By C. V. Vivekananthan | Attorney-at-law In the year 1983, Vivienne Goonewardene filed a Fundamental Rights Application against Hector Perera and Others. Cows in Nilaveli, with Pigeon Island in the background-pic by: Drs. Sarajevo The Supreme Court held that the State was liable for the transgression of fundamental rights the police committed when he was …
by Thulasi Muttulingam Hindu devotees will be thronging the thoroughfares of Colombo in colourful processions over the next few days. Chariot processions, coconuts being smashed, people decked in their brightest colours worshipping with camphor and flame, youngsters dancing the Kavadi dance and many other features of the Tamil Hindu community will be displayed on the …
Continue reading ‘Aadi Vel Festival in Colombo a Colourful Spectacle’ »
By Vishnuguptha “All government, indeed every human benefit and enjoyment, every virtue, and every prudent act, is founded on compromise and barter.”—Edmund Burke The power struggle within the United National Party (UNP) between Ranil Wickremesinghe and the reformists, led by Karu Jayasuriya and Sajith Premadasa, seems to be heading to a disastrous finale with the …
by Kath Noble It’s hard to know when to take official statements seriously. The government isn’t known for taking the quiet, cautious approach. Indeed, its spokesmen very often make obviously false claims, such as that Mervyn hasn’t done anything wrong or that no civilians were killed during the war. They seem to think the public …
Continue reading ‘Will costly projects in Hambantota District be worth the investment?’ »
by T.V. Rajeswar The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced that it is acceding to a request from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for the revival of matches between India and Pakistan in December this year. The BCCI decided to resume cricketing ties with Pakistan by inviting the Pakistan cricket team …
By Udaya Gammanpila “How do you analyze Sri Lanka’s growing relationship with China disturbing neighbouring India?” I was posed with the above question or a question similar to that by Mano Tittawella. I was a panelist at a discussion of the Sri Lanka Economic Summit organized by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and Tittawella was …
by Priya Thangarajah Last Friday, a few of us were prohibited from entering Silk: a club in Colombo. The reason: “people like you are not allowed” i.e queer women. I remember awhile back when another friend was banned from another club for looking ‘butch’ Should I be happy that the ‘pink’ Rupee has made no …
Continue reading ‘Dancing Around In Smaller Circles: A Queer Feminist Rant’ »
By Dr. Habib Siddiqui In his book – Worse Than War – Daniel Jonah Goldhagen says that during mass murders, the murderers themselves, their supporters and those who wish to stand idly by practice linguistic camouflage. Bangladesh, Arakanese refugee camps, July 23, 2012. Photography by Osman Sağırlı-IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, Turkey And this has been …
Continue reading ‘Myanmar regime uses five principal methods to eliminate the Rohingyas in Burma’ »
BY Amanda Hodge | Colombo THE first Tamil man to be deported from Australia since the end of the Sri Lankan war was returned a week after Sri Lanka’s navy chief complained to Australia’s high commissioner of double standards in the treatment of Sinhalese and Tamil asylum-seekers. The Australian has learned that a reported clash …
By N. Sathiya Moorthy No debate or discourse in contemporary Sri Lanka or on Sri Lanka will be complete without a reference to India. Depending on the issue, like the ‘national problem’, strategic security or economy, ‘factors’ such as Tamil Nadu, China or aid get a reference. The same can be said about India’s equations …
Continue reading ‘Tamil Moderates need political solution to stay relevant now and in the future’ »
Ex Army Chief put on firing line by Rohan Abeywardene War winning general turned outspoken critic of the government and Leader of the Democratic National Alliance Sarath Fonseka sat with us recently for a no-holds-barred interview. Although he, unlike some big talking politicians, did not rule out any queries, we could not pose a few …
By M.A.Sumanthiran M.P The phrase ‘self-determination’ raises many alarms in Sri Lanka today. The reason for that is the myth that somehow, if the right to self-determination is ceded to the Tamils of this country, it will automatically lead to secession. Although, various shades of this concept were expressed in different times before the twentieth …
Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka’s Tamils are entitled to the Right of Self-determination’ »
by K.S. Sivakumaran With an un-enthusiastic frame of mind thinking that the Ramanathan Hindu Ladies College situated in Bambalapitiya on Duplication Road near the Colombo Hindu College and Saraswathi Hall would be yet another Government School I went to meet the Principal, Kothai Nagularajah and her well-mannered and enthusiastic staff recently. Her staff of more …
