By Upul Joseph Fernando Just a few days before the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) was scheduled to meet for business, President Mahinda Rajapaksa made a special announcement regarding the much touted election for the Northern Provincial Council. He categorically stated that the election will be held in September and his astrologers are working on …
By Vishnuguptha “I never will, by any word or act, bow to the shrine of intolerance or admit a right of inquiry into the religious opinions of others.” ~ Thomas Jefferson The intentions, methodologies and strategies of the Bodhu Bala Sena (Army of Buddhist Power) have so far been most unBuddhistic and bordering on the …
By Dr.Vickramabahu Karunaratne The grip of the ruler based on Sinhala Buddhist chauvinism is breaking down. It is thanks to this grip which subdued the Sinhala petty bourgeoisie, that Keheliya Rambukwella the government spokesman, could ignore the fact that parliamentarians pay just Rs.2000/- per month for electricity in their free official residences and intimidates the …
By The Puppeteer The only monkey wrench cast into the cogwheels of the Rally For Unity, was the circulation of leaflets opposing the highly publicised event. The leaflets contained the usual rhetoric, claiming that the organisers were traitors and that their facelessness should be of critical concern. Only the organisers weren’t faceless. Sure, they weren’t …
On the 1st of May workers around the world commemorate the struggles to win their rights and highlight the need to strengthen the rights of all workers in the capitalist economic paradigm that prevails. In Sri Lanka Trade Unions, Political Parties, Community based Organisations will also celebrate International Workers’ Day on May 1st this year …
by Kamaya Jayatissa “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”– Nelson Mandela It is often the case that a nation which experienced a protracted war will tend to look forward rather than backward. For Sri Lankans, …
The Sri Lankan government is intensifying its crackdown on critics through threats, harassment, imprisonment and violent attacks, Amnesty International said in a new report released today. The 78 page report, Assault on Dissent reveals how the government, led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, is promoting an official attitude that equates criticism with ‘treason’ in a bid …
By Shamindra Ferdinando Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian M. A. Sumanthiran yesterday defended campaigning in London against Sri Lanka hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo later this year. The TNA wanted the venue shifted to a suitable venue regardless of a previous decision to allow Sri Lanka to host the meeting. …
By S.L. Gunasekara Vasudeva Nannayakkara was, for many years, known and looked upon as a ‘paper revolutionary’ who was ever willing to join in any ‘verbal’ attack on a Government in power. He is, today, an ‘acolyte’/‘hanger on’ of the Rajapaksa family and hence comfortably ensconced in office [at great expense to our long suffering …
By Kumbhakarna T. S. Eliot wrote his celebrated poem ‘The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock’ in 1917, thirty two years before Ranil Wickremesinghe was born. Therefore, it’s hardly correct to assume that Eliot based his Prufrock poem on Ranil. But, when you read through this long but delightful satirical poem, you can’t help noticing …
By WOMEN’S ACTION NETWORK Muslims and Tamils have returned to the North having experienced immense loss and struggles over the last 30 years. Post-2009 Muslims and Tamils have begun returning to Mullaiteevu and resettlement has been taking place slowly. However the numbers that are attempting to and have returned is much higher than the number …
By D.B.S.JEYARAJ Explosions at the iconic Boston Marathon Event in the USA has sent shock waves causing the Western media to focus intensively on the global phenomenon described as terrorism. In Sri Lanka there was a feeling of Déjà vu as the Island nation had also experienced bomb blasts at a Marathon event five years …
Continue reading ‘Bombing at Boston Marathon Event Evokes Memories Of Jeyaraj Fernandopulle’ »
By M.A.Sumanthiran M.P Last week saw a hugely dangerous move by the government. Section 2 notices under the Land Acquisition Act were pasted on trees in Valikamam North in the Jaffna Peninsula indicating that an extent of approximately 6,400 acres of private lands belonging to several thousand Tamil people would be acquired for Military cantonments. …
