By M.A.Sumanthiran M.P. The discovery of the skeletal remains of what is reported to be more than a hundred people has dominated the press for some time. It is now clear that the mass graves were of victims of summary executions during the second Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) insurrection. It is also clear that the …
OTTAWA — Justin Trudeau has been elected to lead the federal Liberal party in a resounding first-ballot win. Trudeau, eldest son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau and the Liberals’ undisputed star, swept 80% of the vote in a final field of six candidates. The outcome was widely seen as a foregone conclusion since Trudeau …
The Military vehemently rejected allegations that it was responsible for the attack on the Udayan press saying this was yet another attempt at discrediting the government and the military and a ploy by the TNA and pro-LTTE forces to use the adverse publicity “to support their claims that international interference was essential for local reconciliation”.
By W.A Wijewardena Many have sought to draw parallels between Margaret Thatcher, one-time British Prime Minister who passed away last week, with her contemporary in politics, Sri Lanka’s first Executive President J.R. Jayewardene, better known as JR. While there are a few parallels, there are stark contrasts between the two.
By Committee to Protect Journalists New York, April 15, 2013–Sri Lankan authorities must immediately investigate an attack on the offices of a Tamil-language newspaper and bring the perpetrators to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The offices of Uthayan have been attacked twice in two weeks.
by Narayan Lakshman Death and destruction struck in the last quarter-mile. The nearly 27000 runners making their way towards the final stretch of the 26.2-mile Boston Marathon could have felt nothing but exhilaration and exhaustion as they approached the finish line. Yet at 2:45pm on Monday afternoon the unsuspecting runners were knocked over by the …
Continue reading ‘3 Dead,132 Injured in Bomb Explosions at Iconic Boston Marathon Event’ »
By Prof.Rajiva Wijesinha M.P. Much energy has been expended in recent months in speculation as to whether we will soon have a new Prime Minister, and if so, who it will be. I was confidently told by an opposition Member of Parliament that seven Ministers had applied in writing for the post, and opposition papers …
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State John Kerry has proposed a 20 per cent cut in the American aid to Colombo, a move reflecting the unease in their ties over issues related tohuman rights, reconstruction and political integration in Sri Lanka after the end of the civil war. It is believed to be the highest drop …
Continue reading ‘US Secretary of State John Kerry proposes 20% cut in US aid to Sri Lanka’ »
By Raashid Riza There is that scene from Schindler’s List which had a profound impact on me. I had forgotten about it, I never knew it existed, except that it has lain somewhere in the fibre of my brain, dormant, latent, waiting for the opportune moment for it to be of use. The state of …
By The Puppeteer And now the Jaffna office has been burnt down. The Government has been quick state this was a malicious act conducted by Uthayan to frame the government. Sure, Uthayan Newspapers which has been around since 1985– and which has continued to publish their paper even though they’ve been attacked, and journalists and …
by Kapil Komireddi Mahinda Rajapaksa, the president of Sri Lanka, is easily incensed by campaigns for political autonomy on the basis of ethnic self-determination. Rejecting “different administrations based on ethnicity,” he recently asserted: “The solution is to live together in this country with equal rights for all communities.” It’s an admirable sentiment, contradicted only by …
By Tariq A.Al Maeena The undercurrent of racial tensions sweeping through Sri Lanka is gaining momentum. Unchecked and unrestrained by a government appearing to give in to their divisive demands, the terrorist Buddhist group, the Bodu Bala Sena (Buddhist Power Force), is threatening to turn the island into a bloody battlefield. The Muslims targeted by …
~ Greetings and Best Wishes for the “Vijaya” New Year From D.B.S.Jeyaraj
Text and Pix Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai Sri Lankans are preparing to celebrate the Sinhala and Tamil New Year. Aluth Avurudu (in Sinhala) or Puththaandu or Puthu Varusham (in Tamil) literally translates to ‘New Year’– the harbinger of spring. Beautifully decorated traditional “Kumbam”
(Text of Statement issued by the Management Cmmittee of the Sri Ratna Viharaya of Anaheim California USA) Sri Ratana Blog ~ pic: nuwan.drupalgardens.com The Management Committee of the Anaheim temple would like to issue the following statement regarding the visit of the Bodu Bala Sena: We are deeply disturbed and disappointed by the actions taken …