Continue reading ‘Ramanathan Hindu Ladies College: One of the outstanding Schools in Colombo’ »
by Phil Lynch THERE is mounting evidence that Australia’s close co-operation with Sri Lanka on the prevention of people-smuggling and the interception of asylum-seeker boats is compromising our approach to human rights in that country. It is well documented that the Sri Lankan government was responsible for mass human rights violations towards the end of …
By Dr. Bibhu Prasad Routray As forty-five people lost their lives and 200,000 people were rendered homeless in the week-long communal violence between the Bodo tribals and the Muslim immigrants, the Assam government in northeast India ummed and ahhed. Men, women and children from 500 villages filled in the 128 temporary relief camps and in …
Continue reading ‘Recent Assam Violence rooted in factors of Demography and Politics’ »
by National Peace Council An action plan prepared by the government with regard to the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission was released last week. There are 91 recommendations that the action plan takes cognizance of. Each of these recommendations is looked at in terms of specific activities they entail. The action plan also identifies the …
By Salma Yusuf Post–war rehabilitation of ex-combatants is a relatively new discipline in the field of international transitional justice. What is even newer is the increasing recognition of the inextricable link between successful rehabilitation programmes and the achievement of genuine and sustainable national reconciliation. In fact, rehabilitation programmes are now regarded as a sine qua …
By Dilrukshi Handunnetti For 25 years, Sri Lankan Tamil refugees have been reaching the shores of Tamil Nadu, the Indian state closest to Sri Lanka, for their safety. It is in these camps and in small settlements in rural Tamil Nadu that they found safety and shelter for years. It is also in these camps …
by Azra Ameen Hundreds took part in protests all over the island after Friday prayers calling on the government for speedy resettlement of the internally displaced Muslims and to take action against conspirators obstructing the resettlement of the Muslims of the North. Subsequently, the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama and several other Muslim organizations presented a …
Continue reading ‘Conflicting versions about the courts conflict incident in Mannar’ »
by Lynn Ockersz ‘Collective solution should be arrived at through a process of consultation’: President Mahinda Rajapaksa said yesterday that the solution to the issues faced by our communities resides in Parliament, where all relevant parties must parley together and arrive at a consensual remedy, since the problem is of a national nature. “This is …
By Hemantha Warnakulasuriya (CONTINUED FROM LAST WEEK) On beingtelephoned by Minister Rishad Bathiudeen , the Mannar Magistrate immediately contacted the Judicial Service Commission and gave in writing a complaint. In the mean time, Minister Rishad Bathiudeen personally called on the Secretary of JSC and wanted the Magistrate transferred. He was told that the judges could …
Continue reading ‘How a cabinet Minister threatened a Magistrate cum Additional District Judge -2’ »
By Col. R. Hariharan Extracts of my answers to questions raised by media on the India-Sri Lanka Agreement 1987 in the last two days are given below. The Rajiv Gandhi-Jayawardane Accord completes 25 years on July 29, 1987. Many now feel it represents a total diplomatic failure of India. As one who was present in …
Continue reading ‘25 years of India-Sri Lanka Agreement: Questions & Answers’ »
By Matias Spektor Brazilian attitudes toward national sovereignty and non-intervention are in a state of flux. Leaders in Brasília are seeking to actively take part in the current global rethink about the future of humanitarian intervention, and are increasingly willing to deploy men in uniform to distant lands when the lives of civilians are at …
by Richard Falk There has been serious confusion associated with the widespread embrace of ‘soft power’ as a preferred form of diplomacy for the 21st century. Joseph Nye introduced and popularized the concept, and later it was adopted and applied in a myriad of settings that are often contradictory from the perspective of international law …
Yasaratne Gamage | In Mannar ‘The resettlement of IDPs in the North will be accomplished 100 percent by mid-August this year. All welfare camps in the North will be shut down, Defence and Urban Development Ministry Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said. Speaking after opening the Army reconstructed two storeyed orphanage ‘Blessed Virgin’s Children’s Home’ at Kaththankulam, …
