by

Nelson Mandela

(Full text of statement made by Nelson Mandela from the dock at the opening of his trial on charges of sabotage at Supreme Court of South Africa, Pretoria on April 20 1964)

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela(July 18, 1918-December 5, 2013)

I am the First Accused. I hold a Bachelor`s Degree in Arts and practised as an attorney in Johannesburg for a number of years in partnership with Oliver Tambo. I am a convicted prisoner serving five years for leaving the country without a permit and for inciting people to go on strike at the end of May 1961.
Continue reading ‘I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities’ »

By

John Pilger

The Empire State Building lit in the colors of the South African flag in honor of Nelson Mandela, Dec 6, 2013-pic: twitter.com/nbcnightlynews

When I reported from South Africa in the 1960s, the Nazi admirer B J Vorster occupied the prime minister’s residence in Cape Town. Thirty years later, as I waited at the gates, it was as if the guards had not changed. White Afrikaners checked my ID with the confidence of men in secure work. One carried a copy of Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela’s autobiography. “It’s very eenspirational,” he said.
Continue reading ‘Mandela Legacy: Ending Racial Apartheid and Retaining Economic Apartheid’ »

by

Musa Okwonga

Dear revisionists, Mandela will never, ever be your minstrel. Over the next few days you will try so, so hard to make him something he was not, and you will fail. You will try to smooth him, to sandblast him, to take away his Malcolm X. You will try to hide his anger from view. Right now, you are anxiously pacing the corridors of your condos and country estates, looking for the right words, the right tributes, the right-wing tributes.
Continue reading ‘Mandela was About Politics, Race, Freedom and even Force and Cannot be Reduced to a Reggae Tune About Love’ »

pic via: https://twitter.com/billclinton/

By BILL KELLER

Nelson Mandela, who led the emancipation of South Africa from white minority rule and served as his country’s first black president, becoming an international emblem of dignity and forbearance, died Thursday night. He was 95.

Continue reading ‘Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s Liberator as Prisoner and President, Dies at 95’ »

WHO was the greatest of the statesmen of the 20th century?

Discard the mass murderers such as Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong; set aside the autocratic nationalists like Gamal Abdel Nasser and the more admirable but probably less influential anti-communists like Vaclav Havel; then winnow the list to half a dozen names. On it would perhaps be Mohandas Gandhi, Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Charles de Gaulle, Jack Kennedy and Nelson Mandela. For many people, in many lands, the most inspirational of these would be the last, who died on December 5th, aged 95.
Continue reading ‘Nelson Mandela: The Long Walk is Over’ »

AMONG Nelson Mandela’s many achievements, two stand out. First, he was the world’s most inspiring example of fortitude, magnanimity and dignity in the face of oppression, serving more than 27 years in prison for his belief that all men and women are created equal.

Nelson Mandela on the roof at Kholvad House. Photograph courtesy of Ahmed Kathrada-via: facebook.com/nelsonmandela

During the brutal years of his imprisonment on Robben Island, thanks to his own patience, humour and capacity for forgiveness, he seemed freer behind bars than the men who kept him there, locked up as they were in their own self-demeaning prejudices. Indeed, his warders were among those who came to admire him most.
Continue reading ‘The greatness of Nelson Mandela challenges us all’ »

South Africa’s first black president and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela has died at the age of 95.

Mr Mandela led South Africa’s transition from white-minority rule in the 1990s, after 27 years in prison for his political activities.

He had been receiving intensive medical care at home for a lung infection after spending three months in hospital.

Announcing the news on South African national TV, President Jacob Zuma said Mr Mandela was at peace.

“Our nation has lost its greatest son,” Mr Zuma said.
Continue reading ‘South Africa’s Nelson Mandela dies in Johannesburg’ »

by

DAVID CAMERON

IT’S now over a week since I returned from Jaffna and the images still both haunt and inspire me. The visit I made to the north of Sri Lanka was fascinating — you can get all the briefings you like but nothing can replace seeing the situation for yourself.

Continue reading ‘“I’m Determined That we Play our Part in Building a Brighter Future for the People of Sri Lanka”’ »

“That was his dream and hope to his last breath”

Good bye my Gurudewa

By DR THUSHARA RODRIGO

“The light has gone out of our lives, and there is darkness everywhere”. This is exactly what I felt when I heard the sad news of our beloved Gurudewa’s passing away just within a few hours of my landing in Sri Lanka.

The words I quoted were those of Pundit Nehru, which he uttered spontaneously on hearing of the death of Mahatma Gandhi.

Continue reading ‘Extend a hand of friendship and love to those from other races and religions and treat Sri Lanka as a multicultural nation: Tribute to R.I.T. Alles’ »

pic via: facebook.com/BasilRajapaksa

(Excerpts from Speech made in Parliament by Economic Development minister Basil Rajapaksa while winding up the Budget debate on behalf of the Govt)

“This is Sri Lanka’s 68th budget. The United National Party(UNP) has presented 34 budgets. With this budget, the coalition governments led by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party too have presented 34 budgets. This is the first time the number of budgets presented by both sides have become equal. The Mahinda Rajapaksa Government will have to present many more budgets in the future.
Continue reading ‘Basil Rajapaksa Appeals to Tamils and TNA to Resolve the National Problem on “Our Own” Without Foreign Interference’ »

by Rex Clementine

Some sportsmen are still remembered fondly although they are long retired. The thrills they provided the fans through their exceptional skills could be forgotten as time passes by, but the things they stood for in life are long revered. Strong leaders aren’t the most popular ones.

1996 World Cup-winning former captain Arjuna Ranatunga shacking hands with Sachin Tendulkar

The decisions they have taken in life for the common good have their admirers and critics. As a captain and later an administrator Arjuna Ranatunga was such a leader. The Emperor of Sri Lankan cricket turns 50 today and looking back at all those years he has few regrets.
Continue reading ‘“Captain Cool” of Sri Lankan Cricket is Fifty Not Out!’ »

By N. Sathiya Moorthy

That TNA leader R. Sampanthan made clear the TNA MP Sritharan’s glorification of the LTTE and Prabhakaran in Parliament was not in tune with the party line has to be taken at face-value.