By Raisa Wickrematunge Representatives of the Bodu Bala Sena are visiting the US for an almost month-long tour, in part to counter wrong impressions given about the group, The Sunday Leader learnt. The team, which includes General Secretary of the group, Ven. Galagodaththe Gnanasara Thero and National Organiser Viththarandeniye Nanda Thero are currently visiting a …
By Buddhists Questioning Bodu Bala Sena (Text of Statement appearing in facebook of Buddhists Questioning Bodu Bala Sena) Dear Friends, It was humbling to see so many people present last evening, given the fact that this idea was first announced on Tuesday (9 April) and solely promoted on Facebook and held on a day (12 …
By The Puppeteer To my right a man is hauled off by the police. He tries to resist but it’s futile as four policemen load him into a police jeep and drive off. I’m snapping away as the jeep speeds off into the distance, when a voice behind me asks, ‘what just happened?’ I explain …
By South Asia Free Media Association A gang of unknown persons has again violently attacked a newspaper institution in the North early this morning (Saturday, 13th April) setting fire to and severely damaging its printing press. While condemning this attack, the Sri Lanka Chapter of the South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA-SL) points out that, …
By Meera Srinivasan The obsession with the 13th amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution will hardly help the Tamils, politicians and activists in northern Sri Lanka told the Indian parliamentary delegation, which wound up its visit to Sri Lanka on Thursday. While members of the Indian delegation were rather reluctant to speak to the media …
By Easwaran Rutnnam The Bodu Bala Sena, with the assistance of the police, prevented a peaceful candle lit vigil from taking place outside the Bodu Bala Sena headquarters in Thunmulla late this evening. A small crowd under the banner ‘Buddhists Questioning Bodu Bala Sena’ stood outside the Bodu Bala Sena headquarters and attempted to stage …
By C.A.Chandraprema In the short term, the most important issue before the government is the holding of the Northern Provincial Council election. This should be held within the next four to five months according to announcements made by the government. The reason why the NPC election has not been held up to now, is clearly …
By Rajan Philips The April New Year is when most Sri Lankans take a break from the dreary routines of life. Colombo looks dead on New Year’s day in April as people in large numbers retreat to their rural roots from the hurly-burly of the city. Quite different from Colombo’s hangover demeanor on January 1 …
Continue reading ‘New Year prospects for political house cleaning and economic harvesting’ »
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has engaged the services of a Washington based PR agency for a consideration of Rs. 100 million (approx. US$ 800,000) in order to deepen defence, investment, trade and cultural links with the US ahead of the UNHRC sessions in 2013. The Central Bank would pay Rs. 100 million for …
LMD Interviews Dr.Dayan Jayatilleka Former Ambassador and Academic Dr.Dayan Jayatilleka queries whether an an “Administrative apartheid”is in force in the North of Sri Lanka in an interview to Lanka Monthly Digest
By Shivprasad Swaminathan Designating the letter written by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu to the Prime Minister as communicating a “decision” to “ban” Sri Lankan players, officials and support staff from participating in any Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket game in Chennai would be imprecise. Rather, it is a putative ban; a statement of …
by Dr. U. Pethiyagoda Had Lakshman Kadirgamar been allowed to live, he would today (12 April) have reached the age of 81 years. His brutal and cowardly murder by the LTTE on 12 August 2005 snuffed out his life and undid in seconds what 73 years had taken to achieve. In our travails at Geneva, …
Continue reading ‘Remembering Lakshman Kadirgamar Through Anecdotal Accolades’ »
By Tisaranee Gunasekara “With or without anticipation, Israeli policies helped shaped the kinds of enemies that pledge to sacrifice their lives to fight the Jewish state…” – Saul Landau (IPS – 29.2.2009) The Rajapaksas are masters at the art of political marketing. They have developed an ‘all you need to know’ crash course in building …
Continue reading ‘Rajapaksa Power-plays: Cheating Tamils and Demonising Muslims’ »
By Dharisha Bastians The misty mountain village of Kuragala, just off Balangoda came alive on Monday when a Sri Lanka Air Force helicopter landed in the area carrying Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and a full retinue of military, police and intelligence officers onboard. Accompanied by dozens of Buddhist monks including Jathika Hela Urumaya Leader Ellawela …
