By Dharisha Bastians in Jaffna British Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday became the first foreign leader to visit Sri Lanka’s North, using his three hour tour to focus on press freedom, land and political rights of the Tamil people four years after the end of the war. Prime Minister Cameron stole the spotlight after the …
by Dharisha Bastians Days ahead of being crowned king of the Commonwealth of Nations, President Mahinda Rajapaksa is a jubilant mood. The Sri Lankan Head of State is often pictured beaming with pride at various precursor events leading up to the main Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting that will get underway at his namesake theatre …
President Rajapaksa, ladies and gentlemen Thank you for your kind welcome. My wife and I are very glad indeed to be joining you here in Colombo. At the personal request of The Queen, I am delighted to be addressing you this morning on behalf of the Head of the Commonwealth.
BY Meera Srinivasan Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Thursday said he was satisfied with the level of India’s representation at the ongoing Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka. Dr. Manmohan Singh, he said, did not participate in the Commonwealth summit held in Perth in 2011, addressing local and foreign media at a press conference in …
THE biggest achievement of the Commonwealth, its admirers say, is the fact of its unlikely existence. That so many former British colonies and dominions should be content to co-exist in a club which has the queen as its head is remarkable. However this is a low bar to set for the success of an organisation …
Tamil United Liberation Front Secretary -general and veteran Sri Lankan Tamil leader Veerasingham Anandasangaree has written to President Mahinda Rajapaksa on November 6th 2013 requesting the release of all political prisoners during the CHOGM summit in Colombo. The full text of the letter is as follows-
Answering questions from the media following the closing press conference in Bali – Oct 8, 2013-Gov of Canada pic By Haroon Siddiqui Stephen Harper loves the royal family. Under his reign, the “royal” prefix has been returned to the air force and the navy. The latest royal baby adorns a Canadian postage stamp. Yet Harper …
By Charitha Ratwatte Good fences make good neighbours – Robert Frost Robert Frost, American poet, four times Pulitzer Prize and Congressional Gold Medal winner, in ‘Mending Wall,’ a poem published in 1914, used this line, which according to the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations originates in the 17th century. Frost could not see the need for …
By Karthik Subramanian After a year-long research and development of various tools to aid his goal, young lyricist and computer science researcher Madhan Karky says he is close to coming up with a computer-automated solution that will help Tamil film lyricists generate songs based on stories and tunes.
Noted Tamil novelist and short story writer Sri Venugopalan, popularly known as ‘Pushpa’ Thangadurai, passed away at a hospital in Chennai on Sunday after a brief illness, family sources said. He was 82 and a bachelor. He is survived by his sister.
Sri Lankan Tamil writer Thelivathai Joseph, whose writings captured the life and culture of the plantation Tamils, has been selected for this year’s Vishnupuram Elakkiya Vattam award. The award, instituted by the readers of writer Jeyamohan’s masterpiece Vishnupuram, carries Rs 1 lakh cash and a memento.
By Aijaz Zaka Syed Some time ago, I promised myself that I would stay off Modi. The decision was inspired as much by my own frequent rants against the man as much as it had been by the fatigue we have all begun to feel lately given the ubiquitous, endless adulation in the blanket coverage …
By Mohd Alami Musa Synopsis The Malaysian Court of Appeal’s decision to forbid the use of the term ‘Allah’ in the Catholic weekly The Herald is seen by many as a triumph for Muslims. The reference to the term ‘Allah’ is not exclusive to Muslims. In the context of Singapore, the court process is not …
Continue reading ‘Is the Usage of the Term “Allah” For Muslims Only?’ »
(Text of a Press Release Issued by the Ahila Ilangai Tamil Mahasabha) The Akhila Ilankai Tamil United Front was inaugurated in December 2005. It received the recognition of the Commissioner of Elections of Sri Lanka in February 2006.