By Rajavarothayam Sampanthan M.P. (Text of Introductory Speech made by Tamil National Alliance Leader and Trincomalee District MP Rajavarothayam Sampanthan at the S.J.V.Chelvanayagam memorial lecture Event held in Colombo on April 27th 2013) Mr. SJV Chelvanayagam QC was the founder leader of the Federal Party and the undisputed leader of the Tamil people.We welcome all …
by Tisaranee Gunasekara “I think we are blind….. Blind people who can see, but do not see” ~ Jose Saramago (Blindness) Miracles happen in the ‘Wonder of Asia’. Last week, the lawyers representing Parliamentarian Duminda Silva – on the basis of multiple diagnoses by eminent physicians – assured a court of law that their client …
By Wasantha Ramanayake Parliamentarian Duminda Silva returned to public life yesterday after spending 17 months in hospitals in Singapore and Colombo. Mr. Silva is the eleventh accused in the Mulleriyawa shooting incident where Presidential Advisor Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra and three others were killed. Last morning Mr. Silva left the private hospital in which he stayed …
by A staff reporter Hirunika Premachandra, daughter of slain politician, Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra, said yesterday the President should provide a solution to the ‘Duminda Silva situation,’ and complained, “the man who destroyed four families has now gone to meet the President.” Hirunika, addressing the media after United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) MP Duminda Silva – …
Dear Friends, Given the recent spate of hate speech and the marginalization of minority communities in general in Sri Lanka, a voluntary movement of concerned Sri Lankans from various institutions, professions and industries are organizing a series of non-partisan, non-violent awareness campaigns and rallies against racist actions and hate-speech in Sri Lanka. Attached for your …
Continue reading ‘“Hate has no Place in Sri Lanka”-28th April Rally for Unity’ »
By Justice C.V. Wigneswaran (Text of THANTHAI CHELVANAYAGAM MEMORIAL LECTURE on the Theme ‘WHITHER SRI LANKAN TAMILS’ Delivered on 26/04/2013 FRIDAY at NEW KATHIRESAN HALL, GALLE ROAD, BAMBALAPITIYA COLOMBO 4 to mark the 36th death anniversary of S.J.V.Chelvanayagam, Q.C) Justice C.V. Wigneswaran lighting the oil lamp~picture by Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai © Ajnaana Timiraamdhasya Gnaanaanjana Shalaakayaa Chakshuru …
By Dharisha Bastians In a major breakthrough Sri Lanka yesterday cleared what is likely the last diplomatic hurdle on its journey to playing host at the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meet in November this yearThis was after the grouping’s Ministerial Action Group concluded its key meeting in London yesterday signalling no move to put …
By Dharisha Bastians Sri Lanka is likely to feature during a meeting of the Commonwealth’s most powerful eight-member body in London today, with Canada hinting it is seeking a shift in the venue and Tamil Nadu political parties, international lawyers grouping and human rights activists lobbying against allowing Colombo to host a key Commonwealth summit …
By J. S. Tissainayagam Sri Lanka, whose leaders are accused of committing war crimes against Tamils in the civil war that ended May 2009, and subverting democracy, is to host the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in November. In the past the Commonwealth, the 54-member intergovernmental grouping of mostly Britain’s former colonies, has …
by Frances Harrison When they decided to have a meeting at their party office in the north of the island, the four Sri Lankan MPs probably didn’t expect that it would start raining concrete boulders. Before they knew it, a mob of about 60 people had surrounded the building. After half an hour of sustained …
by Vishnuguptha “It is not once nor twice but times without number that the same ideas make their appearance in the world.” ~ Aristotle The Government in general and the ruling family in particular, do not show any signs of learning any lesson from history. The local government elections concluded more than two and half …
OTTAWA – Official Opposition New Democrats Paul Dewar (Ottawa Centre) and Rathika Sitsabaiesan (Scarborough—Rouge River) have launched a national campaign to pressure the Conservatives to fully boycott the Commonwealth meetings in Sri Lanka unless an independent and international investigation into alleged war crimes are accepted by the government of that country.