By M.A.Sumanthiran M.P. ‘Towards a peaceful environment to live with confidence, without fear of crime and violence.’ This is the current Vision of the Sri Lanka Police, unambiguously declared on its official website. How many of us live today with confidence and without fear? The government’s portrayal of the Police in Sri Lanka quite deliberately …
By Sathya Liyanasuriya The indefatigable solider, former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka is in the news once again. His newly formed Democratic Party (DP) was formally recognised by the Commissioner of Elections last week and assigned the symbol of a burning torch. The entry of the DP into the political arena does alter the parameters of …
By Meera Srinivasan In 1978, one of the finest actors of India and a much-acclaimed star from Sri Lanka played the lead roles in a film that was shot in both countries. Over three decades later, actor-turned-Parliamentarian Malani Fonseka — who played the female lead in Sivaji Ganesan’s ‘Pilot Premnath’ — is reaching out to …
Continue reading ‘Sri Lankan Film Fraternity Against Demand Urging Ban on Tamil Nadu Films’ »
by Upul Joseph Fernando Just after the US resolution at the UNHRC in Geneva was successfully carried through with India’s backing, President Mahinda Rajapaksa made a telling remark, pregnant with futuristic meaning. In essence, what he revealed was a conspiracy by the US and Western interests using the Tamil Diaspora as a cat’s paw to …
By Gunadasa Amarasekara “The ongoing crisis in the Southern Indian State of Tamil Nadu, over accountability issues here, should discourage those pushing for devolution of power under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. A hostile Provincial Council Administration in the Northern or the Eastern province in Sri Lanka could be inimical to the post war …
Continue reading ‘“The Day Will Come When People will No Longer Back President Rajapaksa”’ »
By Vishnuguptha “Commitment: a pledge or promise; obligation. If you’re gonna carry out its meaning 1st you have to know what it means.” ~ Unknown quote To paraphrase Leonard Wolf in the Village in the Jungle: “all power is evil, but there is no power more evil than that is invested in the current Executive …
By N.Sathiya Moorthy No discourse nearer home or afar on India’s geo-strategic imperatives for the 21st century has been complete without a strong and at times repeated reference to the ‘String of Pearls’ theory involving China. A theory floated by western strategic thinkers, it had takers in India immediately afterward – to try and ward …
By Karu Jayasuriya M.P. (Brief Notes in point form of the Media Conference held by Hon. Karu Jayasuriya, UNP MP for Gampaha District on 10th April 2013 in Colombo) • The Government has already announced that the Provincial Council Elections for Central and North Western Province will be held in the coming months and elections …
By Rajavarothayam Sampanthan M.P. (Text of Statement made on 10th April 2013 under Standing Order 23(2) – provisoby Tamil National alliance leader and Trincomalee district MP Rajavarothayam Sampanthan in Parliament) On Saturday, 30th March 2013, a mob of around 50 persons who came in a procession along the A9 highway carrying the national flag attacked …
by Kath Noble The monks of the Bodu Bala Sena have inadvertently done Sri Lanka a favour. Their speeches are so crass and their actions so crude that they have provoked a backlash – the media is full of criticism of their anti-Muslim campaign, much of it coming from Sinhala Buddhists themselves. People have recognised …
Continue reading ‘Monks of the Bodu Bala Sena Have Inadvertently Done Sri Lanka a Favour’ »
By M.S.S.Pandian and Kalaiyarasan A. And why not? It is better than never. The spark has grown into a flame and we add fuel believing that it burns till the light of equal rights reaches the long deprived and oppressed people – Lalith Raja, senior system engineer, Infosys, Chennai, in NDTV Blog. The spark which …
By D.B.S.JEYARAJ Moviemaker Maestro Lester James Peries celebrated his Birthday yesterday. Sri Lanka’s pioneering director of authentic Sinhala cinema was born in Dehiwela on April 5th 1919. The nonagenarian auteur in a cinematic career spanning more than five decades has stamped his indelible imprint on Sinhala films and in the process elevated Sri Lankan cinema …
Continue reading ‘Nidhanaya: Retrieving The Lost Cinematic ‘Treasure’ of Lester James Peries’ »
Text and Pix Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai Passionate traditional musical siblings of the peninsula “Mangala Isai” is a traditional music group that performs at Hindu temples during festivals, Hindu weddings, and at puberty ceremonies. This particular group has two women who play “Naathaswaram” and “Thavil” generally played only by male musicians.