Text and Pix by-Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai Jaffna’s Main Street begins at a curvy corner at the entry point to the peninsula. and gets connected to the Jaffna town through the long and winding A9 Highway. Here is a street that had faced enormous challenges and witnessed causalities. Lives have been lost on this road and its …
Continue reading ‘A Stroll in Time Through Jaffna City Main Street’ »
The Australian Writers’ Guild (AWG) and the Adelaide Film Festival (AFF) are excited to announce the sixth winner of the esteemed INSITE AWARD, a biennial national competition for un-produced screenplays. Tigress, written by Jane Hampson, was named the winner at the AFF on Sunday 13th October, by AWG President Jan Sardi, the internationally acclaimed and …
Dr. Tanya Ekanayaka, Sri Lanka’s outstanding and internationally acclaimed pianist-composer returns to St Martin-in-the-Fields this season for her third solo recital at this iconic concert venue. Classically trained and with a background in Asian and Popular musics, she is also a musicologist and linguist. She began studying the piano when she was just five years …
N. Ravi has taken over as Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu, and Malini Parthasarathy as Editor of The Hindu. Arun Anant is no longer the Chief Executive Officer of Kasturi & Sons Limited, the company that owns and publishes The Hindu Group of publications. N. Ram has become Chairman of KSL and Publisher of The Hindu …
(Text of a press release issued by the Tamil National Alliance Media Office)
By Vijay Lokapalli His bat will rest, not his legacy. By choosing the stage for his final walk to the crease, Sachin Tendulkar has followed in the footsteps of Sir Donald Bradman. One of the finest batsmen of the modern era has, like the great Australian, given his fans a chance to be part of …
Full Text of Statement issued by the Chief Minister, Northern Provincial Council, after taking Oaths of Office on October 7, 2013. I took oaths a little while ago this morning undertaking to faithfully perform the functions of my office. My office is a gift from my people. They have mandated me to perform my duties …
By Harrish Thirukumaran Part V “Save the Best for Last” – An Authentic African Safari Etosha National Park had been our next and final recreational activity in Namibia. Arguably, it was also considered the most hyped event during our time in Namibia. It was held on the 2nd Friday and Saturday of our 3- week …
by Chitra Weerarathne The Supreme Court yesterday, ruled that land powers were vested in the government and not in the Provincial Councils. In its judgment, the Court explained that the Provincial Councils would have legislative competence to make statutes to administer state lands only if those lands were made available to the Provincial Councils by …
By Jon Snow William Hague,GL Peiris and Julie Bishop Clink Glasses Together Last night, in a dimly lit side street a stone’s throw from the towering UN headquarters here in New York, Britain co-hosted a drinks party with Sri Lanka – a country led by regime accused of the worst war crimes committed this century. …
By Dharisha Bastians Nine months after the Sri Lankan Government ousted Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake from office, her sacking has caused unprecedented problems in a most unlikely place – Marlborough House London, the home of the Commonwealth Secretariat. President Mahinda Rajapaksa arrives with his wife Mrs Shiranthi Rajapaska at the Commonwealth Heads of Government lunch …
By Shamindra Ferdinando Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa yesterday alleged that the US Embassy in Colombo was pursuing a political agenda extremely detrimental to Sri Lanka’s interests. Although the government was doing everything in its power to restore democracy following three decades of war, the US embassy was all out ot undermine it, Defence Secretary Rajapaksa …
by Bob Rae Vote reveals Sri Lanka’s unavoidable truth: Other voices must be heard The results are in for the provincial election in Sri Lanka’s northern most province, the area around Jaffna, and they are clear as a bell: nearly 80 per cent of voters, despite much evidence of harassment, cast their ballots for the …
by Vishnuguptha “Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go.” ~Hermann Hesse Analysis and dissecting is not necessary. I am not going to indulge in that paralyzing exercise anymore. Why and how did the United National Party lose? The simple answer is: the people didn’t vote for the …
By Dharisha Bastians UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay put Sri Lanka put on notice to conduct credible investigations into allegations of human rights abuses before March 2014, failing which the international community will have a duty to establish its own investigative mechanism. The UN High Commissioner who was reporting to the Council on her …
(Oral update on September 25th 2013 at Geneva by Ms.Navi Pillay ,UN High Commissioner for Human Rights at 24th session of UN Human Rights Council on promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka) 1. On behalf of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, I am pleased to provide this oral update on implementation of Human …
Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, I warmly congratulate Your Excellency John William Ashe, on the assumption of the Chair of the 68th Session of the UNGA, and also thank His Excellency Vuk Jeremic, for effective stewardship of the last Session.