It cannot, however, stop the possible resurrection of the LTTE’s ghost in the post-CHOGM permissiveness than any time in the post-war past.
Continue reading ‘Is the TNA Trying to Resurrect the LTTE Spectre ?’ »

R.I.T. Alles, Former Principal of D.S. Senanayake College Passes Away

By K. Thirukumaran

Founding principal of D.S. Senanayake College (DSSC), Colombo 7, Sri Lanka R.I.T. Alles passed away on Nov 28.

He was formerly a teacher at Royal College and after DSSC served as the State Secretary for Ministry of Education from 1989 to 1993 and was the Chairman of the Gateway Group.

Continue reading ‘R.I.T. Alles: Founding Principal of Post-Independence Sri Lanka’s only Trilingual post-Secondary School’ »

Dhammika Perera-pic courtesy: Forbes.com

By Jon Springer

Dhammika Perera didn’t become one of Sri Lanka’s richest people by luck. It was actually by design. Back in 1999, when he was 32, he developed a 20-year plan for his fledgling businesses with the help of a mentor.

His audacious goal: Become the country’s leader in each of 12 sectors by 2019. He’s already succeeded in 9 of the sectors, building best-in-class companies in tourism, banking, apparel and other industries. Indeed, his Royal Ceramics Lanka appeared in 2010 and last year on FORBES ASIA’s list of the best 200 listed Asia-Pacific companies with under $1 billion in annual sales.
Continue reading ‘Sri Lankan Dhammika Perera’s Master Plan’ »

By

Karu Jayasuriya M.P.

(Text of statement issued by Karu Jayasuriya Gampaha district MP and Leader of UNP united leadership council)

Many Sri Lankans are unaware of the heavy price that we have to incur in the coming weeks and months for the enormous cost borne for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting that was recently concluded.

pic via: facebook.com/KaruJayasuriya

The public cannot be blamed for this since the Government has purposefully left everyone in the dark regarding the exuberant expenditure for the event. Though the opposition has repeatedly asked for accounts for this event the Government has not shown an iota of transparency. What was the cost of all those vehicles that were imported and the numerous contracts given to decorate the city?
Continue reading ‘Only 23 Heads of Govt Attended CHOGM Conference in Colombo and not 37 as Stated by Rajapaksa Regime’ »

by

Dharisha Bastians

There’s a new emperor in town

The posters and hoardings to celebrate President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s ascension to the Chair of the Commonwealth, a grouping mostly made up of territories of the former British Empire, must have been ready weeks in advance.

Celebrating Birthday-Nov 18-, 2013-pic via: twitter/com/RajapaksaNamal

By happy coincidence, the President was also celebrating his 68th birthday and his eighth year in office this week.
Continue reading ‘Will President Rajapaksa Crowned as Commonwealth Emperor Have Early Polls in 2014?’ »

by

Kelum Bandara

Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Minister Douglas Devananda remains disillusioned about the electoral defeat at the Northern Provincial Council Poll on September 21. Mr. Devananda, the leader of EPDP, is a strong advocate of the Provincial Council (PC) system. Also, EPDP is a militant group that laid down arms soon after the introduction of the system in 1987 under the Indo-Lanka Accord. During a recent interview with Daily Mirror, he speaks out his sentiments on the elections and the way forward for his party.
Continue reading ‘“If I Contested I Could have Brougt More Votes”-Douglas Devananda’ »

BY
PRAVEEN SWAMI

Florence-on-the-Elbe, they used to call the historic German city of Dresden, before it began to turn to ash that evening in February 1945. Inside of days, the United Kingdom and the United States bomber command dropped some 3,900 tonnes of ordnance over the city, creating an inferno which would claim an estimated 25,000 lives.

The military utility of the slaughter is still debated by historians: proponents claim it destroyed key Nazi communication hubs, and broke the will of Germans to resist; opponents say it was vengeance, plain and simple.
Continue reading ‘War Against LTTE in Sri Lanka: When and How Much Ethical is it to Kill in War?’ »

by

N Sathiya Moorthy

At the end of weeks of competitive, though not confrontational politics on the streets, and precedent-setting constitutional calculus in court rooms, Parliament and elsewhere, the ‘numbers’ prevailed.

President Yameen (L) meets former President Gayoom (R)-pic: presidencymaldives.gov.mv

Reflecting the dynamics of coalition politics in the Maldivian context, visible since the first multi-party presidential polls of 2008, Abdulla Yameen, officially the candidate of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) but supported by a near-equal number of voters from outside, won the nation’s presidency by a wafer-thin majority against former President Mohammed ‘Anni’ Nasheed, leader of the Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), in a closely-fought second-round, run-off polls, on Saturday, 16 November 2013.
Continue reading ‘Maldives: It’s President Yameen – and promise of reconciliation’ »

By

Meera Srinivasan

While the Sri Lankan government has so far given the impression that it does not take offence to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh skipping the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Sri Lanka’s Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa said on Sunday that he was disappointed with Dr. Singh’s absence.

Continue reading ‘“We are Asians. We Like Indians. Dr.Singh Should Have Been Here” – Basil Rajapaksa’ »

By

Thushara Gooneratne

Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, in an interview said not many civilians were killed in the war although LTTE propagandists tried to exaggerate the numbers to defame the Sri Lanka Army and the Government.

Excerpts:
Continue reading ‘“You Dont Need to Come to Politics to Serve the Country” – Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’ »

by Shamindra Ferdinando

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa yesterday alleged that UK Premier David Cameron was playing politics in Colombo to placate the LTTE rump back home.

pic courtesy: BBC

Cameron’s strategy was obviously influenced by the UK based Global Tamil Forum (GTF), British Tamil Forum (BTF) and Tamils against Genocide, he said.
Continue reading ‘David Cameron Playing Politics in Sri Lanka to Placate LTTE in Britain Says Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’ »

by

Meera Srinivasan

British Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday assured politicians and people of Jaffna that he would take up issues such as devolution, freedom of expression and alleged land-grab by the army with the Sri Lankan government.

pic via: Channel 4

Mr. Cameron’s visit to the town garnered considerable attention amid the buzz around the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, which was declared open in Colombo on Friday.
Continue reading ‘“Jaffna Buddhist Association” Launches Counter Demonstration when Cameron was Meeting Northern IDP’s’ »

by Meera Srinivasan

British Prime Minister David Cameron visited the Sabapathipillai Welfare Centre at Chunnakam, about 10 km from Jaffna town, on Friday.