By Sam Rajappa The 21 March UN Human Rights Council vote was a victory for Sri Lanka since the US sponsored, India supported resolution did not call the human rights violation as State sponsored. Last year’s resolution as well as this year’s resolution calls for implementation of the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation …
Continue reading ‘UN Human Rights Council Resolution is Victory not defeat for Sri Lanka’ »
(Text of Statement by the Ministry of External Affairs Sri Lanka) Contact and interaction between Sri Lanka and India has continued since time immemorial. Civilisational ties and cultural links between all parts of India and Sri Lanka have been substantial. Since Independence, both nations have followed an unbroken tradition of democracy. The Governments of India …
By Shamindra Ferdinando Had the then Indian government acted with responsibility, Sri Lanka wouldn’t have experienced a 30-year war, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said yesterday. People of all communities would have been still suffering horrors of war, if not for the eradication of terrorism in May 2009, following a three-year combined security forces campaign, the …
By N Sathiya Moorthy Ruling Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi may not have said it all in his 75-minute CII talk in New Delhi. Yet, he may have left no one in doubt that the party has to – and will, in his time – revisit the policies of the past decades and take it back …
By Michele J.Sison (US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Michele J.Sison’s Remarks:“US Policy Towards and Continuing Engagement with Sri Lanka” to the Foreign Correspondents Association in Colombo on April 8, 2013) Thank you for inviting me to speak tonight. It is a pleasure being here, and also a pleasure to have the opportunity to show my …
by Kamaya Jayatissa “I hear that melting-pot stuff a lot, and all I can say is that we haven’t melted.” – Jesse Jackson For a country which finally came out of a protracted civil war we surely have not learned much of a lesson when it comes to tolerance and peaceful co-existence between communities. Lack …
Continue reading ‘Is Post-War Sri Lanka truly Multicultural?’ »
By Col R Hariharan [This article includes comments made by Col Hariharan in a TV discussion on April 7, 2013 on North Korean threat to unleash nuclear strike on U.S. bases and South Korea.] Why the North Korean stand off? There are both contemporary and historical reasons behind the North Korean threat to launch an …
By Rajavarothayam Sampanthan M.P. (Statement Made in Parliament by Tamil National Alliance Leader and MP from Trincomalee District , Rajavarothayam Sampanthan, on April 9th 2013 under Standing Order 23(2) – proviso relating to matter of urgent public importance ) I wish to make a statement on a most grave issue of national concern, relating to …
by Dr. Sarath Buddhadasa We entered Peradeniya university way back in the late 1970s with the hope of creating a future for our families and also to enjoy life while contributing to the progress of society, since it was the people of this country who sustained us in the universities by way of direct and …
By Keerthi Rupasinghe “The skeletons in the mass graves in Matale are those of the 60,000 JVP members killed during the UNP regime in 1988-89. We urge the government to immediately conduct a probe into the findings,” says the JVP. While the media began reporting the issue, the JVP held media briefings and issued communiqués …
ONLY a handful of peace-time politicians can claim to have changed the world. Margaret Thatcher, who died this morning, was one. She transformed not just her own Conservative Party, but the whole of British politics. Her enthusiasm for privatisation launched a global revolution and her willingness to stand up to tyranny helped to bring an …
By Joseph R.Gregory Margaret Thatcher, the “Iron Lady” of British politics, who pulled her country back from 35 years of socialism, led it to victory in the Falklands war and helped guide the United States and the Soviet Union through the Cold War’s difficult last years, died Monday. She was 87. “It is with great …
By P.V. Srividya “I do not want my child to be born and raised as a refugee,” says Padma, resting her palm on her five-month pregnant stomach. She arrived in India as a little girl in 1990. The only transition since then is that she had moved out of a refugee camp to live outside …
By Maneckshaw The Jaffna Peninsula is unique as far as regional media activities are concerned. Away from Colombo, this is the only region in the country where the ‘fourth estate’ thrives. Remarkably, not only four regional newspapers are published here, the country’s first regional television station, Dish Asia Network (DAN), which caters to the region …
Continue reading ‘Despite Hostile Environment Jaffna Remains Powerful Media Hub in the Country’ »
By Hardeep S. Puri Contemporary developments in India’s foreign policy are often based on perceptions and not facts, views divorced from reality and political advocacy based on make-believe. India’s approach to the Sri Lankan issue and the vote in the Human Rights Council (HRC) is a case in point. Variously described as a “new low” …