by Ananth Krishnan CRI Tamil – with a network of listeners’ clubs in T.N. – in talks with Chennai’s FM stations for launch of a daily two-hour broadcast The state-run China Radio International’s Tamil radio station, the most popular of its more than 60 international channels, marked its 49th anniversary here on Sunday announcing plans …
Tamils have consistently made it clear that a unitary constitution and a provincial council system within the confines of a unitary constitution are incapable of fulfilling their political aspirations. In this regard it is notable that Tamil political parties with a Tamil Nationalist dispensation had chosen to boycott the two provincial council elections that took …
by Amanda Hodge | in Colombo THE Sri Lankan navy has called for Australia to send back large numbers of asylum-seekers as a real deterrent to people-smugglers, and warned that its efforts to help the Gillard government combat the problem were rapidly draining its scarce resources. Senior naval officials have also flagged the possibility of …
About 700 migrants have been arrested so far this year, and more than half of them in the last three weeks. The final segment of Al Jazeera’s three-part series on Australia’s immigration debate looks at attempts to stop so-called boat people from making the dangerous voyage. Al Jazeera’s Minelle Fernandez reports: Al Jazeera interview re: …
by Amanda Hodge | On the SLNS Samudura UNDER a clammy half-moon, the Sri Lankan navy ship Samudura inches towards the intimidating beams of a 330m super-tanker until the two hulls collide with a gentle thud. The SLNS Samudura is less than one-fifth the size of the Euronav, but it was the navy that was …
by Uri Avnery “He talks Zionism,” used to be a very derogatory comment when I was young. It meant that some elderly functionary had come to waste our time with a boring speech consisting largely of empty phrases. That was before the foundation of the State of Israel. Since then, the term Zionism has been …
Continue reading ‘Staunchly Zionist Policy of The State of Israel leads to self-destruction’ »
By Namini Wijedasa The government made it clear last week that there will be no separate event on National Day to express solidarity and empathy will all victims of the war, as recommended by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission. What would be observed instead was the present practice of continuing to “express solidarity as …
By Namini Wijedasa Sarath Palitha de Silva, the newly appointed attorney-general, said last week there was no political interference in the attorney general’s department and that all officers were able to work according to their conscience. Excerpts from the interview:
by Premasara Epasinghe (legendary Cricketer and cricket administrator Abu Fuard passed away on July 28th at the age of 75.This article written in 2010 is reproduced here in honour of his memory) He was a man for all seasons. His life is woven around cricket. In early 1950s, he was one of the best schoolboy …
Continue reading ‘Legendary Cricketer Abu Fuard whose life was woven around Cricket’ »
BY Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema Industries Minister Rishad Bathiudeen while denying the allegation leveled against him of trying to intimidate Mannar Magistrate Anthonypillai Judeson says that he has never met or spoken to him. “I respect courts and I’m a charted engineer and I know it would be wrong to try and intimidate a Magistrate. I …
The Ekamuthu Oray Makkal Unity Mission Camp, that looks to bridge the gap between the north and south builds strong bonds The organisers of the Ekamuthu Oray Makkal Unity Mission Camp have something to be surprised about every year. The camp held last month in Tharanikkulam was their fourth, but if they thought they knew …
Continue reading ‘Fourth Ekamuthu Oray Makkal Unity Mission Camp’ »
by Kishali Pinto Jayawardene Protesting Muslims who thronged Colombo’s streets demanding public attention in regard to the plight of their community in Mannar are as much a part of the democratic process as lawyers protesting against the attack on a court house in Mannar and the Judicial Service Association abstaining from sittings in protest against …
By Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema President of the Mannar Bar Association, I. C. Feldano says that action needs to be taken regarding this matter of political interference in the judiciary or else it would be a bad precedent. He said the order made by the Mannar Magistrate Anthonypillai Judeson was fair since he has given time …
(Following is the English translation of the document sent by the Mannar GA to Industries Minister Rishad Bathiudeen highlighting the background to the Mannar incident that started in 2002) Issues relating to fishermen settled in Thottaveli and tying boats belonging to them at the pier.