British Prime Minister David Cameron talks to villagers of an IDP camp in Jaffna on Friday, Nov 15-pic: The Hindu

He walked into the narrow lanes with tiny homes adjacent to each other and talked to some residents. Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP M.A. Sumanthiran helped with translation.
Continue reading ‘British PM David Cameron Talks to Northern Tamil IDP’s With TNA MP MA Sumanthiran’s Help’ »

By Dharisha Bastians in Jaffna

British Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday became the first foreign leader to visit Sri Lanka’s North, using his three hour tour to focus on press freedom, land and political rights of the Tamil people four years after the end of the war.

Prime Minister David Cameron is the first world leader to visit the north of Sri Lanka since 1948~Crown copyright

Prime Minister Cameron stole the spotlight after the Commonwealth summit opened by visiting a camp holding the internally displaced in Chunnakam and stepping in at the besieged Jaffna based Uthayan newspaper, in addition to holding discussions with the new provincial political leadership in the formerly embattled region.
Continue reading ‘CV Wigneswaran Tells David Cameron that Primary Problem in North is Military Governor Countermanding Orders Given by Chief Minister’ »

by
Dharisha Bastians

Days ahead of being crowned king of the Commonwealth of Nations, President Mahinda Rajapaksa is a jubilant mood. The Sri Lankan Head of State is often pictured beaming with pride at various precursor events leading up to the main Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting that will get underway at his namesake theatre tomorrow morning.

His good spirits are such that not even the spontaneous meeting with the controversial Channel 4 news team that obtained accreditation and arrived in Sri Lanka to cover the summit could mar the mood.
Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka Causes Embarrassment to Commonwealth “Friends” Australia and New Zealand’ »

President Rajapaksa, ladies and gentlemen

Thank you for your kind welcome. My wife and I are very glad indeed to be joining you here in Colombo. At the personal request of The Queen, I am delighted to be addressing you this morning on behalf of the Head of the Commonwealth.

Continue reading ‘Text of Opening speech by HRH The Prince of Wales at the opening of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo’ »

BY Meera Srinivasan

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Thursday said he was satisfied with the level of India’s representation at the ongoing Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Commonwealth Secretary-General Mr. Kamalesh Sharma held a press conference this morning ahead of the commencement of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2013 taking place in Colombo, Sri Lanka, this week-pic: news.lk

Dr. Manmohan Singh, he said, did not participate in the Commonwealth summit held in Perth in 2011, addressing local and foreign media at a press conference in connection with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
Continue reading ‘“If There is any Violation, we will take Action against Anybody”- Mahinda Rajapaksa’ »

THE biggest achievement of the Commonwealth, its admirers say, is the fact of its unlikely existence. That so many former British colonies and dominions should be content to co-exist in a club which has the queen as its head is remarkable.

However this is a low bar to set for the success of an organisation nominally committed to promoting democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Quite how nominally will be evident in Colombo this weekend—at a gathering of Commonwealth leaders hosted by a nasty and abusive regime.
Continue reading ‘“It Took Ruthlessness to Defeat the Tamil Tigers and Sri Lanka is Better off as a Result”- Economist’ »

Tamil United Liberation Front Secretary -general and veteran Sri Lankan Tamil leader Veerasingham Anandasangaree has written to President Mahinda Rajapaksa on November 6th 2013 requesting the release of all political prisoners during the CHOGM summit in Colombo. The full text of the letter is as follows-

Continue reading ‘Anandasangaree Wants President Rajapaksa to Release all Political Prisoners to Honour Leaders of Commonwealth in Colombo’ »

Answering questions from the media following the closing press conference in Bali – Oct 8, 2013-Gov of Canada pic

By Haroon Siddiqui

Stephen Harper loves the royal family. Under his reign, the “royal” prefix has been returned to the air force and the navy.

The latest royal baby adorns a Canadian postage stamp. Yet Harper is dissing Her Majesty’s favourite group, the Commonwealth, that quaint congregation of 53 former British territories.

Continue reading ‘Why is Canadian PM Stephen Harper Boycotting the Commonwealth Summit in Sri Lanka?’ »

By

Charitha Ratwatte

Good fences make good neighbours – Robert Frost

Robert Frost, American poet, four times Pulitzer Prize and Congressional Gold Medal winner, in ‘Mending Wall,’ a poem published in 1914, used this line, which according to the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations originates in the 17th century. Frost could not see the need for a fence between his farm in New England and his neighbour’s land. But his taciturn neighbour insisted on a wall and only said, “Good fences make good neighbours,” in response to Frost’s query on the need!
Continue reading ‘Will India and China Compete Over “Finlandisation” and “Bhutanisation” of Sri Lanka?’ »

By
Karthik Subramanian

yricist Madhan Karky says he is close to coming up with a computer-automated solution that will help generate songs. Photo: R. Ravindran

After a year-long research and development of various tools to aid his goal, young lyricist and computer science researcher Madhan Karky says he is close to coming up with a computer-automated solution that will help Tamil film lyricists generate songs based on stories and tunes.
Continue reading ‘Computers to be used to help Write Tamil film lyrics’ »

Noted Tamil novelist and short story writer Sri Venugopalan, popularly known as ‘Pushpa’ Thangadurai, passed away at a hospital in Chennai on Sunday after a brief illness, family sources said.

Sri Venugopalan aka ‘Pushpa’ Thangadurai

He was 82 and a bachelor. He is survived by his sister.
Continue reading ‘Tamil novelist ‘Pushpa’ Thangadurai passes away’ »

Sri Lankan Tamil writer Thelivathai Joseph, whose writings captured the life and culture of the plantation Tamils, has been selected for this year’s Vishnupuram Elakkiya Vattam award.

Thelivathai Joseph

The award, instituted by the readers of writer Jeyamohan’s masterpiece Vishnupuram, carries Rs 1 lakh cash and a memento.
Continue reading ‘Sri Lankan Tamil writer Thelivathai Joseph Gets Vishnupuram Literary Award’ »

By

Aijaz Zaka Syed

Some time ago, I promised myself that I would stay off Modi.

BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Shri Narendra Modi in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, Nov 8, 2013-via:narendramodi.in

The decision was inspired as much by my own frequent rants against the man as much as it had been by the fatigue we have all begun to feel lately given the ubiquitous, endless adulation in the blanket coverage in Indian media.
Continue reading ‘Branding Narendra Modi’ »

By Mohd Alami Musa

Synopsis

The Malaysian Court of Appeal’s decision to forbid the use of the term ‘Allah’ in the Catholic weekly The Herald is seen by many as a triumph for Muslims. The reference to the term ‘Allah’ is not exclusive to Muslims. In the context of Singapore, the court process is not necessarily the best means to resolve conflicts involving religion.
Continue reading ‘Is the Usage of the Term “Allah” For Muslims Only?’ »

(Text of a Press Release Issued by the Ahila Ilangai Tamil Mahasabha)

The Akhila Ilankai Tamil United Front was inaugurated in December 2005. It received the recognition of the Commissioner of Elections of Sri Lanka in February 2006.
Continue reading ‘Ahila Ilankai Tamil Mahasabha Re-launches Website in English and Tamil’ »

The Australian Writers’ Guild (AWG) and the Adelaide Film Festival (AFF) are excited to announce the sixth winner of the esteemed INSITE AWARD, a biennial national competition for un-produced screenplays.

Tigress, written by Jane Hampson, was named the winner at the AFF on Sunday 13th October, by AWG President Jan Sardi, the internationally acclaimed and Academy Award nominated writer of Shine, The Notebook and Mao’s Last Dancer.

Niromi de Soyza

Dr. Tanya Ekanayaka, Sri Lanka’s outstanding and internationally acclaimed pianist-composer returns to St Martin-in-the-Fields this season for her third solo recital at this iconic concert venue.

Tanya Ekanayaka – pic via: facebook.com/Tanya.Ekanayaka

Classically trained and with a background in Asian and Popular musics, she is also a musicologist and linguist. She began studying the piano when she was just five years old and made her debut public recital appearance at the age of twelve.
Continue reading ‘Third Solo Recital at St Martin-in-the-Fields by Pianist-Composer Dr.Tanya Ekanayka on Oct 25th, 2013’ »

N. Ravi has taken over as Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu, and Malini Parthasarathy as Editor of The Hindu.

Arun Anant is no longer the Chief Executive Officer of Kasturi & Sons Limited, the company that owns and publishes The Hindu Group of publications. N. Ram has become Chairman of KSL and Publisher of The Hindu and Group publications; and N. Murali, Co-Chairman of the company.
Continue reading ‘Changes Again At The Helm of “The Hindu”: N. Ravi – Editor in Chief, Malini Parthasarathy – Editor’ »

(Text of a press release issued by the Tamil National Alliance Media Office)
Continue reading ‘Portfolios Allocated for Northern Chief Minister and Four Provincial Ministers’ »

By

Vijay Lokapalli

Sachin Tendulkar – pic: Courtesy: The Hindu

His bat will rest, not his legacy. By choosing the stage for his final walk to the crease, Sachin Tendulkar has followed in the footsteps of Sir Donald Bradman. One of the finest batsmen of the modern era has, like the great Australian, given his fans a chance to be part of his retirement.
Continue reading ‘Sachin Tendulkar to Retire After Playing His 200th Test Match Against West Indies’ »

Full Text of Statement issued by the Chief Minister, Northern Provincial Council, after taking Oaths of Office on October 7, 2013.

I took oaths a little while ago this morning undertaking to faithfully perform the functions of my office.

My office is a gift from my people. They have mandated me to perform my duties on a long term as well as a short term perspective. The former behoves us to confirm our individuality. To do so we have to learn lessons from our struggles of the past, our previous political perspectives and our past experiences and then forge ahead. It is the need of the hour that we remove the misunderstandings and doubts that have crept into the minds of various communities.
Continue reading ‘Full Text of Statement issued by the Chief Minister, Northern Provincial Council, after taking Oaths of Office’ »

By Harrish Thirukumaran

Part V

“Save the Best for Last” – An Authentic African Safari

Etosha National Park had been our next and final recreational activity in Namibia. Arguably, it was also considered the most hyped event during our time in Namibia. It was held on the 2nd Friday and Saturday of our 3- week stay.

In Etosha National Park-photo credit: Rachel

Etosha is one of the largest game parks that is home to a substantial variety of mammal species in the entirety of Africa. On this trip, we were given the generous opportunity to experience a sensibly authentic African wild safari tour throughout the monumental park.
Continue reading ‘Rich wildlife prosperity and calming peace: Namibian experiences of a student-volunteer’ »

by

Chitra Weerarathne

The Supreme Court yesterday, ruled that land powers were vested in the government and not in the Provincial Councils. In its judgment, the Court explained that the Provincial Councils would have legislative competence to make statutes to administer state lands only if those lands were made available to the Provincial Councils by the government. It added that the President’s powers to make grants remained unfettered.

A three-Judge bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Chief Justice Mohan Pieris PC, Justice K. Sripavan and Justice Eva Wanasundera, said that the Court of Appeal had erred in holding that the Provincial High Court of Kandy had jurisdiction to issue a Writ of Certiorari in respect of a quit notice issued under the State Lands Recovery of Possession Act. The order made by the Court of Appeal dated August 18, 2002 was set aside and the order of the Provincial High Court of Kandy dated Oct. 25, 2000 was affirmed.

Continue reading ‘Powers over Land are Vested with Govt and not Provincial Councils -Ruling by Three Judge Bench of Supreme Court’ »

By

Jon Snow

William Hague,GL Peiris and Julie Bishop Clink Glasses Together

Last night, in a dimly lit side street a stone’s throw from the towering UN headquarters here in New York, Britain co-hosted a drinks party with Sri Lanka – a country led by regime accused of the worst war crimes committed this century. Australia joined the fray to render it a tripartite affair.

The event was ‘off camera’. We found ourselves the only team attempting to record what went on. Our presence outside in the street attracted the joint concern of both British and American security – both of whom made plain their discomfort with our presence.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka, Britain and Australia Co-host “Off Camera” Drinks Party in a Town House Close to the UN in New York’ »

By Dharisha Bastians

Nine months after the Sri Lankan Government ousted Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake from office, her sacking has caused unprecedented problems in a most unlikely place – Marlborough House London, the home of the Commonwealth Secretariat.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa arrives with his wife Mrs Shiranthi Rajapaska at the Commonwealth Heads of Government lunch with HM Queen Elizabeth II, hosted by Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma at the Commonwealth Secretariat, Marlborough House, London, UK. 6 June 2012-Photo by Adam Gasson / Commonwealth Secretariat

Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma who promised Sri Lanka would put plans in place to change its legislative procedures to remove senior judges within weeks of a key meeting of a Commonwealth Ministers grouping in April this year, is under increasing pressure show progress by Colombo on this and other democratic fronts ahead of a major Commonwealth summit to be hosted here in two months.