By Gibson Bateman Another US sponsored resolution on Sri Lanka – the second in 12 months – was passed recently at the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva. Twenty-five countries voted in favor of the resolution and 13 voted against it. There were 8 abstentions. Importantly, the resolution also had 41 cosponsors. This …
by Dr. Vinoth Ramachandra In the few days following the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) meetings in Geneva, we have witnessed several acts of blatant criminality by mobs on people and property – in Colombo, Killinochchi and elsewhere. A common factor has been the passivity of the police. They have looked the other way …
By R. SUJATHA Theepachelvan, christened Balenndram Pratheepan, is the author of 11 books, including five collections of poems, three of articles, one compendium of short stories of people from the war-scarred land, and one anthology of poems by Eelam poets. His most recent book, Pray for My Land, is a collection of poems translated into …
Continue reading ‘“I Want to Live in my Land and Write About my People”-Theepachelvan’ »
by Austin Fernando Having read a post by HE Jaliya Wickramasuriya, our Ambassador in the USA, titled “A Role for Sri Lanka in US Pivot to Asia”, I thought it may be ideal to understand how others compete to be in the US pivot to Asia to do business. I mean “business” only in economic …
Beirut) – United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities should not deport 19 Tamil refugees to Sri Lanka because they would be at serious risk of torture and persecution upon return. The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has recognized all 19 as refugees, but the UAE authorities have told the group they must leave the country by …
By A Special Correspondent Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jayanthi Natarajan has urged the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Naina Lal Kidwai to cancel the proposed trip by a delegation of Parliamentarians to Sri Lanka, “in solidarity with the sufferings of innocent civilian Tamils in Sri Lanka and …
By Meera Srinivasan A delegation of six Indian parliamentarians will visit Sri Lanka between April 8 and April 12. They will also visit Colombo and Jaffna during the trip, which is being organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
By Janaka Perera The 42nd anniversary of the April 1971 insurgency fell on Friday. This is an account of little-known facts of the attempt to free JVP Leader Rohana Wijeweera from the Jaffna Prison during the uprising. In 1969-1970 the JVP – then popularly called the Che Guevarists – was supporting the Opposition United Front’s …
by Izeth Hussain I read in a newspaper an account of a recent meeting on the Government’s foreign policy, in which several ex-Ambassadors and others had participated. The outcome was apparently unfavorable to the Government, since it was seen as making foreign policy mistakes which have placed Sri Lanka in a very disadvantageous position. In …
By Ranga Jayasuriya True to Sri Lankan style, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has decided to appoint a ‘presidential commission’ to conduct an inquiry into the Matale mass grave. The mandate of the proposed commission is to be finalized in two days, Presidential Spokesman Mohan Samaranayake, said, confiding to our correspondent that he too is awaiting further …
By Ranga Jayasuriya (A grieving mother of two teenage sons who were abducted by the Army in 1989, narrates how she was stopped and sent back when she went to meet then Military Coordinating Officer (MCO) for Matale, Lt. Col. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa). The two teenage sons of K.G. Kamalawathi were snatched by the soldiers who …
by Kamal Nissanka The Liberal Party is concerned about the ongoing multifaceted campaigns by a few self-proclaimed organizations in Sri Lanka against religious minorities. A clear sinister campaign is also launched by these organizations to boycott commercial establishments run by Muslims. The Liberal Party understands that the demands by these extremist organizations cannot be practically …
By Umesh Moramudali With racial discrimination on the rise, Minister of National Languages and Social Integration, Vasudeva Nanayakkara is due to submit a Cabinet paper, seeking approval to ban hate language, which is designed to incite communal disharmony. Ceylon Today interviewed asked him about the steps he intends taking to stem the increasing incidents of …
By Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema TNA parliamentarian, Attorney-at-Law M. A. Sumanthiran says the international community has realized that the request for time and space is not a genuine one but only for the government to implement its own agenda. He observed that if the government acts responsibly at least at this stage and engages constructively with …
The famed Tamil Language scholar and Tamil Pandit Madulugiriye Wijerathne was honoured with the Buddha’s Light Award for the monumental contribution he has made for the propagation of Buddhism through the Tamil Language.