By Tisaranee Gunasekara “….the slavery of fear had made men afraid to think” ~ Tom Paine (Rights of Man) In 2005 when he was nominated the SLFP’s Presidential candidate, Prime Minister Rajapaksa named his election manifesto Mahinda Chinthanaya (The Philosophy of Mahinda), after himself. Within seven years, the Rajapaksas conquered the government, occupied the state …
A Tamil Named “Kumar” living in Australia has detailed shocking claims of rape and torture at the hands of Sri Lankan army intelligence to Australia Broadcasting Corporation. Transcript of Telecast is as Follows:
(New York, April 25, 2013) – A senior Commonwealth advisory group should recommend the organization shift the venue of its November 2013 Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) from Sri Lanka unless the government makes prompt, measurable, and meaningful progress on human rights, Human Rights Watch said today. The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), a grouping …
By Christian Caryl The man’s body lies on a blanket striped in white and blue. He’s wearing a dark brown tank top and a dark blue flowered sarong. Someone has tied his hands behind his back with rope. There are deep red gashes on his head and shoulders — some of them presumably the wounds …
By Karu Jayasuriya M.P. Recent increase of electricity rates is unprecedented in Sri Lankan history. 75% or else 3.7 million of the electricity consumers use less than 90 units. This increase is unbearable to the low income groups and what action is taken by the government to mitigate this confusion? As they have been doing …
A large-scale tourism project has been launched by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) on an area of 1,100 hectares that belongs to 14 islands that are connected to the Puttalam Lagoon. The homes and livelihood of 2,640 fisher families, who live in the Grama Niladhari Divisions in the area, have come under increasing …
By Dr.D.Gnanagurunathan The debate about the ‘emergence’ or ‘re-emergence’ of India as an important player at the world stage goes on the one hand. On the other, the Indian state is confronted with a major challenge, as regions (provinces) are asserting their rights and able to influence the foreign policy discourse. In addition, critics point …
Continue reading ‘India’s Vote Against Sri Lanka in the UNHRC was a Well-Calculated Decision’ »
By Dr.Vickramabahu Karunaratne Nobody expected this unbelievable increase in electricity charges. Hence there were protests everywhere including in clubs and associations limited to the industrialists and traders. However the tariff increases are friendly to the class separation indicating the departure from the social welfare ideology. Still, everybody feels that the government is putting the burden …
By D.B.S.Jeyaraj Rev.Fr.Mariyampillai Xavier Karunaratnam Known widely as “Kili Father”was Killed in a Landmine Explosion at Ambaikulam between Vavunikulam and Vannivilaankulam in the Wanni five years ago on April 20th 2008. The following article was written by me for “The Nation”and Reproduced on “transcurrents”then. I am posting the article without any changes to denote the …
by Upul Joseph Fernando “Although it is not known yet who is responsible for Monday’s heinous bombings at the Boston Marathon that killed three and injured more than 100 people, a source within the Iranian Intelligence Services told WND, the Islamic regime was behind them, and to look for trails through Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.” …
By Ananth Palakidnar Secretary of the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, has met former LTTE media head, V. Dayanithy alias Daya Master and 23 others in Jaffna over the Northern Provincial Council polls to be held later this year, informed sources said. The meeting was held on Monday at the 52 Division …
By Latheef Farook CHECHENYA is yet another Muslim entity destroyed and rendered a wasteland in the two senseless Russian wars to subjugate the republic. Demonising and killing Chechen Muslims were popular pastimes for Russian leaders in order to win voters. View Larger Map Going by historical records, war against Russia has been a regular unfortunate …
Continue reading ‘Killing Fields of Chechnya: A Muslim Land Laid Waste by a Senseless War’ »
by Sarah Kendzior In 1901, a 28-year-old American named Leon Czolgosz assassinated US President William McKinley. Czolgosz was born in America, but he was of Polish descent. After McKinley died, the American media blamed Polish immigrants. They were outsiders, foreigners, with a suspicious religion – Catholicism – and strange last names. At a time when …
by Prof.Rajiva Wijesinha M.P. Once again, following the vote in Geneva, which made clear how influential the United States of America was, and how comparatively friendless we were, there is talk of re-establishing relations with the West. Thankfully this year it has not taken the form of denigration of good relations with others, as happened …
by DR DAYAN JAYATILLEKA However bad Sri Lanka’s foreign policy is and external relations are, they have yet to hit the nadir that they did under President Jayewardene in the 1980s. The first ever resolution on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka adopted in Geneva by the Human Rights Commission was in March 1987, …