This pressure has mounted after it was recently revealed that the Secretary General had opted to keep two key legal findings in his possession on the Sri Lankan impeachment from the eight-member Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) that is tasked with measuring compliance of Commonwealth member states to the organisation’s values, during the crucial April meet.
Continue reading ‘Controversial Conduct of Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma Regarding Shirani Bandaranayake Removal.’ »

By

Shamindra Ferdinando

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa yesterday alleged that the US Embassy in Colombo was pursuing a political agenda extremely detrimental to Sri Lanka’s interests.

Although the government was doing everything in its power to restore democracy following three decades of war, the US embassy was all out ot undermine it, Defence Secretary Rajapaksa said. He was responding to a US statment issued in the immediate aftermath of Provincial Council elections in the Central, North Western and Northern regions.

Continue reading ‘US Embassy in Colombo Pursues Political Agenda Detrimental to Sri Lanka’s Interests Charges Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’ »

by Bob Rae

Vote reveals Sri Lanka’s unavoidable truth: Other voices must be heard

Bob Rae

The results are in for the provincial election in Sri Lanka’s northern most province, the area around Jaffna, and they are clear as a bell: nearly 80 per cent of voters, despite much evidence of harassment, cast their ballots for the Tamil National Alliance.

The TNA has long been a parliamentary voice for Tamil nationalism, with a close, but complex, relationship to the LTTE and the military struggle. When the fighting was on, it was often hard to see much light between the Tigers and the parliamentarians. With the crushing defeat of the LTTE in May of 2009, more Tamil leaders inside Sri Lanka talked publicly of the need to “move on” and “deal with the realities on the ground.”
Continue reading ‘Political solidarity shown in the Northern Provincial Election is a clear message to the Sri Lankan government and the world’ »

by

Vishnuguptha

“Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go.”
~Hermann Hesse

Analysis and dissecting is not necessary. I am not going to indulge in that paralyzing exercise anymore. Why and how did the United National Party lose? The simple answer is: the people didn’t vote for the UNP.

The verdict is clear. The people have spoken. And those voters who cast their ballots on Saturday, September 21 in the three provinces, North, Wayamba and Central made it clearer than usual. Firstly, in the Northern Province where in the Kankasanturai electorate in 1952, the United National Party candidate defeated S J V Chelvanayagam, the United National Party mustered less that 1% whereas the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) received slightly more than 18% of the Tamil votes.

Continue reading ‘Ranil Must Go! He Must Go Now!! Not Tomorrow, not Next week or Month, but Now!!!’ »

By

Dharisha Bastians

UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay put Sri Lanka put on notice to conduct credible investigations into allegations of human rights abuses before March 2014, failing which the international community will have a duty to establish its own investigative mechanism.

The UN High Commissioner who was reporting to the Council on her fact finding mission to Sri Lanka in August, said she had detected no new or comprehensive effort to independently or credibly investigate allegations of “concern to the Human Rights Council”.

Continue reading ‘Navi Pillay Says If Sri Lanka Does Not Conduct Credible Probe Before March 2014 into Human Rights Abuses the International Community will Establish own Investigative Mechanism’ »

(Oral update on September 25th 2013 at Geneva by Ms.Navi Pillay ,UN High Commissioner for Human Rights at 24th session of UN Human Rights Council on promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka)

Navi Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights during the 24th Session of the Human Rights Council. 13 September 2013. Photo by Jean-Marc Ferré

1. On behalf of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, I am pleased to provide this oral update on implementation of Human Rights Council resolution A/HRC/22/L.1/Rev.1 on promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka. This draws on input from relevant Special Procedures mandate holders and the High Commissioner’s own observations during her visit to Sri Lanka from 25-31 August 2013. It focusses in particular on the issues highlighted in resolution A/HRC/22/L.1/Rev.1 and the recommendations contained in her previous report to the Council .
Continue reading ‘Navi Pillay Reports to UN that Reinstating 17th Amendment and Adopting LLRC Recommendations are Key to Strengthening Democracy in Sri Lanka.’ »

Mr. President,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

President Mahinda Rajapska at the UN-Sep 24, 2013

I warmly congratulate Your Excellency John William Ashe, on the assumption of the Chair of the 68th Session of the UNGA, and also thank His Excellency Vuk Jeremic, for effective stewardship of the last Session.
Continue reading ‘Full Text of Speech by President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the 68th session of the UN General Assembly’ »

By: Rosie DiManno

While President Mahinda Rajapaksa will paint “Paradise Island” in democratic colours for the General Assembly, the UN human rights commissioner will deliver a damning appraisal

President Mahinda Rajapaksa at UN General Assembly, Sep 24, 2013-pic: news.lk

COLOMBO, SRI LANKA—Twenty-four hours after Sri Lanka goes on the defensive at the United Nations in New York, the UN will go on the offensive against Sri Lanka in Geneva.

In a coincidence of timing, President Mahinda Rajapaksa will address the General Assembly on Tuesday — one day before UN human rights commissioner Navi Pillay is scheduled to deliver what’s expected to be a damning appraisal of the nation that calls itself “Paradise Island.”
Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka, UN at loggerheads over human rights’ »

By: Rosie DiManno

The government coalition in Sri Lanka was trounced in the Northern Province, held to just seven seats. It will be impossible for the regime to spin the outcome as anything other than a thorough denunciation of the status quo as engineered in Colombo

Police in Kilinochchi train station, on their way back home. They’d been brought up from the south to provide law enforcement for the election, with the Sri Lankan Army in barracks and off the streets-pic byROSIE DIMANNO / TORONTO STAR

KILINOCHCHI, SRI LANKA—In an election that was largely symbolic, perhaps nowhere is a dewy sense of back-to-the-future envisioned more poignantly than here — the former de facto capital of Tigerland.