by N. Sathiya Moorthy Military Spokesman Brig. Ruwan Wanigasooriya’s exposition that Sri Lanka will need foreign help to determine the number of deaths in ‘Eelam War IV’ stands to reason. He has said, and rightly so, that many have migrated through the years of ethnic conflict; some among the 300,000 freed from the LTTE’s clutches …
By Krishan Francis COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A red-robbed Buddhist monk calmly picked up stones and hurled them at a security camera. Then, as police looked on, his followers smashed up a popular, Muslim-owned clothing store. Last month’s attack on the Fashion Bug chain near Colombo, filmed by a local television station whose cameraman …
Continue reading ‘Anti-Muslim Campaign led by Buddhist Monks is Fast Gaining Ground Among Youth’ »
Who is Dr.Indra Samarasekera? She is the 12th president of the University of Alberta, one of Canada’s most respected research-intensive universities. Building strong international partnerships is a signature feature of her leadership. The International aspect involves German Research Centres, the Aga Khan University, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) apart from others. Indira Samarasekera is …
By Tisaranee Gunasekara “The history or the future of Sri Lanka does not belong to any group”. Ranasinghe Premadasa (Speech on 12.11.1990) Character can be fate, for both individuals and collectives. The answer to where Sri Lanka is headed depends, at least in part, on what Sri Lanka is. In 1956, the dominant Sinhala opinion …
By Kuldip Nayar Sri Lanka and India, although separated only by a channel, have never gotten along well. It is like the UK and France being at war with each other, centuries ago. Both Colombo and New Delhi are really distant neighbours. Their mistrust is so deep that one attributes all types of motives to …
By Ven Maduluwewa Sobitha Thero 1. Abolition of Executive Presidency The Executive Presidency (EP) shall be immediately and totally abolished with a return to a Parliamentary form of Government. The best thing that can happen is for the present Government to agree to the abolition of the Executive Presidency and bring a constitutional amendment to …
Continue reading ‘Suggestions for Immediate Constitutional Reform’ »
by Manjula Dissanayake Who are the “diaspora”? The International diaspora Engagement Alliance (IdEA) describes them as “a community of people who live outside their shared country of origin or ancestry, but maintain active connections with it. A diaspora includes both emigrants and their descendants.” According to the World Bank, the official global diaspora remittances reached …
By Dr.Ruvaiz Haniffa The speech of Ven. Galagodatte Gnanasara Thera at a public meeting in Kandy on March 17 shamed the nation and sent shudders over the spines of the island’s Muslim community. Addressing the gathering Bodu Bala Sena Secretary Ven. Galagodatte Gnanasara Thera asked the Sinhalese to rise against the island’s Muslims, whom he …
By Dr. Devanesan Nesiah The title of this article is a line from a beautifully haunting hymn written by Bishop Heber of Calcutta who, clearly, had an imperialistic mindset. He visited our island in 1825, and the hymn must have been written around that time. The next line reads, ‘The Heathen in his blindness bows …
Continue reading ‘Where every prospect pleases, man alone vile’ »
By Vishnuguptha “Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate for people other than your own comes first.” ~Charles de Gaulle In this fast changing world, most of those closet-gay guys and gals came out of their self-built closets and identified themselves as what they really are-either gay or not. …
By Christie F.J.Richards Rod is R.D. Perera. We met in 1954 when he enrolled in the University Entrance class (HSC) at Jaffna College. Before it became associated with the slogan of Eelam, Vaddukoddai’s sole claim to fame was that Jaffna College was located there. Apart from that Vaddukoddai was a cultural desert. There were no …
By D.B.S.Jeyaraj In a bizarre move tinged with “black humour” the anti-Muslim, Bodhu Bala Sena(BBS)is planning to form its own Muslim unit within its organizational structure in the near future.