By: Rosie DiManno While President Mahinda Rajapaksa will paint “Paradise Island” in democratic colours for the General Assembly, the UN human rights commissioner will deliver a damning appraisal COLOMBO, SRI LANKA—Twenty-four hours after Sri Lanka goes on the defensive at the United Nations in New York, the UN will go on the offensive against Sri …
Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka, UN at loggerheads over human rights’ »
By: Rosie DiManno The government coalition in Sri Lanka was trounced in the Northern Province, held to just seven seats. It will be impossible for the regime to spin the outcome as anything other than a thorough denunciation of the status quo as engineered in Colombo KILINOCHCHI, SRI LANKA—In an election that was largely symbolic, …
Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka election shows Tamils reject the status quo’ »
by Smriti Daniel Thirty km south-west of Colombo port, the S.S Worcestershire lies some 60 m deep. It is one of an estimated 200 wrecks that garland the island of Sri Lanka. Fascinated by its history, eager to rise to the challenge of a technical dive, Dharshana Jayawardena would later recall his descent to the …
(Text of an Editorial appearing in “The Hindu”of September 24th 2013 under the heading “Testing Time for Jaffna”) Sri Lanka has crossed an important milestone toward national reconciliation with the holding of elections to its Northern provincial council. Held more than four years after the war against the LTTE ended, and for the first time …
(Text of a Press statement issued by the Ministry of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development) Hon. Douglas Devananda, Minister of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development and Secretary General of the EPDP states that the Tamil National Alliance having accepted the mandate received from the people at the Northern Provincial Council election held this …
by Dharisha Bastians in Mannar (This article was published in the “Daily Financial Times”of September 20th 2013 before the Northern Provincial Council Elections held on September 21st 2013) In the coastal District of Mannar in the Northern Province, where salty sea breezes blow, everyone is part of a marginalised community. The unique ethnic composition of …
by DR DAYAN JAYATILLEKA Having been in my early 30s, a Minister in the North-East Provincial Council a quarter century ago – I resigned within six months – I remember how easily it can all go wrong and what the landmines are. I also have some sense of how they may be avoided; what must …
(Text of Statement released by the Tamil National Alliance on the results of the Northern Provincial Council Election 2013) The Tamil National Alliance – Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi – has achieved a resounding victory at the Northern Provincial Council election, winning nearly 80% of the seats in the Northern Province and nearly 90% of the …
by Gibson Bateman and Rathika Innasimuttu In a significant vote this weekend, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) won 30 out of 38 seats in Sri Lanka’s Northern Provincial Council. The ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) won a mere seven seats. The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) captured one seat. To fully comprehend what’s just …
by Meera Srinivasan The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) may have reached a historic, political milestone in winning the Northern Provincial polls, but the actual game begins now.