This is the town that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam captured at the beginning of a brutal civil war and kept as a formidable stronghold until almost the very end. Guerrillas blew up the train tracks, severing commuter travel from the south, using the rail ties to construct fortified bunkers.
Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka election shows Tamils reject the status quo’ »

by

Smriti Daniel

Thirty km south-west of Colombo port, the S.S Worcestershire lies some 60 m deep. It is one of an estimated 200 wrecks that garland the island of Sri Lanka. Fascinated by its history, eager to rise to the challenge of a technical dive, Dharshana Jayawardena would later recall his descent to the ship: “As always, a first glimpse of a deep ship is bone-chilling thrilling.

The wreck of the S.S. Worcestershire. Photo: Dharshana Jayawardena

As narcosis envelops your senses what seems to be a large and hazy shadow slowly develops details. Then, at 50 meters we are at the ship and in a strange, deep, lush paradise seen by few.” Dharshana found the WWI wreck enveloped by shoals of fish — grey snappers, yellow fin trevally, giant trevally and groupers swirling around it.
Continue reading ‘Diving Deep to View the Estimated 200 Shipwrecks in the Waters Surrounding Sri Lanka’ »

(Text of an Editorial appearing in “The Hindu”of September 24th 2013 under the heading “Testing Time for Jaffna”)

Sri Lanka has crossed an important milestone toward national reconciliation with the holding of elections to its Northern provincial council. Held more than four years after the war against the LTTE ended, and for the first time since the 1988 election for the short-lived North-Eastern Provincial Council, the September 21 vote gives the war-ravaged North its first-ever democratic political set up that will share governance with the centre. For the Tamil-majority province that was first under the thumb of the LTTE, then the military, and later run by a governor appointed by Colombo, this is the single biggest step towards a political settlement of the conflict.

Continue reading ‘TNA Makes Good start by Steering Clear of Extreme Nationalist Pronouncements by Tamil Diaspora Organizations-The Hindu’ »

(Text of a Press statement issued by the Ministry of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development)

Douglas Devananda, Minister of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development

Hon. Douglas Devananda, Minister of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development and Secretary General of the EPDP states that the Tamil National Alliance having accepted the mandate received from the people at the Northern Provincial Council election held this time round should honour the promises made to the Tamil speaking people, and in such an event he too is agreeable to accept it for everlasting happiness and well being of the people of the North.

Continue reading ‘The Tamil National Alliance which received the mandate of the People of the North should honour the promises made-Douglas Devananda’ »

by

Dharisha Bastians in Mannar

(This article was published in the “Daily Financial Times”of September 20th 2013 before the Northern Provincial Council Elections held on September 21st 2013)

In the coastal District of Mannar in the Northern Province, where salty sea breezes blow, everyone is part of a marginalised community. The unique ethnic composition of the region, so markedly different to the rest of the province, means that in addition to the province-wide issues of land, resettlement and livelihood loss, a wholly different dimension sets into the politics of the area.

This region of the north is home to the province’s largest population of Muslims, some 38,000 of whom were forcibly evicted by the LTTE in October 1990. Since the Ceasefire Agreement in 2002 and the end of the conflict in 2009, these communities are trickling back into the district, where resources are scarce and officials and host societies are not necessarily welcoming.

As in other parts of the Northern Province, Tamils are in the majority in the Mannar District, accounting for about 81% of the population according to Department of Census and Statistics 2012 data. The Muslim population is a small but significant 16% and hold considerable sway especially in the Musalai Division of the district.

Continue reading ‘Bishop Rayappu, Minister Bathiyudeen and the “Holy Wars” in Multi- Religious Mannar District.’ »

DR DAYAN JAYATILLEKA

Having been in my early 30s, a Minister in the North-East Provincial Council a quarter century ago – I resigned within six months – I remember how easily it can all go wrong and what the landmines are. I also have some sense of how they may be avoided; what must be done and what is to be avoided by both sides.

The primary task of the newly elected Council led by Justice Wigneswaran must be to last its full term; to “remain at the crease” in cricketing parlance, putting runs on the board but not throwing one’s wicket away. As with a Presidency, so also with a Provincial Council and even more so, by which I mean that the tasks of the second term must not be attempted in the first.

It is likely that Tamil nationalist sentiment assesses the degree of external support to be such that the Government would be unable to dissolve the Council. That is a very risky calculus, because the NEPC was dissolved despite a far stronger external presence on the ground in the North-east, namely, the Indian Peacekeeping Force.

Continue reading ‘Risky for Tamil Nationalists to Calculate that Northern Council Wont be Dissolved by Govt Due to External Support’ »

(Text of Statement released by the Tamil National Alliance on the results of the Northern Provincial Council Election 2013)

TNA’s R. Sampanthan M.A. Sumanthiran and C.V. Wigneswaran ahead of press brief in Jaffna, Sep 22, 2013-pic by: Dharisha Bastians

The Tamil National Alliance – Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi – has achieved a resounding victory at the Northern Provincial Council election, winning nearly 80% of the seats in the Northern Province and nearly 90% of the seats in the Jaffna District. Such a verdict is unprecedented in the country’s political history.

Continue reading ‘Democratic Verdict of the Northern Province Tamil People Must be Respected – TNA Statement Issued by R. Sampanthan’ »

by Gibson Bateman and Rathika Innasimuttu

In a significant vote this weekend, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) won 30 out of 38 seats in Sri Lanka’s Northern Provincial Council. The ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) won a mere seven seats. The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) captured one seat.

To fully comprehend what’s just happened, it’s helpful to put these numbers in perspective.

Continue reading ‘If TNA is Going to Protect the Future of Tamil Politics it Cannot Forget the Past.’ »

by

Meera Srinivasan

Justice C.V. Wigneswaran

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) may have reached a historic, political milestone in winning the Northern Provincial polls, but the actual game begins now.

Continue reading ‘TNA Victory was Essentially an Outcome of a “Negative Vote” Against the Government’ »

By Srilal Miththapala

Returning home on Sunday late in the morning along the High Level road, I noticed that there was elephant dung on the side of the road and I surmised that there was a tame elephant walking along the road somewhere in front of me.

From the quantity of dung I guessed that it should be a large mature elephant.
Continue reading ‘A unique, ‘elephantine’ experience’ »

By

Kalana Senaratne

The TNA has swept the polls in the North. More importantly, the Tamil people have voted courageously, convincingly, and clearly. It was an expected outcome, but as President Rajapaksa took off to New York, he would have known that numbers and statistics on paper, more than just mind-made presumptions, can have a very coruscating impact, that the numbers in this case do not lie; not in the ‘South’, and never in the ‘North’.