By Valli Sanmugalingam and Ali Beydoun In Sept. 2007, Mahmoud Ahmedinaejad, president of the authoritarian and oppressive Iranian regime, gave a speech at Columbia University, claiming that “women in Iran enjoy the highest levels of freedom” and denying that the Holocaust occurred. The speech was met with uproar and protests from within Columbia University as …
By Tisaranee Gunasekara “A state of permanent war….where violence pervades all spheres of life, where the rich flourish and the poor live in misery; a state that will be deserted by the best of its children? Yuri Avnery (Countercurrents) Last week, the Cimmerian darkness enveloping Sri Lanka was breached by a spark of resistance. The …
By D.B.S.JEYARAJ Weligama in Matara District of the Southern Province has become the latest venue of anti –Muslim activity in Sri Lanka.Weligama meaning “Sandy Village”in Sinhala is situated 144 Km from and is a well-known tourist destination in the Island.Although Sinhalese are the preponderant majority in the area the population of Weligama is diverse with …
Text and Pix by Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai Temple worship is an integral part of Hinduism. Illustrative of this “Kopuram” or the tower over the main entrance of the temple is splendidly covered with sculpted images of Hindu Gods and Goddesses, and celestial beings. The tower is meant to be visible from afar, so that devotees can …
The Most Revd Justin Welby was today enthroned as the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury in a service that celebrated the diversity of the Anglican Communion. As the Archbishop of Canterbury entered the cathedral, he was greeted by a fanfare and questioned by Evangeline Kanagasooriam, a young member of the congregation. He replied: “I am Justin, …
By Dharisha Bastians “The attack on religious freedoms radicalises the polity and unleashes dangers that cannot be controlled even by those who foster them” Retired Supreme Court Justice C.V. Wigneswaran at the BASL Convocation on 30 March Justice Minister Rauff Hakeem meeting with Australia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Bob J Carr and Immigration Minister Brendan …
By Dharisha Bastians More than three years after he made a bid for the presidency and 10 months after his release from prison, former Army Chief Sarath Fonseka yesterday inaugurated his political party under the symbol of the flaming torch, pledging to change Sri Lanka’s political culture and restore much-needed democracy.The Elections Commission formally registered …
by National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (Text of Press Release Issued by the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka) The National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL) is deeply concerned regarding the prevalence in Sri Lanka of an organized campaign of hatred against adherents of non‐majority faiths. In recent months Muslims …
(Text of a media release issued by the Tamil National Alliance) The Tamil National Alliance expresses its grave concern over an attack today, 3rd March 2013, by armed assailants of the Kilinochchi distribution office of the Uthayan newspaper. Two staff were hospitalized after sustaining injuries, and property – including vehicles – has been damaged. The …
by Karu Jayasuriya M.P. (Text of Media Release by Hon. Karu Jayasuriya UNP Member of Parliament Gampaha District – 3rd April 2013) Once again the right of the people in the North to hold dissenting opinion has been threatened. The latest example is the attack on the office of the Udayan newspaper by goons. According …
By Frances Harrison Perhaps most shocking was that they came in military uniform to an arts festival. It could have been a bold move to include a session on war reporting in the latest literary event in the Sri Lankan capital – Colomboscope. Sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank and organised by the British Council and …
by YUDHANJAYA WIJERATNE (ALCH3MIST) Once, in Europe, there was a country that had just gotten through a war. It wasn’t the best place to be. It wasn’t the richest country in the world. Nevertheless, it was home to large numbers of people from a variety of races. People were, by and large, getting along and …
They call upon Centre to impose economic sanctions on island nation Endorsing the Tamil Nadu Assembly resolution on Sri Lanka, the South Indian Artistes Association, the apex body of film actors in South India, on Tuesday called upon the Union government to impose economic sanctions on the island nation till the safety and rights of …
By Upul Joseph Fernando When the resolution against Sri Lanka was being tabled in Geneva, it was the Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Hina Rabbani Khar, who appeared to be the busiest person, perhaps, even more so than our own Minister of External Affairs. She took special pains to instruct to the Pakistan High Commissioner in …