By Srilal Miththapala Returning home on Sunday late in the morning along the High Level road, I noticed that there was elephant dung on the side of the road and I surmised that there was a tame elephant walking along the road somewhere in front of me. From the quantity of dung I guessed that …
By Kalana Senaratne The TNA has swept the polls in the North. More importantly, the Tamil people have voted courageously, convincingly, and clearly. It was an expected outcome, but as President Rajapaksa took off to New York, he would have known that numbers and statistics on paper, more than just mind-made presumptions, can have a …
by Col R Hariharan Map showing ‘Eelam’-The Economist of Dec 2007 About 78.5 percent of 4.25 lakh people of Northern Province who voted in the Provincial Council elections on September 21, 2013 have given the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) a thumping victory. The TNA won 30 seats including 2 bonus seats in the 38-member council …
By C.A.Chandraprema The nomination of C.V. Wigneswaran to the position of TNA chief ministerial candidate, is in many ways reminiscent of the appointment of M.Tiruchelvam to be the minister of the Ilangei Tamil Arasu Kachchi in the Dudley Senanayake led government of 1965. At that time Tiruchelvam, a retired Solicitor General, was appointed to the …
By Lasanda Kurukulasuriya It is with a sense of disillusionment that many in the South will observe the final stages of the first ever Northern Provincial Council election process as the results start coming in today. Moderates and progressive minded sections in civil society, as well as those in government ranks such as the Left …
Continue reading ‘Will TNA’s election mandate promote Northern Tamils’, or Diaspora’s agenda?’ »
By N.Sathiya Moorthy The much-awaited Northern Provincial Council (NPC) polls have come and gone. Much was said, over-said and unsaid when the Province was on campaign-mode. It is thus time that the Government at the Centre and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) revived the relative congeniality and mutual comfort that had marked their forgotten post-war …
by DR DAYAN JAYATILLEKA The TNA victory has shown that Sri Lanka remains a functioning democracy; that it functions when there is competition; and that with or without the 17th amendment and even under the tightest military supervision, the government can be electorally defeated. Having won the war, the Government has lost the peace in …
By Vishnuguptha “If I advocate cautious optimism it is not because I do not have faith in the future but because I do not want to encourage blind faith.” ~Aung San Suu Kyi Chandrasiri is a retired electrician. He obtained employment with the advent of the J R Jayewardene Government in 1977. Born and bred …
By Gibson Bateman and Rathika Innasimuttu Introduction United National High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay recently concluded her visit to Sri Lanka. It’s hard to imagine a High Commissioner delivering a tougher statement than the one she gave on August 31 in Colombo. A hard-hitting update later this month will be followed by a …
By Izeth Hussain Bravo Rauf Hakeem! Bravo Rishad Bathiudin! Bravo the SLMC! Bravo the Sri Lanka Muslim Council! And Bravo all the Muslims who gave vent to the widespread sense of outrage felt by most Muslims over certain statements made by the Defence Secretary! Unfortunately other Muslim politicians, who were splendidly outspoken on the anti-Muslim …
By Dr Nirmala Chandrahasan The recently announced TNA manifesto has caused a lot of debate and trepidation among some sections. Hence it would be useful to look at the document to see whether there is any cause for such trepidation and what the provincial Council once it is constituted will be in a position to …
By Dharisha Bastians in Jaffna On the eve of Sri Lanka’s most crucial post war election for the island’s minority Tamil population, the capital of the Northern Province is a strangely quiet place. Jaffna saw a violent surge in the wee hours of election eve, with the attack on the home of a prominent Tamil …
Continue reading ‘Northerners Get Ready to Vote in a Provincial Poll After 25 Years’ »
By Dharisha Bastians in Jaffna Historic elections in the Northern Province took a vicious turn 24 hours after campaigning ended, when the Jaffna home of the Tamil National Alliance candidate Ananthi Sasitharan was besieged and her supporters and a local election monitor assaulted early last morning. Sasitharan had noticed uniformed personnel outside her home out …
By Chen Shaua Fui KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 19): Human rights activist Lena Hendry claimed trial today to a charge of screening a documentary without approval from the Film Censorship Board. She was released on a RM1,000 bail and a surety by the magistrate’s court here today. Judge Ashraf Rezal Abd Manan fixed Oct 21 for …
By Padma Rao Sundarji (Full text of HT’s exclusive interview given by Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to Padma Rao Sundarji, published in the Hindustan Times of September 17, 2013) HT: Mr. Rajapaksa, in May 2009, your government and army managed to do something all previous governments in Sri Lanka had failed to do: end the …