The election to the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) was not just a provincial election. It was that, and much more than that. It was almost like a referendum; not for a separate State, for the TNA Manifesto did not demand a separate Tamil Eelam State, in any explicit manner. But it was certainly a referendum of sorts, calling for the recognition of the right to self-determination of the Tamil people, for greater autonomy, for a re-structuring of the existing constitutional framework, and for accountability.

Continue reading ‘Welcoming the Verdict of the Tamil People who Have Voted Courageously,Convincingly and Clearly.’ »

by

Col R Hariharan

Map showing ‘Eelam’-The Economist of Dec 2007

About 78.5 percent of 4.25 lakh people of Northern Province who voted in the Provincial Council elections on September 21, 2013 have given the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) a thumping victory. The TNA won 30 seats including 2 bonus seats in the 38-member council while the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) secured 7 seats and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) won 1 seat.

The results were not unexpected; but the large voter turnout of 67.5 percent evidently boosted the TNA figures. TNA’s performance point to the broad acceptance of its reading of political aspirations reflected in its manifesto.

The TNA went into the election after some introspection with its Diaspora patrons and Tamil intellectuals.This resulted in TNA naming an apolitical personality – retired Sri Lanka Supreme Court judge CV Wigneswaran – as its chief ministerial candidate. This prevented TNA from dissipating its energies in a leadership struggle between the three major parties that dominate the five-member conglomerate.

Continue reading ‘TNA Must Shed Ghost of Prabhakaran Driving From Backseat and Throwing Broad Hints at Separatism.’ »

By

C.A.Chandraprema

Justice C.V. Wigneswaran

The nomination of C.V. Wigneswaran to the position of TNA chief ministerial candidate, is in many ways reminiscent of the appointment of M.Tiruchelvam to be the minister of the Ilangei Tamil Arasu Kachchi in the Dudley Senanayake led government of 1965. At that time Tiruchelvam, a retired Solicitor General, was appointed to the Senate and made the representative of the ITAK on the cabinet because the ITAK leaders at that time feared the Tamil public opinion they themselves had created – with anybody seen to be cooperating with the Colombo government being considered a traitor.

In 1965, G.G.Ponnambalam who had been a victim of such propaganda because he was close to the Sennayakes, also declined to become a cabinet minister for fear of being labeled a traitor again. So finally it was a non- politician M.Tiruchelvam who was appointed to the Senate and then to the cabinet to represent the ITAK.

As a cabinet minister it would be Tiruchelvam who was seen at state functions and behaving like a member of the establishment. The politicians of the ITAK were able to remain aloof from all that. One sees a similar reluctance to be seen participating in the governance of the country in this instance as well. As chief minister, Wigneswaran will have to participate at state functions, raise the national flag, sing the national anthem or at least stand to attention while it is being sung and he will have attend meetings of the Chief Minister’s Conference and make decisions with the other chief ministers of the country, and he will have stand behind the president at state functions.

Continue reading ‘Is the Ilangai Tamil Arasu Katchi Going to Use and Discard CV Wigneswaran now as it did with M.Tiruchelvam then?’ »

By

Lasanda Kurukulasuriya

It is with a sense of disillusionment that many in the South will observe the final stages of the first ever Northern Provincial Council election process as the results start coming in today. Moderates and progressive minded sections in civil society, as well as those in government ranks such as the Left Alliance, had thrown their weight behind this historic event in the face of hawkish Sinhala nationalist sentiment that initially threatened to derail the election.

President Rajapkasa for his part upheld his pledge to restore the political rights of Tamils in the North by holding the poll in spite of that opposition. Implicit in that move was an endorsement of the principle of power sharing based on the 13th amendment, under which provincial councils were established, as a basis for resolving the national question that has plagued the country’s political landscape for decades. The president’s message on the campaign trail in the North as well as the North Western and Central provinces, consistently included an appeal to resist the divisive forces of communalism (“jaathi vaadaya avussamin may ratay jeevath venna bey”)

Continue reading ‘Will TNA’s election mandate promote Northern Tamils’, or Diaspora’s agenda?’ »

By

N.Sathiya Moorthy

The much-awaited Northern Provincial Council (NPC) polls have come and gone. Much was said, over-said and unsaid when the Province was on campaign-mode. It is thus time that the Government at the Centre and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) revived the relative congeniality and mutual comfort that had marked their forgotten post-war negotiations. The latter’s relevance has increased, not decreased, since.

Power-devolution and political solution have assumed more relevance. On ground, the TNA would feel the benefits of what is present and the pinch of what is absent. The Thirteenth Amendment may not be the best from the present perspective of both stake-holders. Yet, they have made it the reference point, nonetheless. In co-habitation, both will know as constitutional institutions, political parties and people(s) what hurts, where, why and how. That should be the beginning, not the end.

The beginning is now and here. Pre-poll and afterward the TNA had demanded the replacement of G A Chandrasiri, the ‘military’ Governor of Northern Province. The TNA had backed Sarath Fonseka, war-time Commander of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) for the presidency with the theoretical possibility of his winning the elections and running the nation for six years, if not more. Chandrasiri, in comparison, was a second-line officer. Like Fonseka then, Chandrasiri is now retired.

Continue reading ‘Independent of its Demand to Replace Gen.Chandrasiri the TNA will have to work with the Incumbent Northern “Military” Governor.’ »

by

DR DAYAN JAYATILLEKA

The TNA victory has shown that Sri Lanka remains a functioning democracy; that it functions when there is competition; and that with or without the 17th amendment and even under the tightest military supervision, the government can be electorally defeated.

Having won the war, the Government has lost the peace in the North (and earlier, parts of the East), while it continues to lead impressively in post-war politics in the more populous two- thirds of the island.

The TNA’s electoral tsunami has many dimensions and implications. The UNP’s meltdown is a far simpler matter. The TNA’s sweep denotes the resounding political and ideological defeat of the Government’s model of post war rule in the North. Paradoxically, the sweep was also possible because a war was fought to a finish against the Tigers, without which the democratic space would not have re-opened, elections could not have been held and the TNA candidates would have in all probability been assassinated.

