravinatha Aryasinha are unlikely to meet officially, though UN Human Rights Commissioner, Navanethem Pillay has asked for a powvow between the duo and the naming of …
By Kalana Senaratne The struggle between Sri Lankan governments and NGOs is by no means a novel development; and their relationship, especially during the past decade, has been extremely tensed. The immediate aftermath of the tsunami disaster in December 2004 brought these tensions to the surface, with the JVP, for example, waging war against the …
By Sujeeva Nivunhella in London While the Sri Lankan government officials remain tight-lipped on President Rajapaksa’s participation at the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony in Glasgow, Scotland on July 23, pro-LTTE Tamils in the UK are busy organising a demonstration opposite the Stadium. The Tamil Youth Organisation in UK has asked Tamils to gather at Barrowfield …
by Gamini Seneviratne ‘Mandarins’ could refer to the officially adopted form of the Chinese language or to the fruit we all know. Here it refers to a term applied to the members of the Ceylon Civil Service (CCS) (and adopted somewhat scornfully by those who failed to join it). The Cambridge Dictionary puts it thus: …
By Ananth Palakidnar Excerpts from an interview with Norther Province Governor Gen.Chandrasiri: Q: You are the first Governor of the Northern Province. What have you to say on your reappointment to that position?
By Dharisha Bastians Following a high profile trial in which the defence called no witnesses, the Colombo High Court yesterday sentenced a ruling party politician and three others to 20 years in prison for murdering British tourist Khuram Shaikh and raping his Russian girlfriend in 2011. Tangalle Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman and UPFA strongman Sampath Vidanapathirana …
By Tim Hume with Reporting by Iqbal Athas (CNN) — Shortly before Buddhist mobs made a deadly rampage through Muslim neighborhoods near the town of Aluthgama, Sri Lanka last month, a man with cropped hair and glasses stood before expectant crowds to deliver an explosive speech. Video footage of the rally, called following a traffic …
by Col. R. Hariharan (This article contains excerpts from a media interview given by the author on July 16, 2014.) Time has come for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take a relook at Sri Lanka affairs under the leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. He has continued for too long to bash on regardless of his …
12-13 July, 2014 The 31st Black July Commemoration Ceremony was held on 12th and 13th July, 2014 in Dortmund, Germany, with participation by the Members of Parliament, and Members of North and East Provincial Councils, and the European Members of TELO, to honour the thousands of Tamils massacred, along with TELO’s founding leaders Honourable Thangathurai …
Continue reading ‘DORTMUND DECLARATION by the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO)’ »
By Dharisha Bastians The Government yesterday set the stage for a domestic inquiry into alleged civilian deaths and violations of humanitarian law during the final stages of the war, appointing three international war crimes prosecutors to advise the Presidential Commission tasked with the probe. The Presidential directive launching the inquiry comes just weeks after a …
By Harim Peiris The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), Sri Lanka’s catalyst for opening up a new Buddhist verses Muslim conflict, perhaps due to boredom now that a thirty year civil war has ended, follows more by design than accident a classic military strategy of an escalation or advancement and then a tactical retreat due to …
By Ranga Jayasuriya Would a colourful burka be a lesser symbol of fundamentalist Islam and subjugation of women than its black counterpart? Some members of the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka tend to think so. They have launched a campaign to distribute burka in ‘simple pleasing colours’ among local Muslims. They assure that the initiative …
by Shamindra Ferdinando The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Wednesday (July 16) said that it wouldn’t release the names of the investigation team tasked with probing the war crimes allegations against the government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) as well as the LTTE, though Ms Sandra Beidas was named its coordinator. …
By Ananth Palakidnar Minister of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development, Douglas Devananda, in an extensive interview with Ceylon Today, welcomed the South African peace initiative and said sharing the South African experience would definitely help Sri Lanka deal with its problem in a constructive manner. However, he said for any attempt to find a …
A Statement by the Secretariat for Muslims on the Need for Action One Month Since The Riot | A Statement by the Secretariat for Muslims on the Need for Action June 16, 2014 It is one month since violence in Aluthgama, Dharga Town, Welipanna, and Ambepitiya in Beruwela – primarily targeting the Muslim community – …
by Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne (Amirthalingam Memorial Oration, 12 July 2014, London) Let me begin by thanking the UK branch of the Tamil Liberation United Front for inviting me to deliver the Amirthalingam Memorial Oration on the occasion of the 25th death anniversary of Appapillai Amirthalingam, lawyer, parliamentarian, Leader of the Opposition in the Sri Lankan …
Continue reading ‘Constitutional Reform in Sri Lanka: Issues and Prospects’ »
By Ben Travis Sonali Deraniyagala has won the PEN/Ackerley Prize 2014 for Wave, her memoir recounting the loss of her parents, her husband and two young sons in the tsunami that devastated Sri Lanka in December 2004. “The pleasure of receiving this wonderful prize makes me see that there is a beauty in struggle and …
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By Meera Srinivasan When Sri Lankan archaeologist Sudharshan Seneviratne drove down to Chanakyapuri on a hot day recently, memories of his Delhi days came back gushing. From being a student in the city in the 1970s to returning now as the highest representative of his country, life has come a full circle, says Sri Lanka’s …
By Dharisha Bastians Ten months ago, the Tamil people of the Northern Province who were liberated from the clutches of the LTTE by President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his security forces went to the polls to elect a provincial government for the first time in 25 years. During a heated election season, the Government pledged to …
By Dharisha Bastians President Mahinda Rajapaksa has invited all provincial chief ministers to attend this week’s Cabinet briefing, but Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran says he has already sent his regrets. All chief ministers were invited to the cabinet meeting on Thursday (17), Presidential Spokesman Mohan Samaranayake told Daily FT. Chief Minister Wigneswaran, who …
By Vishwamithra 1984 “The human race is challenged more than ever before to demonstrate our mastery – not over nature but of ourselves” ~Rachel Carson Is the person who is identified as Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thero another Buddharakkhitha in the making or is he just a pretender? But the circumstances and conditions seem to be much …
BY STANLEY SAMARASINGHE Lawyers appearing for Mavai Senathirajah, Secretary of Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) and Tamil National Alliance (TNA), and President of TNA, R. Sampanthan, yesterday (15) agreed to submit an affidavit, to the Supreme Court, stating that Sri Lanka is a unitary State. This was sequel to six cases filed in Supreme Court …
By Dharisha Bastians The hardline Bodu Bala Sena Organisation yesterday slammed President Mahinda Rajapaksa for permitting his own Cabinet ministers to insult Buddhist monks and the Buddhist people who swept him into power. The remarks follow statements made by Justice Minister and Leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Rauff Hakeem to foreign correspondents in …
By Upul Joseph Fernando While Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris was having discussions with Indian Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj, President Mahinda Rajapaksa extended the service of Northern Provincial Council Governor Major General G.A. Chandrasiri. It was an unexpected move for the Tamil National Alliance (TNA). TNA and its Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran had …
By Supun Dias In an exclusive interview, Daily mirror spoke to the Secretary General of Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) Ven. Galaboda Aththe Gnanasara Thera on the Aluthgama incident and on the allegations levelled against his organizations Q Although the Aluthgama incident is now a thing of the past do you think the speech you made …
By N Sathiya Moorthy The veshti controversy in Tamil Nadu is not about the dress — but a dress-code, which seems permissible in private homes and offices, but not in private clubs that are open only to well-heeled, and well-paying private members, observes N Sathiya Moorthy. At the height of the post-poll scenario in 1996, …
By Chitra Weeraratne The Supreme Court yesterday advised counsel to try and work out a settlement and restore goodwill between Chief Minister of the Northern Province C. V. Wigneswaran, a retired Supreme Court judge and Chief Secretary of the Northern Province Mrs. Vijayalakshmi Ramesh. It should be done for the sake of good governance, the …
By Chrishanthi Christopher The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) will meet this week to discuss the re-appointment of former military-man, G.A. Chandrasiri, as the Governor of the Northern Province and work out the Party’s response. TNA Parliamentarian, Suresh Premachandran, said the Party will take a decision on the reappointment after the meeting. TNA sources however, hinted …