By Meera Srinivasan Vasanthakumar Thiruchelvi does not, even for a second, take her eyes off her two children. Even as she summons her daughter who is jumping over sand and cement heaped around their soon-to-be home, her son threatens to lift the tiles stacked nearby. “Now come here, it might fall on your leg,” she …
Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai reporting from Koovil, Jaffna District Gnansakthy Sritharan is a former politician and an ex cadre of Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (Pathmanabha Wing), and is currently contesting in Jaffna District under the United People’s Freedom Alliance banner in the forthcoming Provincial Council Elections in the North of Sri Lanka. Gnanasakthy Sritharan in Koovil …
Continue reading ‘“I want to serve my people because I feel their pain”~ Gnanasakthy Sritharan’ »
Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai reporting from Chulipuram, Jaffna District Tamil National Alliance’s Jaffna District candidate Ananthy Sasitharan’s posters in Chulipuram Ananthy Sasitharan is the wife of Ezhilan (Sinnaththurai Sasitharan), former Trincomalee District’s Political Wing Leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. He surrendered along with many other senior combatants of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam …
By Dr.Vickramabahu Karunaratne Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa speaking on behalf the government said that the TNA was attempting to push Tamils in the North to spread racism and separatism. According to him, the appeal to vote for the new manifesto amounted to that and nothing less. The minister further said that it was crystal …
By Sathya Liyanasuriya The forty third Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake appeared in the Colombo Magistrate’s court this week when a case filed against her by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption was called for hearing in an unprecedented event in the annals of justice in the country. Declining any special privileges, Bandaranayake …
By Vishnuguptha “Science is not, despite how it is often portrayed, about absolute truths. It is about developing an understanding of the world, making predictions, and then testing these predictions.” – ~Brian Schmidt The much awaited elections for the trio of Provincial Councils, Wayamba, Central and North are upon us. In the next forty eight …
(TEXT OF PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE EMBASSY OF THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA TO BELGIUM, LUXEMBOURG AND THE EUROPEAN UNION) Sri Lanka’s Head of Mission to the European Union, Ambassador P.M. Amza, addressing the Meeting of the European Parliament’s Delegation for the Relations with the Countries in South Asia, (DSAS), on 17 …
by Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka The men of the Sri Lankan armed forces did not die, lose their limbs, their eyesight, their futures, so that the fascist separatist Prabhakaran could be openly hailed as a great hero, his photographs distributed, his songs sung and his organisation sanitised in the same battlefields. The revivalism that we have …
By Susitha R. Fernando With the campaigns for three Provincial Council elections heating up and the government busily getting ready for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), the Daily Mirror spoke to main opposition, the United National Party to clarify its stance on various issues especially the recent meeting with UN Human Rights High …
by Taylor Dibbert On foreign affairs, the US is looking somewhat irrelevant these days. Regarding Syria’s chemical weapons, it looks like a “deal” has been reached, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. Now, it’s not clear whether Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent (and ridiculous) New York Times op-ed helped facilitate anything, …
Continue reading ‘Obama Happens to be a President but he most certainly is not a Leader’ »
(Text of a press communique issued by the Ministry of Traditional Industries and small Enterprise Development) Hon. Basil Rajapakse, Minister of Economic Development , addressing several political rallies held in Chunnakam, Araly and Velanai electorates in Jaffna district on the 10th and 11th of September 2013, said that massive development projects at a cost of …
by D.B.S.Jeyaraj Thirteenth Death Anniversary of Legendary Muslim Congress Leader THE tragedy of September 16 2000 involving an MI-17 helicopter of the Sri Lanka Air Force above the Urakanda mountain range in the Aranayaka area in Kegalle district of Sabaragamuwa province resulted in the death of a dynamic political leader of the island – Cabinet …
by N Sathiya Moorthy Tamil National Alliance (TNA) chief ministerial candidate for the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) elections in Sri Lanka, Justice C V Wigneswaran, could not have said it more candidly and categorically. It is a strong and unwavering indictment of the Tamil Nadu political class, who have often been accused of indulging in …
By Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka The TNA manifesto is not secessionist. It does however unlock the door and keep it ajar for secessionism. I do not know whether Mr Sumanthiran ever bowled spin for my father’s old school, Royal College, but he is certainly doing so for his party the TNA and the Tamil nationalist project. …
By Dilrukshi Handunnetti Among the most historic monuments found in Jaffna is a ravaged fortress with pockmarks, still standing as living evidence of Dutch rule and its influence in Sri Lanka’s North. Initially built as a small garrison in Jaffna by the Portuguese after they invaded the North in 1618, the Dutch captured it in …
Part IV: Discovering Social Divide and Desert Transitioning to Oceans and Beaches by Harrish Thirukumaran Mural Symbolism Painting, had been another relevant project that asked for our contributions as well. This opportunity was required for the entire group to equally participate in as part of a running tradition by the Brock University abroad program. It …
By Vishnuguptha “Up the hill-side; and now ’tis buried deep In the next valley-glades: Was it a vision, or a waking dream? Fled is that music:—do I wake or sleep?” ~ John Keats– Ode to a Nightingale Death is the greatest equalizer that ever paraded among mankind. With its enormous power and in the most …
by N.Sathiya Moorthy By coming up with a controversial election manifesto when none was required to win the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) polls of September 21, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) may have put the cart before the horse, and advanced excuses well before time. This could lead to the party losing the confidence of …
By Lasanda Kurukulasuriya As the Northern Provincial Council election draws nearer many contradictions appear in the heavy rhetoric used by major players in the campaign, in relation to the circumstances they refer to. The TNA is seen as the frontrunner in the five Northern districts of Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Vavuniya and Mannar, having presented a …
Continue reading ‘Northern election, Nationalist rhetoric and the threat to Communal harmony’ »
By Sujeeva Nivunhella in London Tamil Eelam lobbyists suffered a setback when a ruse to project the LTTE flag as the official symbol representing the Tamil language on two websites was spotted by the Sri Lankan High Commission in London, which lodged a strong protest resulting in the immediate deletion of the material by the …
Malaysia Tamil tycoon billionaire T. Ananda Krishnan, of Sri Lankan descent, recently visited his only son Ven Ajahn Siripanyo, a Buddhist monk, who is at a meditation retreat in Penang Hill (Bukit Bendera), reported by local Chinese daily Kwong Wah Yit Poh. Clad in t-shirt and jeans, the 74-year-old tycoon was spotted arriving at the …
By Somapala Gunadheera When Justice Wigneswaran was selected to be the Chief Ministerial Candidate for the North, I breathed a sigh of relief. Here was a man with so much in common with the two communities and personally known to me as an independent, impartial and intrepid judge, selected for a post that could have …
by Greg Sheridan Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and Selvarasa Pathmanathan used to be the deadliest of enemies. Now they have the same message. I meet the two within a period of 24 hours in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s largest city.
by DR DAYAN JAYATILLEKA PORTAL, PRECIPICE OR POLITICAL SUICIDE BOMB? “The Tamil Tigers…were the most supremely deadly and effective terrorist group to emerge at any time in the second half of the 20th century…There is no overall moral equivalence between the government of Sri Lanka and the Tigers.”– Greg Sheridan, Foreign Editor, The Australian, ‘Sri …
by M.A.Sumanthiran M.P The NPC Election Campaign took a new turn last week with the government and many of its hard line allies protesting against the TNA Election ‘Manifesto’ released in Jaffna on 3rd Sept 2013. This is a new trend that commenced with the government ‘s disapproval of the TNA’s Chief Ministerial choice. It …
(Text of Media statement issued by Karu Jayasuriya -United National Party Member of Parliament – 13-09-2013) The recent escalation of religious tensions in the country has given rise to a deep sense of foreboding and a profound sadness for myself, and others in the United National Party. Our regret is shared by the vast majority …
By Meera Srinivasan Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has a crucial role in addressing the issue of Indian fishermen poaching in Sri Lankan waters, according to C.V. Wigneswaran, the Tamil National Alliance’s (TNA) Chief Ministerial candidate contesting the Northern Provincial Council elections. Fishermen in Karainagar with damaged nets-pic by: Meera Srinivasan Indian fishermen using big …
Steve Biko was an anti-apartheid activist during the 1960s and 1970s and founder of the Black Conscious Movement that empowered and mobilised the South Africa’s black population to fight against minority rule.