(Commemorating 20th death Anniversary of former National security Minister Lalith Athulathmudali) by S. V. D Kesaralal Gunasekara People keep asking me why I continue to write about the late Mr. Athulathmudali two decades after his unfortunate and untimely demise. The necessity to write invariably follows as a result of what is happening (or not happening) …
by Col R Hariharan North Korea’s deployment of two additional short-range scud ballistic missile launchers in its eastern coast has strengthened speculations in the South that Pyongyang might launch a missile on April 25, the anniversary of North Korean army. According to South Korean media, the latest deployment was in addition to the seven mobile …
by Karu Jayasuriya M.P. It is reported in the media that the President Mahinda Rajapaksa has stated at a meeting with Media Chiefs, elections could be held under the Commissioner of Elections without an Elections Commission. An Elections Commission was established by the 17th Amendment which was passed in Parliament by 2/3 majority, to achieve …
by Col R Hariharan Myanmar’s fledgling democracy faced yet another obstacle to its progress when anti-Muslim violence flared up in Central Myanmar town of Meiktila in March 2013. It quickly spread to six other smaller townships in Thayawady district in Bago Region in Lower Myanmar. According to Human Rights Watch, it also spread to 11 …
by Meera Srinivasan It was one such harsh Madras summer. In the shade of the rich canopy on Venkatnarayana Road, a friend and I, both a little over 10 at that time, stood in eager anticipation. With us was Lalgudi sir, clad in a sparkling white dhoti folded up to his knee and a white …
By Shalini Singh In his 112-page written statement to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probing the 2G scam, the former Telecom Minister and prime accused, A. Raja, has said he personally met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh several times between November 2007 and July 2008 — the period when the scam was perpetrated — to keep …
By Marianne David With white sandy beaches and sparkling seas, magnificent whales and dancing dolphins, vibrant corals reefs in shallow waters, multi-hued schools of fish – including sharks, who glide by without a second glance – and the breathtaking secluded beauty of Pigeon Island, not forgetting its gorgeous setting, heritage and beauty, Trincomalee is a …
Secretary Defence and Urban Developemt Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa during his visit to the Jaffna peninsula, was the chief guest at a function held to distribute school uniform packs to students in Varani today (22nd April). 1500 school children received gift packs from Mr. Rajapaksa at the function organized by the 52 Division of the SLA. …
A woman raped at a hotel in Sri Lanka has spoken for the first time of the attack in which she was badly beaten and her British boyfriend was killed, the British Sunday Times reported today. Victoria Tkacheva, 24, a Russian languages graduate, fears that the men responsible for her rape and the murder of …
By Raisa Wickrematunge The mother of a sick child at Lady Ridgeway Hospital says that she was asked to remove her ‘abaya’ (cloak) when she visited the hospital to see her child. The mother, whose child was diagnosed with dengue fever, visited Lady Ridgeway Hospital on April 13 at around 9.30 p.m.
by Dilrukshi Handunnetti The much-opposed recent move to acquire forestland in three districts in the Northern Province for distribution among Muslim returnees and their extended families is now in full swing, with a total of 2,388 acres of prime forestland already for this purpose. While local people and environmentalists continue to protest the land acquisition …
by C.A.Chandraprema During the new year holidays, the International Bar Association put out a report titled “A Crisis of Legitimacy: The Impeachment of Chief Justice Bandaranayake and the Erosion of the Rule of Law in Sri Lanka”. It is important for bodies purporting to represent the legal profession not to convey the impression of being …
President Mahinda Rajapaksa said yesterday that elections to the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) would be held in September this year but the date of the poll would be decided based on the advice of his astrologer. “My astrologer gives me a winning time and I will decide on the basis on what he says,” the …
by JAYANTHA JAYAWEERA BSc Civil Eng (Lon), MIE (Aust), CPEng. I have just returned from Sri Lanka after attending the Thurstan College and Isipathana College 50th big match encounter at SSC cricket grounds. I spent eleven memorable days in Colombo and Galle with my schoolmates of both schools, whom I met after some considerable time. …
By Tisaranee Gunasekara “Despotic governments…..all follow the same logic”. Umberto Eco (The Prague Cemetery) Economic punches and developmental disappointments might have bruised and battered Mahinda Rajapaksa’s once enormous popularity among Sinhala masses. Yet a considerable part of it still endures. There is nothing outlandish about this; despotic leaders are usually popular, for a while, before …