By Lakshman Indranath Keerthisinghe A ruler’s duty in the internal administration of the country is three fold: raksha or protection of the state from external aggression, palana or maintenance of law and order within the state and yogakshshema or safeguarding the welfare of the people. -Kautilya-The Arthashastra This column dedicated to the notion of fulfilling …
Continue reading ‘The Deplorable Political Criminal Intimidation Of A Magistrate by a Minister’ »
By Tisaranee Gunasekara “It is society that is dying so the tyrants can live” Irène Némirovsky, (Suite Française) A magistrate is not a displaced Tamil, a Sinhala worker or a university student; a magistrate is not even a journalist or a Samurdhi official. A magistrate is a far more august personage; the representative of an …
by Tisaranee Gunasekara “There are circumstances in which silence is lying”. Miguel de Unamuno (quoted in Mourir à Madrid by Fredrick Rossif) Riots are times of mob-rule. And in times of mob-rule, words of sanity and deeds of decency must occur in secret. That the Black July could not be condemned publicly while the fires …
Continue reading ‘Modern Ceylon’s first ethno-religious riot targeted not Tamils but Muslims’ »
By Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema A petition has been filed before the Colombo High Court against Deputy Resettlement Minister Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna Amman for allegedly taking over a prawn farm by force; set up by a company, Pearl Farms (Pvt) Ltd. Muralitharan is also a director of the company with a one third share and …
By Farha Iman Globalization or ‘Globalism’ is beneficial for the dominant and destructive for the submissive. It always streams from developed countries towards underdeveloped and developing countries in three ways: a) in the form of products and services b) as cultural dependency and domination c) and as deceptive thoughts to mould the thinking of the …
by Tissa Devendra I write this article, not as a scholar but as one who has spent his working life in government ‘service’ and hopes that his insights may be thought provoking. My firm conviction is that there never was, and never can there ever be, an independent public service in Sri Lanka. This panacea …
Continue reading ‘The Myth of a Independent Public Service’ »
By Ghali Hassan Every day Australian media outlets, led by the five major TV channels and the Murdoch press, propagate images of Australian soldiers as heroes treating injured Afghan children and doing construction work in Iraq. The notion that Australia is a “humanitarian” nation could not be farther from the truth. Behind this façade of …
By Amanda Hodge in Colombo with Additional Reporting by Joe Kelly EXHAUSTED and showing the strain of a horror week of deportation and interrogation, Dayan Anthony presented just the sobering warning he was intended to be as he fronted a Sri Lankan government media conference to warn of the repercussions of asylum-seeking. In sweat top …
The Muslim Council of Sri Lanka of Sri Lanka has appealed to President Mahinda Rajapaksa that he intervene and resolve the fishing dispute in Konthaipiddy,Mannar between Tamils from Vidathaltheevu and Muslims from Puthukkulam. The full text of the letter signed by Muslim Council President NM Ameen is as follows –
By N Sathiya Moorthy The death of an Indian fisherman off the UAE coast in a firing incident involving the US naval vessel, ’USNS Raapahannock’, is only the most recent of such incidents. Earlier, the Italian tanker, ’Enrica Lexie’ with anti-piracy guards on board had fired at Indian fishermen off the Kerala coast, killing two.
by Dr.Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri 6% of GDP for Education: Who is telling the truth? Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) is asking the government to prioritise education and to invest in education. Towards this end FUTA has shown a concrete figure of measurement: the allocation on education as a percentage of GDP.
By Shastri Ramachandran Tamil political parties are a strange lot. The plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka seems to stir them more than the plight of Tamils in Tamil Nadu or the rest of India. This July, they found enough pretexts to ‘show concern’ for their Tamil brethren in Sri Lanka.