By Ranga Jayasuriya This writer is by no means an apologist of the militarization of the country; however, for once, he could not help but agree with some salient points that the powerful Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, the chief protagonist of the militarization, had raised during his address at the Defence Seminar held last week. …
by Meera Srinivasan Tamil Nadu politicians use the Sri Lankan Tamils’ issue for their own gains, much to the detriment of the Tamils in Sri Lanka, said Justice C.V. Wigneswaran, the chief ministerial candidate of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) in the upcoming Northern Provincial Council elections. Speaking to The Hindu in the midst of …
by Sulochana Ramiah Mohan Governor of the Northern Province, Maj. Gen. G.A. Chandrasiri, maintained he has the right to be in any part of Sri Lanka as he is representing President Mahinda Rajapaksa, and he is not concerned about the allegations that he is participating in election propaganda for the ruling party in the Northern …
by Alan Keenan Concluding her recent fact-finding trip to Sri Lanka, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay warned that President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government was “heading in an increasingly authoritarian direction… despite the opportunity provided by the end of the war to construct a new vibrant, all-embracing state”. Pillay’s statement cited a long and …
By Taylor Dibbert I’m not a warmonger, but there are times when there’s no substitute for decisive military action. And while there’s a lot that I don’t like about President Barack Obama, it’s his indecision that tops the list. (Unbridled arrogance and professorial aloofness are tied for second). After seeing the way events have unfolded …
by Austin Fernando The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has launched its Manifesto for the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) Elections. I am reminded of a former Prime Minster commenting on election Manifestoes as publications facilitating electoral victory and nothing more! If the TNA was of the same frame of mind and mood, it must be happy …
Continue reading ‘TNA Manifesto-For Power Sharing or Separation?’ »
By Tisaranee Gunasekara “ The war will stop only after all the enemies who acted to the detriment of their motherland were brought to book irrespective of whether they were local or international”. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa (Indian Express – 11.8.2009). If the LTTE wanted what the TNA is asking for, the Eelam War would have ended …
By M. S. Shah Jahan “Feet stumbling in the pitch darkness over the uneven ground we make our way with a group of women to one of the bathrooms in the Zaatari camp. There is no light, if we come in here there could be a guy hiding or something,” one woman said. What she …
Continue reading ‘Teenage Brides Are For Sale in Syrian Refugee Camp in Jordan!’ »
By Latheef Farook Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s statement on what he described as the “emergence of Muslim extremism” has shocked and dismayed the island’s besieged and helpless Muslim community. Addressing a defense seminar at Galadari Hotel on Tuesday 3 September Mr.Gotabaya Rajapaksa stated that the country was faced with an uphill task of tackling Sinhala …
by Tudor Wijenayake A seminar was held recently at the Mahatma Gandhi Centre at Kirulapone for the reawakening of the long-delayed ‘A River for Jaffna’ project. The Chief Spokesperson at the seminar was Dr. D.L.O. Mendis, who briefly outlined the project followed by a discussion and the seminar was attended by numbers of senior engineers. …
By Vishnuguptha “Now I know what a ghost is. Unfinished business, that’s what.” ~ Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Verses The regime has made a very serious error; an error in judgment, an error in governance and this time an error in politics too. But this is a regime that is known to be well-versed in …
Continue reading ‘Govt Blunders Badly by Overestimating Itself and Underestimating Navi Pillay’ »
by Parvathi Menon Faced with protests and threats of disruption by Sri Lankan Tamil groups, three major cinema companies in the U.K. have decided not to screen Madras Café in their theatres. The political action thriller directed by Shoojit Sircar — and set in the background of the civil war in Sri Lanka in the …
by Deepika Muralidharan Popular film personalities and people from different walks of life paid rich tributes to legendary music composer M. S. Viswanathan, popularly known as MSV, at a function organised by Kalai Peravai at the National College grounds here on Saturday evening. The function was brought up in recognition of MSV’s yeoman service in …