By Dr.Vickramabahu Karunaratne Kandy people’s assembly met at the YMBA hall on 31 Sunday. This is the 3rd such assembly to meet, after Colombo and Kurunegala. All these were organised by the civil society organizations led by the Platform for Freedom. The Protest of the Opposition, the action alliance convened by the leader of the …
By P.Jayaram Way back in 1994, four Colombo-based Indian journalists and the Sinhalese correspondent of an international news agency got a rare permission to visit Jaffna. Rare because, at that time, the northern peninsula was almost totally controlled by the Tamil Tigers, who had driven out the government forces in conventional battles. Journalists required permission …
By Indika Sri Aravinda Minister of National Language and Social Integration Vasudeva Nanayakara is to submit a Cabinet paper seeking a ban on extremist groups, including the Bodu Bala Sena, Ravana Balaya and Sinhala Ravaya. The Minister told The Sunday Leader that the Cabinet paper is being drafted and will be submitted in two weeks …
By Nita Bhalla NEW DELHI, (AlertNet) – The Sri Lankan government must find and prosecute those responsible for the massacre of 17 aid workers during the country’s 25-year civil war, French charity Action Contre La Faim (ACF) has said. The killing of the aid workers, who were shot at point-blank range outside their office in …
by Dasun Edirisinghe JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva yesterday called for legal action against those responsible for torturing and killing his party members between 1987 and 1990. Addressing the meida in Colombo, he said President Mahinda Rajapaksa had campaigned against the killing of youth by the then UNP government’s death squads and later the People’s …
By S.L.Gunasekara What greater act of enmity and/or treachery can one country commit towards another other than by arming, equipping and training a gang of disgruntled citizens of that country to commit mass murders of residents of the latter country, regardless of their ages, genders, ethnicity and/or religious persuasions and to destroy the property of …
By Chrishanthi Christopher The Hambantota Port, named after President Mahinda Rajapaksa, is proving to be a disaster. The Magampura Mahinda Rajapaksa Port (MMRP), opened two years ago with the aim of increasing the number of cargo ships berthing at the Port, and rejuvenating bunkering, which at this point in time has proved to be a …
by Karu Jayasuriya M.P. (Brief Notes of the Media Conference held by Hon. Karu Jayasuriya MP UNP for Gampaha District, on 2nd April 2013) • This press conference is being held today at a time when all spheres in the country are in disarray. • When we look at some incidents, we get the feeling …
By Praveen Swami I’d travelled up the elevators in the Akashdeep Building up to the eleventh floor, as high as they would go. Less than two dozen steps now separated me from the Asian Regional Institute of the Juche Idea, the largest Indian outpost of “supreme commander Kim Jong-Il and his impregnable country”. Kim’s trusted …
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By D.B.S.JEYARAJ A blatant attempt is underway in Sri Lanka to “cover up” and whitewash the despicable role played by the “Bodhu Bala Sena”(Buddhist Power Force)in the recent attack at Pepiliyana on the Muslim owned apparel establishment”Fashion Bug”. Although the Bodhu Bala Sena(BBS) has disclaimed responsibility for the incident ,such denial seems rather unconvincing as …
By D.B.S.JEYARAJ Sri Lanka’s national flag was disgraced and disrespected in the Northern town of Kilinochchi on Saturday March 30th 2013 when a motley crew of “State Terrorists” launched a stone attack on the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) office premises while a political discussion was in progress. The assortment of state sponsored, inebriated rowdies shouting …
By Charitha Ratwatte Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor recently commented that “Africa must shake off its romantic view of China and accept Beijing as a competitor as much as a partner capable of the same exploitative practices as the old European colonial powers.” Governor Lamido Sanusi reflects the growing number of senior African bureaucrats who fear …
By An Anonymous Writer When elephants fight it is the grass that suffers, so goes an old Kenyan proverb. In the maelstrom of political hysteria unleashed by Jayalalitha and Karunanidhi ostensibly in aid of Sri Lankan Tamils, democracy, truth and solidarity have been the biggest casualties. Over the past few months, Tamil Nadu has witnessed …