By D.B.S. Jeyaraj Twenty –five years have passed since the signing of the Indo – Lanka accord by former Indian Prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and ex –Sri Lankan president Junius Richard Jayewardena on July 29th 1987. It was hailed as a great breakthrough when it was signed. Indian Parliamentary delegation visiting Sri Lanka pays tribute …
Continue reading ‘Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of The Indo-Lanka Accord’ »
by Col. R. Hariharan The India-Sri Lanka Agreement 1987, also known as the Rajiv-Jayawardene Accord, completes 25 years on July 29. Signing of Indo-Lanka accord As a soldier who actively participated in India’s military intervention in both Sri Lanka (1987-90) and East Pakistan in 1971 (that created Bangladesh), I cannot help comparing the two exercises …
Continue reading ‘East Pakistan and North-East Sri Lanka: A tale of two interventions’ »
By Vishnuguptha “Mankind will never see an end of trouble until… lovers of wisdom come to hold political power, or the holders of power… become lovers of wisdom.” Plato, The Republic Many arguments are being made for the legitimization and validity of the Executive Presidency system; amongst many and latest of which is the winning …
By Mike Andree It is very strange how the masses use the ballot to curb the freedoms that they had been enjoying for years. It is only after a long lapse that they come to their senses and realise that they had been led like wild animals to their own doom. Democracy is a double …
Continue reading ‘Kodeeswaran Case, Section 29 and Abolition of Privy Council’ »
Story & Photos by Vajira Wijesuriya A day trip from Anuradhapura, Mihintale is where Buddhism began in Sri Lanka. It is at this location that Arahat Mahinda, who came from India, stopped the Sri Lankan King Dewanampiyatissa from hunting and taught him Dhamma. Easily underestimated, but with many sites to visit, this place warrants an …
Continue reading ‘Mihintale the Cradle of Buddhism in Sri Lanka’ »
Galle Fort jumping of the ancient citadel walls started in the early 2009 and it is considered an equivalent to the bungee jump, only a lot more dangerous. The jumpers don’t even use an elasticized rope to pull you back from the near death experience, and do not have a clear landing point. This hair-raising …
Continue reading ‘The Daredevils who Jump into the sea from the ramparts of Galle Fort’ »
By Risidra Mendis The Comb Duck, spotted at the Yala National Park after a lapse of over 80 years, was once again being observed in larger numbers at the Wewegama Tank in the Mattala Managed Elephant Range (MER) in June 2012. The Comb Duck species (Sarkidiornis melanotus), believed to be a native of Sri Lanka, …
By Robert Amsterdam In Russia, nationalism takes many forms, bearing down even on the food Russians choose to eat. Politics have resulted in bans on Georgian wine and mineral water, “health concerns” over the sanitary condition of Polish sausages, and now, an easy target, McDonald’s hamburgers are under attack.
by Hevidar Ahmed ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Syrian governmental forces have retreated from the Kurdish regions of Syria without a fight; the liberated cities are now being ruled evenly by the People’s Council of Syrian Kurdistan (PYD) and the Kurdish National Council (KNC). According to the information obtained by Rudaw, the Kurdish cities of Kobane, …
Continue reading ‘Kurdish Nationalists Liberate Kurdish Regions in Syria after Army retreats’ »
by Nadira Gunatilleke The UPFA has done a lot for the people during the last eight years. There are landmarks such as ending the war. The people will take into account the macro picture in forming their opinions. I expect the people to vote for the UPFA in large numbers, said National Languages and Social …
by John Rankin | High Commissioner for the UK in Sri Lanka At 9pm (UK time)tonight (July 27th), a newly cast bell that is larger than Big Ben will ring out from London’s Olympic Stadium and the eyes of one billion people across the globe will be upon us. But what will they see? What …
Continue reading ‘British People are Incredibly Proud to Welcome The World’ »
By Jagath Gunawardana The commonest and most widespread of all endemic birds in Sri Lanka is the Small Barbet, which is also known as the Crimson-fronted Barbet, found in many home gardens and even in busy towns, including Colombo. It is often heard than seen and rather difficult to locate by the call.