By N. Sathiya Moorthy It takes a lot of courage to say, ‘Sorry’. In these years after the end of the ‘ethnic wars’, neither the Sri Lankan State, nor the Tamil community said as much to each other – and to itself. In these months after international intervention, everyone is blaming everyone else, instead. They …
by Gamini Weerakoon Fresh rustic breezes, whiff of delicacies from the Avurudhu table and nostalgic memories of the time spent in the gama in their salad days would have rejuvenated the patriotic fervor of those Sri Lankan patriots who were breathing fire and thunder before the New Year on protecting the sovereignty, integrity, unity of …
It all started with a Facebook group titled ‘Buddhists Questioning Bodu Bala Sena’. A tense situation developed last Friday as members of this group gathered in front of the Buddhist Cultural Centre on Sambuddatva Jayanthi Mawatha. The people planned to hold a candlelight vigil in front of the building at 7 p.m. During the vigil, …
By Revati Laul (Disguised as a tourist, Revati Laul travelled through the country’s most war-ravaged districts. She spotlights a story that is rarely told) The idea of a separate Tamil nation is not dead in Sri Lanka. There was a time when this was espoused with brutal violence by the dreaded LTTE. That violence has …
By Lewis Garland A year ago this week, on 20 April 2012, a 2,000-strong mob led by Buddhists monks stormed a mosque in Dambulla, central Sri Lanka, during Friday Prayers. They damaged both the building and property within it, including religious artefacts and texts. The Mosque had already been fire-bombed the previous evening. The mob …
By Vishnuguptha “The marathon can humble you.” ~Bill Rodgers, winner of four Boston and four NYC marathons: When the Al Qaida planes stormed themselves into the soaring twin-towers of the World Trade Center in New York, a sea-change occurred in the American psyche. A hitherto complacent American was confronted, more with the enormous potential of …
By Swe Win YANGON, Myanmar — Five years ago, when Myanmar was still under military rule, some Western and Chinese friends asked me how there could be such oppression in a country where Buddhism, which preaches nonviolence, is the predominant religion. I was in self-imposed exile at the time, studying journalism at the University of …
Continue reading ‘969 Movement Run by Buddhist Monks in Burma Gives Hate Speeches Against Muslims’ »
By Tariq Ali Four years after the killing of between eight and ten thousand Tamils by the Sri Lankan army, which brought to an end a civil war that had lasted for 26 years, there is trouble on the island again. This time the army isn’t directly responsible: instead it’s the Buddhist monks from Bodu …
By “Jack Point” “If you buy from Muslim shops, your money doesn’t just stop there,” “It will eventually go towards destroying your race and religion.” Muslim merchants receive cash injections from Middle East oil state brethren and use these funds to undercut Buddhist rivals. This Muslim alliance could outbreed Buddhists, steal away Buddhist women, overwhelm …
By Kalana Senaratne ‘Long War, Cold Peace’ by Dayan Jayatilleka: A Review After what seemed to be a brief but palpable and conspicuous absence from serious public engagement (in late 2012), Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka has returned from Paris; a return marked by his characteristic interventions in the press and the release of a book, titled …
An Interview by Chamitha Kuruppu (We are not engaged in any activities that are harmful to society, nor are we causing religious disharmony,” claims Bodu Bala Sena strongman Dilantha Withanage.“We do not want to get into politics,” says Withanage, Chief Executive Officer of the Bodu Bala Sena Headquarters, adding that the movement does not want …
by Thrishantha Nanayakkara After nearly 7 years of postgraduate education and independent research experience abroad, I returned to Sri Lanka in mid 2003, to work in my mother country Sri Lanka that gave me free education all the way upto university level. When I left Johns Hopkins University in USA, some of my friends cautioned …
By D.B.S.Jeyaraj A mob consisting of around 30 Sinhala youths launched an attack on a Tamil housing colony of Plantation workers at Alupola estate of Ratnapura district in Sri Lanka’s Sabaragamuwa Province. At least six persons were reportedly injured in the incident when threatened Tamils resisted the aggressors by engaging in counter violence. Consequent to …
By SCT (A Personal Response to the quashing of the first anti BBS protest on Havelock Road) This evening (Friday, April 12th 2013) around 7.15pm on Havelock Road in front of the Sambuddhatva Jayanthi Building adjoining Laurie’s Road, I was reminded anew that there is no freedom in our land. I am nearly 45 years …
by Prof. V. Suryanarayan There is a huge divide between Chennai and New Delhi on how both see Sri Lanka. What remains the primary problem in India’s approach towards Sri Lanka, and why is there a divide within?