By Sathya Liyanasuriya This week saw the death of Sunila Abeysekera, arguably Sri Lanka’s best known human rights activist. Abeysekera, 61, died at a private hospital in Colombo after a long battle with cancer. Growing up in Colombo, Sunila Abeysekera’s interest in human rights began four decades ago, when it was not fashionable to dabble …
by N Sathiya Moorthy With four candidates in the fray, Maldives has voted on expected lines, in the first round of the presidential polls on Saturday, Sep 7. Translated, the Indian Ocean archipelago would go in for a second, run-off round for deciding the next president. It was so even in the first ever multi-party …
Continue reading ‘First Round of Presidential Poll Shows Democracy has come to Stay in Maldives.’ »
By Dharisha Bastians Earlier this week, Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa made what was possibly the most remarkable ruling party promise yet during its electioneering in the Northern Province. Thus far, UPFA election speeches have been confined to pleas of gratitude for liberation from the LTTE and post-war reconstruction, coupled with dire warnings about the …
By Stanley Samarasinghe General Secretary of the Sinhala Jathika Peramuna, Jayantha Liyanage, of Kurunegala yesterday filed a Writ Application in the Court of Appeal, seeking an Interim Order to suspend the Provincial Council election in the North. The petitioner cited the Commissioner of Elections and the returning officers in the North as respondents. The petitioner …
Missing Person Details Name: Mrs. Chitra Karunaratne Age: 69 Gender: Female Physical aspects: Height 5’2”, Weight 40 Kg, Lean build, Brown skin, Dark brown eyes. Address: 38/1 Manthrimulla Road, Attidiya. Dehiwala
by Dr.Vickramabahu Karunaratne The HR Commissioner spoke about an authoritarian state developing in this country; there is a debate as to what she meant by that. Did she mean a developing military dictatorship or something else? On the other hand President Rajapaksa ridiculed this idea, “A dictator is a ruler who does not hold elections,” …
(Text of a Media Communiqué issued by the Ministry of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development -Media Unit) Hon. Douglas Devananda, Minister of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development, addressing the public rallies held in Kattupulam, Ponnalai, Chullipuram, Chettiamadam and Araly on the 2nd of September 2013 for obtaining support for victory of the UPFA …
by Upul Joseph Fernando When former Supreme Court Judge, C.V. Wigneswaran, was first chosen by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) as its chief ministerial candidate for the Northern Provincial Council, which is soon to be established, the Tamil Tiger Diaspora levelled serious criticisms against him. The Tamilnet website, the mouthpiece of the Tamil Tigers, expressed …
by S.L.Gunasekara I am not, and never was an admirer/supporter of the synthetic `doctor’ Mervyn Silva and never thought the occasion would ever arise for me to say a good word about him or any of his acts, however, that occasion has now arisen. Amid the welter of voices expressing various views about or relating …
By Sulochana Ramiah Mohan The Student Movement of Tamil Nadu yesterday threatened to unmask former Supreme Court Justice, C.V. Wigneswaran, soon. “He is joining the Sri Lankan Government to set up a united Sri Lanka, whereas the Tamils want an Eelam,” one of the students told Ceylon Today. The Students Movement also alleged, the man …
By Shamindra Ferdinando The TNA’s controversial manifesto calling for self-governance in a re-merged North-Eastern Province was just propaganda meant to draw voters as all those contesting the first Northern PC polls, on the TNA ticket, had furnished a letter each to the Elections Secretariat reiterating their commitment to the unitary status of the country in …
By Ravinatha P.Aryasinha (Text of Statement by Ravinatha P. Aryasinha, Ambassador/Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva and Leader of the Sri Lanka Delegation at the 24th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), in response to the statement by the High Commissioner for Human …
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By Dr.Ameer Ali Sri Lanka’s Muslims are at an unprecedented and ominous crossroads. The community there is faced with an existential threat at the hands of an increasingly militant Buddhist minority, while the nation’s Muslim parliamentarians appear to be more powerless and mute than at any time since 1947. This impotence is startling because the …
(Text of letter sent by Tamil National Alliance Parliamentary Group Pleader Rajavarothayam Sampanthan to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa) 9th September 2013 HE Mahinda Rajapakshe, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, President’s House, Colombo 1. Your Excellency, Provincial Council Elections to the Northern Province I write with reference to the above Elections …