by Risidra Mendis Animal welfare activists have welcomed the speedy development plans initiated by the newly appointed Director, Dehiwala Zoo, Anura de Silva who assumed duty in June 2012. Visitors who complained about cruelty to animals and other shortcomings at the zoo in the past are now likely to see less cruelty to animals. In …
Continue reading ‘New Director Anura De Silva initiates speedy development plans for Dehiwela Zoo’ »
By Stanley Samarasinghe The Appeal Court today (26) ordered the Minister of Industries and Commerce, Rishard Bathiudeen to show cause as to why he should not be charged for Contempt of Court and further ordered him to appear in person on 5 September. Justice W.L. Ranjith Silva of the Court of Appeal directed the Registrar …
The Law & Society Trust (LST) condemns the mob attack on the Mannar court house, allegedly at the instigation of a Cabinet Minister over a disputed ruling, as well as (reportedly) threatening phone calls to the Mannar Magistrate cum District Judge from the same member of the Government. An attack on a court house is …
Continue reading ‘Law and Society Trust Condemns mob attack on Mannar Court House’ »
By Ayesha Zuhair Newly appointed Attorney-General (AG) Palitha Fernando, in an interview with the Daily Mirror, outlines his vision for the Department and opines that expeditious disposal of cases is the key to reducing the country’s crime rate. The AG points out that coordinated efforts are required to combat crime, and appeals to the general …
Enhancing practical efforts to uphold the language rights of millions of ethnic Tamil-speaking Sri Lankans could play a key role in the country’s long-term peace and reconciliation, say analysts and activists. “Language parity is one of the biggest challenges to Sri Lanka’s peace and reconciliation efforts, and indeed its future. Without it, I doubt we …
By Camelia Nathaniel V. Suresh Kumar, former Chairman of the Kadawath Satara Pradeshiya Sabha(town and gravets Pradeshiya sabha) in Trincomalee and a Tamil National Alliance (TNA) candidate in the forthcoming Eastern Provincial Council elections, was among the three suspects arrested by the CID in connection with human smuggling, Police Spokesman SP Ajith Rohana said. According …
by J. Jeganaathan The Government of India (GoI) has extended the ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for two more years. LTTE was first banned in 1991 in the aftermath of the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. According to the Home Ministry of India, “LTTE continues to adopt a strong anti-India posture as …
Continue reading ‘India’s LTTE Ban Renewal is unnecessary and counter productive’ »
by Radhika Coomaraswamy Dear colleagues, partners, and friends, As the primary users of our website, I am proud to announce that Children and Armed Conflict’s new website, http://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org goes live today. Included in the redesign, are many new features that will make it easier for you to access essential and interesting information and stories.
by Asif Ahmed Islam , mainly of the Sunni sect, is practiced by 4% of the population of Burma according to the government census. Soldiers patrol through a neighborhood that was burnt during recent violence in Sittwe on June 14, 2012 – Reuters pic via: HRW.org However, according to the US State Departments 2006 International …
By Kath Noble Everybody knows about the crisis in the UNP. Of the many elections there have been in Sri Lanka in the last two decades, it has lost all but one. This includes four presidential elections and four out of five parliamentary elections. And it will have the opportunity to lose a few more …
Continue reading ‘To end its losing streak UNP needs to rebuild its base among Sinhalese’ »
by B.Sirisena Cooray (Excerpted from book written by Srisena Cooray titled “President Premadasa and I – our Story) The day we heard about the killing of the 13 soldiers in Jaffna I went to see Mr. Premadasa. He was on the phone to the President. There was a lot of tension in the country and …