By Dharisha Bastians Issuing a clarion call against what it called the Government’s ‘economic thuggery’ and ‘power shocks’ for the New Year, the Joint Opposition yesterday urged political parties, media personnel and ordinary people to unite in a fight to defeat a ruling party it said had no business being in power. In a blazing …
by Yovahn Y.R. Hoole In 2010, when my family returned to Sri Lanka, my father bragged how Jaffna was the pinnacle of education anywhere and surpassed US standards. But I soon came to understand that the war had turned his pinnacle into rubble. After experiencing the different school systems, I came across the problems which …
Continue reading ‘Jaffna and Michigan: A Student Perspective of Two Schooling Systems’ »
by M. Z. Abdeen-Kandy Though it is now settled policy that the Official Languages are Sinhala and Tamil with English as the link language, its implementation, as judged by government communiqués, lacks any commitment. Government letters and notices written in Sinhala only mostly, or in Sinhala and Tamil occasionally and hardly ever with an English …
By Dr Upul Wijayawardhana I can hardly believe that it is thirty years since the untimely death of Karunaratna Abeysekara, known to our generation as Karuayya, who ‘ruled’ the airwaves for decades before his death. One of the great regrets of my life is that I was not there when Karuayya had the fatal heart …
A respected senior economist said yesterday that easing monetary policy and bringing down interest rates would not help the country sustain high economic growth unless measures were taken to address long-standing structural deficiencies in the economy. “The euphoria of the war victory and commencement of the US$ 2.6 billion IMF standby facility arrangement prompted a …
By D.B.S.Jeyaraj View Larger Map Reports from Sri Lanka state that a Muslim Owned Textile store in the Central Province town of Gampola has been attacked in broad daylight on Tuesday April 16th 2013. A gang of hoodlums numbering about a dozen launched an attack against the “Lucky Emporium”textile store situated on Ambagamuwa road in …
By Latheef Farook Political bankruptcy of Muslim parliamentarians was exposed by the Tamil National Alliance leader R Sampanthan and the TNA parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran when they raised the issue of growing disastrous hate Muslim campaign in the parliament. As it is well known that there has been a wave of well planned attacks on the …
BANGALORE: Jyoti Sinha, a former research and analysis wing official, played an important role in increasing India’s influence in neighbouring countries like Myanmar, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka during the NDA regime (1999-2004). He is also considered the architect of Indian influence in Sri Lanka from 2001-2004. The former IPS official spoke to TOI …
By Mangala Samaraweera M.P. In present day Sri Lanka it has become customary for whispers and speculation of impending elections to be followed up by brutal onslaughts on what remains of the country’s free press. It is a thinly veiled attempt to intimidate the media into silence ahead of crucial polls about the crimes and …
By Amy Davidson A twenty-year-old man who had been watching the Boston Marathon had his body torn into by the force of a bomb. He wasn’t alone; a hundred and seventy-six people were injured and three were killed. But he was the only one who, while in the hospital being treated for his wounds, had …
(Text of Communique Issued by Law Society of England and Wales Press Office) The Law Society of England and Wales today added its voice to those calling for the suspension of Sri Lanka from the Councils of the Commonwealth, following reports of serious breaches of the rule of law and judicial independence. It announced its …
By Muheed Jeeran Recent domestic developments are not looking good for Sri Lanka’s ethnic minority Muslim community after they have been targeted by a revitalized and rather extremist Sinhalese grouping called ‘Bodu Bala Sena (BBS).’ This faction is led by a number of vociferous Buddhist Monks aimed at safeguarding the core principles of Buddhism. Let …
Continue reading ‘Why Can’t Muslim Political Leaders Stand up For Their Own Muslim Community?’ »
By Tisaranee Gunasekara “Neither a man nor a crowd nor a nation can be trusted to act humanely or to think sanely under the influence of a great fear”. Bertrand Russell (Unpopular Essays) The malignant police response to the peaceful vigil organised by the Facebook group, ‘Buddhists Questioning Bodu Bala Sena’ proved one fact beyond …