by D.B.S. Jeyaraj The tragic history of post – independence Sri Lanka records that the Tamils of Sri Lanka have been subjected to mass –scale mob violence in the years 1956, 1958, 1977, 1981 and 1983. The anti-Tamil violence of July 1983 was the most terrible and horrible of them all. It remains etched in …
Continue reading ‘‘Black July’ 1983: Remembering the Horrors of a Pogrom’ »
by Hillary Rodham Clinton (Remarks made on July 24th 2012 by US secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton at the US Holocaust emorial Forwatd looking symposium on Genocide prevention) Thank you very much, and it’s a tremendous honor for me to be here on this occasion for such an important conference. I want to start …
by Inside Outsider Having been through the grind in the field of Sri Lanka’s mainstream print journalism for nearly two decades, what I feel is a growing sense of frustration. Whatever standards and respectability that was maintained by our past peers are deteriorating to the extent that journalists are being looked at, more with ridicule, …
by K.S.Sivakumaran Writers in Tamil include Muslims, Malays and Thamilians. Most Muslim writers hail from the Eastern province. A good many are living in the western and southern and a few from north central, northwestern and the hill country. Although their writing find a place in national newspapers and magazines there are no exclusive literary …
Continue reading ‘Muslims writing in Tamil Encouraged by Revival of ‘Yatra’ Journal’ »
(Text of Speech made by Hunais Farook , UPFA Vanni Dist MP, in Parliament on July 20 2012) I am thanking you for giving this opportunity. I have the duty to speak about the incidents that took place in Mannar today and yesterday. UNP Member of Parliament, John Amaratunga and Sri Ranga M.P. stated that …
Continue reading ‘‘What is the injustice committed by Minister Rishad Bathiudeen’?’ »
by Salma Yusuf Much ink has been spilt over the years on the subject of human rights in Sri Lanka. The opinions, observations and indeed ultimatums have emanated from official, unofficial, international and domestic quarters. The issue of media freedom and related rights have come to the fore time and again.
by Charitha Ratwatte An important feature of the recent Sri Lanka Economic Summit, which both the Guest Speaker Gurcharan Das, Author, Columnist and Management Consultant and Keynote Speaker Dr. Kalpana Kochar, Chief Economist – South Asia of the World Bank, referred to were the opportunities presented to Sri Lanka by the ongoing process of globalisation …
By Radhieka Peeris It is not that often that people in Colombo get to witness art exhibitions by muslim women from Jaffna. Against all odds, Zhamshiya Kaleel (54), from Jaffna made it work for her, when she held her maiden solo exhibition of art work at the National Art Gallery recently.
by Thulasi Muttulingam Landscapes, nudes and portraits in charcoal, pencil and watercolours dot the living room of Mervin Mendis, a retired civil servant, now dedicated artist. “Even as a child, I had a fascination for drawing,” he recalls. “In the absence of other media, I would even draw portraits of people on the sand, with …
Continue reading ‘Landscapes, nudes and portraits in charcoal, pencil and watercolours’ »
By Azra Ameen Loud speakers, parades, posters, cutouts and banners are a common sight during elections. Most candidates feel that not making a public announcement while displaying banners and posters is not a favourable atmosphere for elections. The Election Secretariat had ordered all political parties not to hold rallies and parades on nomination day and …
Continue reading ‘Election laws violated as Propaganda begins for provincial Polls’ »
by Rob L. Wagner In 1953, young reserve Air Force lieutenant Milo Radulovich lost his security clearance for maintaining a “close and continuing relationship” with people who were communists or had communist sympathies. Those people? His father and sister.