By Vishnuguptha “All courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger (it’s possible), but calculating risk and acting decisively. Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth. Develop the strength to do bold things, not the strength to suffer.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli Bodhu Bala Sena might think that it enjoys …
By Kamaya Jayatissa “If you’re in a coalition and you’re comfortable, you know it’s not a broad enough coalition.” -Bernice Johnson Reagon When fighting in the international arena, one should know that the only way to survive is to constantly build new coalitions while strengthening and maintaining the existing ones. Due to its belonging to …
By Dharisha Bastians The prospect of elections for the Northern Provincial Council by September 2013, now a Sri Lankan Government promise cemented in a UN Human Rights Council Resolution on the country became just a little more remote last week after members of the main Tamil party and civil society activists in the North called …
By Vijayani Edirisinghe The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption impounded the passport of former Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake to prevent her from escaping to a foreign country until the probe into the allegations of bribery and corruption against her is concluded. The Commission has taken this decision in keeping with the legal …
Continue reading ‘De-Jure Chief Justice Dr.Shirani Bandaranayke’s Passport Impounded’ »
By Sunalie Ratnayake Tissa Abeysekera Born: May 7, 1939 Died: April 18, 2009 (aged 69) Other names: Ananda Tissa de Fonseka Education: Dharmapala Vidyalaya Occupation: Film director/writer Political Party: Lanka Sama Samaja Party Awards: Gratiaen Prize, Deshabandu ________________________________________ Today (April 18, 2013) is the fourth death anniversary of a legendary man of unparalleled faculty, whose …
Continue reading ‘Remembering Tissa Abeysekera:Versatile Legend of Unparalleled Faculty’ »
By Gomin Dayasri Naive live in bliss: after acting silly at Geneva 2013. Mileage gained by LLRC report abbreviated into an Action Plan, was placed on a mock timetable and fawningly delivered to Hillary Clinton, needlessly. Now Americans complain of a failure to deliver. Without prattling gibberish nonsense: attend to the priorities; provide potent results, …
Continue reading ‘We need to court America with the Action Plan – a nutshell of the LLRC report.’ »
By Sathya Liyanasuriya One of Sri Lanka’s most sought-after jobs was handed over to Jayantha Dharmadasa on Tuesday when he was appointed as President of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) after weeks of wild speculation and intense backroom lobbying in cricketing and political circles. The appointment was somewhat of an anti-climax. What was expected was a …
Continue reading ‘Can New President Jayantha Dharmadasa Cleanse Sri Lanka Cricket of Corruption?’ »
By Ifham Nizam With the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), the regulatory body giving the green to the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) yesterday, to go for an electricity tariff hike with effect from April 12, the domestic users will have to pay some 68 per cent more on their monthly electricity bills, while …
By Ravi Ladduwahetty The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) yesterday said it had not asked for an Interim Self-Governing Authority (ISGA) for the Northern Province till the provincial polls were held. This follows news reports that the TNA, with Mannar Bishop Rayappu Joseph and civil society members, had asked a visiting delegation of Indian Members of …
By Jack Healey Faith can be a comfort and faith can be a cudgel. Faith has been and remains for many to be a wellspring of inspiration that can be used to check one’s moral compass and to recharge one’s internal resources the struggle for all people’s human rights. It is also important to recognize …
Geneva : “Responsibility to Protect” Vs sovereignty of the people! By Tamara Kunanayakam “Only the working class in its mass remained loyal to the profaned homeland!” Francois Mauriac, 1943 Reactions to the latest US resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council have varied from lamenting about unjust criticism when significant progress in resettlement, reconstruction and …
By Upul Joseph Fernando India entertains misgivings about Mahinda Rajapaksa’s promised election to the Northern Provincial Council in September this year. At the same time, it is also pinning its hopes on a possible Tamil National Alliance (TNA) victory, if the elections are held, hopeful that such a victory would garner the crucial Tamil Nadu …
By Lashane Cooray Police launched an immediate investigation yesterday, following a complaint lodged by the Maharaja Television and Maharaja Broadcasting Corporation (MTV/MBC), regarding an imminent attack on their journalists.