By Ahmed E Souaiaia The Arab Spring has provided scholars and analysts with a laboratory to observe radical social change. Tunisia and Egypt taught us about non-violent resistance and the power of the people to overcome regime repression. In Libya, we saw tribal, regional, national, and international actors whose interests intersected to create allies out …
by Ben Doherty A remote stretch of Sri Lanka’s west coast lies the village that wants to come to Australia. The homes here are built alike, low and squat, their thatched roofs tightly tied down against the monsoon’s rains and wind. And from almost every one, someone has left for Australia. Some reach Christmas Island, …
Continue reading ‘The Sri Lankan Tamil village which wants to come to Australia’ »
by Dr. S. P. Udayakumar July 21, 2012 marked the 125th day of my and Pushparayan’s self-exile here at Idinthakarai. We have not gone out of this coastal village for more than four months now except two brief visits to the neighboring Kuthenkuzhi village by sea. Rayan and I live in a quarter kilometer radius …
by Nirmanusan Balasundaram “Given that 75% of the army’s divisions are stationed in the Northern Province, in addition to other formations such as task forces and independent brigades and regimental units, it is not unreasonable to assume that at least 60% of the army, i e, approximately 180,000 personnel, are stationed across the Northern Province.” …
Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka: Militarizing the Land and Terrorizing the Minds’ »
By Hemantha Warnakulasuriya One of the worst indictments on JRJ’s tenure was his interference with the judiciary. As a man inebriated with power, he would not permit anyone to correct him or caution him that by his attitude he would eventually destroy himself and the country he rules. The voters were inveigled into believing in …
Continue reading ‘How a cabinet Minister threatened a Magistrate cum Additional District Judge’ »
by Veerasinghmam Anandasangaree (Full text of a statement issued by TULF Secretary -Genera Veerasingham Anandasangaree titled ‘Open appeal to leaders of all political parties, important personalities and religious dignitaries in India) This appeal comes as an urgent measure taken by a very senior Tamil Politician who had been in Politics for nearly sixty years, in …
By Ayesha Zuhair On 3 May 2012, long before the Mannar mayhem, the Sri Lanka Police acknowledged a growing trend – that of people taking the law into their own hands. In a media communiqué, Police Headquarters stated that certain groups were increasingly behaving in a violent manner, and noted that 105 individuals had been …
By Camelia Nathaniel Despite the fact that it has been three-and-a-half years since the war that ravaged this country ended, the sufferings of thousands of war widows have been ignored. These widows continue to live in poverty and suffer from social stigmatisation and economic deprivation, purely because they have lost their husbands.
by J.Balaji Pranab Kumar Mukherjee, 76, was declared elected the 13th President on Sunday. The UPA nominee defeated the former Lok Sabha Speaker, P.A. Sangma, by 3,97,776 value votes. While Mr. Mukherjee polled 3,095 votes, (value 7,13,763) Mr. Sangma got 1,483 votes (3,15,987).
by Parvathi Menon The fight will go on,” said Captain Lakshmi Sahgal one day in 2006, sitting in her crowded Kanpur clinic where, at 92, she still saw patients every morning. She was speaking on camera to Singeli Agnew, a young filmmaker from the Graduate School of Journalism, Berkeley, who was making a documentary on …
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, …
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?”
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.
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 …
Continue reading ‘Douglas Devananda recalls Welikada jail massacres of July 25th and 27th 1983’ »
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.
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 …
Continue reading ‘It all began with LTTE ambush and Army retaliation’ »
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 …
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 …
Continue reading ‘Mano Ganesan talks about destruction of Tamil Film Industry in Sri Lanka’ »
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.
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 …
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.
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.
Democracy, Pluralism and Constitutional Law: Remembering Neelan Tiruchelvam’s Intellectual Legacy By Asanga Welikala Sunday 29th July 2012 is the thirteenth death anniversary of Dr Neelan Tiruchelvam, which will be commemorated, as is now customary, with the annual Neelan Tiruchelvam Memorial Lecture. An old friend, Professor Sujit Choudhry of the New York University School of Law, …
By D.B.S. Jeyaraj The advent of elections to the Eastern Provincial Council has caused the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) to come under the media spotlight during the past week. There was much interest and speculation over the course of action to be adopted (or not adopted) by the premier political party of the Sri …
Continue reading ‘Eastern Provincial Elections and The Muslim Congress – 1’ »
By Salma Yusuf The year was 2010, the venue was the United Nations General Assembly, and the occasion was the 65th session of the General Assembly. The context was a world where crises are rampant and hopelessness is contagious. The effects of globalization were being felt in every continent on the planet and in every …
Continue reading ‘Evaluating Prospects of a Movement of Moderates for Sri Lanka’ »
By Tisaranee Gunasekara “How could we have seen what was coming, until it had arrived in our midst, clanking and smoking?” John Banville (Shroud) Last week the law of the jungle reached the portals of judiciary. According to media reports, Rishard Badurdeen, Minister of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprises, tried to intimidate the Mannar Magistrate …