By Dr.Vickramabahu Karunaratne “Let us join hands for an ANTI RACIST NATIONAL UNITY MAY DAY RALLY in the National capital Colombo! Let us save our Motherland from Racism and Religious Fundamentalism! JOIN as Political parties, minority organisations, trade unions, civil groups and Individuals!” This was the spontaneous demand that started the discussion for a May …
By Prof.Rajiva Wijesinha M.P. When I was in Delhi last week, I was privileged to meet the Indian Minister of External Affairs who turned out, though he looks old and distinguished, to have been at Oxford while I was there – and to have succeeded Ravi Tennekoon as a Lecturer at Trinity College, before heading …
by Dr.Sudarshini Fernandopulle M.P. Terrorism irrespective of where it happens and who is affected is brutal and has to be condemned by all. Sri Lanka suffered due to terrorism for more than three decades. As a victim of LTTE terrorism, I strongly condemn the brutal act of terrorists at Boston, states Member of Parliament Dr …
UNP MP and economist Dr. Harsha de Silva yesterday said the US fund cut had sent an ominous message to Sri Lanka. “It is not the amount of dollars that we should be placing our emphasis on, but the message that is being delivered. To me it seems that this latest action is building on …
By R. A. Ratwatte BBS seem to be the most important letters of the alphabet today, in Sri Lanka. Before I express my opinion on what is going on let me establish my credentials. I am a very proud Sinhala Buddhist of up- country origin. I have served a full five year term as a …
By Kath Noble The government is getting really good at denying responsibility for attacks on the media. Within hours of the incident at the Uthayan office in Jaffna on Saturday, its spokesman had issued a several hundred word statement claiming that it was an ‘inside job’. How’s that for efficiency? If only it put a …
By Shamindra Ferdinando Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has told a visiting Indian parliamentary delegation that a separate system of governance for the Northern and Eastern Provinces would never be a reality. The Defence Secretary was responding to a Tamil National Alliance (TNA) suggestion, made through the six-member Indian delegation, during a meeting at the Defence …
By Samuel Ratnajeevan H. Hoole Sri Lankan Regional Autonomy The provincial council system was set up in response to Tamil demands for separation in the face of brazen discrimination by the Sri Lankan state from the very time of independence. It was a compromise mediated by India in 1987 under the Indo-Lanka Accord to give …
Continue reading ‘Northern Provincial Council Elections in Sri Lanka’ »
By Charitha Ratwatte In 2011, Sri Lanka had an estimated eighteen million, three thousand, four hundred and forty seven (18,003,447) mobile phone subscribers. By the end of December 2012 the number was 20.3 million. This is for 20.8 million people! Usage and penetration of mobile phone connectivity has a humongous effect on economic activity. The …
By N Sathiya Moorthy Independent of the media-hype on all ‘controversial things’ that the Tamil Nadu Government and Chief Minister Jayalalithaa may be saying on the ‘fishing issue’, they have also quietly initiated steps over the past couple of years which could lead to reduction of tensions with Sri Lanka on the Palk Bay front. …
by Ruki Fernando On 12th April, around 7pm, I was amongst a group of people gathered on the pavement, outside the Sri Sambuddha Jayanthi building, situated at 32, Havelock Road, Colombo 5. This is the address of the Bodu Bala Sena, which has been accused of inciting and unleashing violence against minority religious communities, particularly …
By Subha Wijesiriwardena The growing anti-Muslim sentiment in Sri Lanka is pushing us to respond in numerous ways: we are talking, flustered, hopeless and helpless, shouting in outrage (when no one will listen), holding our knees to chests, trying to pull ourselves inside, into some sense of comfort and safety, whispers of more war, more …
By Dr.Dayan Jayatilleka It was doubtless in the spirit of the Sinhala-Tamil New Year that the Tamil (ultra?) nationalists presented the Sinhala hawks the gift of especially moronic remarks to the visiting Indian parliamentary delegation. Here we are, with the 13th Amendment and provincial level devolution hanging by a thread, the most important state official …
by S.L.Gunasekara That democracy is being slowly and surely strangled in Sri Lanka and that many a critic of the Government, particularly in the media has met with a tragic fate is indisputable. Both Sampanthan and Surendiran wax eloquent about the atrocities purported to have been committed by the Government on Tamils in the North. …
TNA MP and owner of Uthayan newspaper, E. Saravanapavan today rejected accusation claiming the torching of the newspaper’s main office in Jaffna was an ‘inside job’ staged to ‘tarnish the image of the government’.