Continue reading ‘TNA Sweep Denotes Resounding Political and Ideological Defeat of Govt Model of Post-war Rule in the North.’ »

By

Vishnuguptha

“If I advocate cautious optimism it is not because I do not have faith in the future but because I do not want to encourage blind faith.”
~Aung San Suu Kyi

Chandrasiri is a retired electrician. He obtained employment with the advent of the J R Jayewardene Government in 1977. Born and bred in an isolated village located in the middle of nowhere in the Maha Nuwara district, he was among the first to be a recipient of a job-bank application and his life-long wish came true when he approached the President of the United National Party branch in his village. The UNP branch President, having recognized Chandrasiri, in his mid-twenties at the time, paid due consideration for the tireless work contributed by him during the just-concluded election campaign and included Chandrasiri’s name in the list to be approved by the MP of his electorate.

Continue reading ‘For Grassroot-supporters the UNP is Not merely a Political Structure but an IDEA that isEssential to our Country’ »

By Gibson Bateman and Rathika Innasimuttu

Introduction

United National High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay recently concluded her visit to Sri Lanka. It’s hard to imagine a High Commissioner delivering a tougher statement than the one she gave on August 31 in Colombo. A hard-hitting update later this month will be followed by a much awaited report at the 25th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) in March 2014.

The unfortunate reality is that a pair of HRC resolutions and significant international pressure has not produced positive change on the island. This includes matters related to land, human rights, the rule of law and the relentless repression of dissent.

It’s not entirely clear what the word “compliance” means, but the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) has largely disregarded yet another HRC resolution. (Moving checkpoints and hiding the military’s presence during high profile visits isn’t enough).

Continue reading ‘What Might a Third Resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council at Geneva in March Look like?’ »

By

Izeth Hussain

Bravo Rauf Hakeem!

Bravo the Sri Lanka Muslim Council! And Bravo all the Muslims who gave vent to the widespread sense of outrage felt by most Muslims over certain statements made by the Defence Secretary!

Unfortunately other Muslim politicians, who were splendidly outspoken on the anti-Muslim campaign only the other day, have again fallen silent, reverting to their traditional policy of refusing to represent Muslim interests on anything that might be controversial.

Unfortunately the All Ceylon YMMA has done worse. Claiming to speak in a representative capacity, it has let fly against “certain extremist elements” – without daring to name them – that have portrayed the Defence Secretary’s message in a negative manner.

Continue reading ‘Countering the Comments Made by the Defence Secretary about Rise of Muslim Extremism.’ »

By

Dr Nirmala Chandrahasan

The recently announced TNA manifesto has caused a lot of debate and trepidation among some sections. Hence it would be useful to look at the document to see whether there is any cause for such trepidation and what the provincial Council once it is constituted will be in a position to deliver. One factor which stands out in the manifesto is the commitment to a united Sri Lanka. This is in line with the thinking of a majority of the people of all communities in Sri Lanka who are content to live together in a united country.

In fact despite the sporadic racial riots from 1956 onwards culminating in the 1983 pogrom followed by the long drawn out insurgency and civil war in the north and east, the ordinary people of the country of all communities, show no hostility to each other, except for a few fringe groups and extremist elements. Recently reading a travel book on the Balkans written in the 1980s before the violent conflict that raged in the 1990’s in the former State of Yogoslavia, I was disturbed to read of the violent hatred and suspicion between the different ethnic groups and communities in that region, and could not help contrasting it with the situation in Sri Lanka

Continue reading ‘Tamil National Alliance Manifesto and the Tasks Before the Northern Provincial Council’ »

By Dharisha Bastians in Jaffna

On the eve of Sri Lanka’s most crucial post war election for the island’s minority Tamil population, the capital of the Northern Province is a strangely quiet place. Jaffna saw a violent surge in the wee hours of election eve, with the attack on the home of a prominent Tamil National Alliance candidate and consistent reports of intimidation and military involvement in electioneering. But the anticipated fever pitch that brought most of the world’s media to the tiny peninsula in Sri Lanka’s north never materialised and the curtain rises on today’s vote in relative calm.

Posters to confuse Jaffna voters came up around town-says TNA. Wigneswaran’s candidate number is 10-pic: Dharisha Bastians-via twitter.com/tingilye

Today’s election in the Northern-most region of the island is the first time in 25 years that Tamils will vote to elect a provincial administration they were promised in 1987 as part of a political solution to the ethnic struggle, which saw the birth of a brutal separatist movement in the country that waged war on the state for 30 years.
Continue reading ‘Northerners Get Ready to Vote in a Provincial Poll After 25 Years’ »

By Dharisha Bastians in Jaffna

TNA candidate Ananthy Sasitharan speaks to reporters at her home in Chullipuram that was attacked-pic: Dharisha Bastians

Historic elections in the Northern Province took a vicious turn 24 hours after campaigning ended, when the Jaffna home of the Tamil National Alliance candidate Ananthi Sasitharan was besieged and her supporters and a local election monitor assaulted early last morning.

Sasitharan had noticed uniformed personnel outside her home out of her window and made several phone calls in quick succession. The first was to the Police Emergency hotline 119 who she says told her they do not respond to such political calls.

She then informed TNA MPs Marvai Senathirajah and Saravana Bhavan and also immediately informed the election monitors. The assailants had been looking for her, says Sasitharan and shouted threats from outside the house.

“They slashed the tyres of my vehicle and then they moved out,” she recalls, back at her residence by mid morning yesterday.
Continue reading ‘“Some Men who Attacked my House Wore Military Uniforms Over Collared Shirts”-Ananthi Sasitharan’ »

By
Chen Shaua Fui

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 19): Human rights activist Lena Hendry claimed trial today to a charge of screening a documentary without approval from the Film Censorship Board.

Lena Hendry (C) is flanked by her lawyers Andrew Khoo (L) and New Sin Yew in the court grounds.

She was released on a RM1,000 bail and a surety by the magistrate’s court here today. Judge Ashraf Rezal Abd Manan fixed Oct 21 for mention.

The Pusat Komas programme officer was charged under Section 6(1)(b) of Film Censorship Act 2002 for showing the documentary titled ‘No Fire Zone: The Killing Field of Sri Lanka’ at the Kuala Lumpur-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall on July 3.

Continue reading ‘Malaysian Human Rights Activist Lena Hendry Charged in Court for Screening “No Fire Zone”Documentary on Sri Lankan War Without Censorship Board Approval.’ »

By

Padma Rao Sundarji

(Full text of HT’s exclusive interview given by Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to Padma Rao Sundarji, published in the Hindustan Times of September 17, 2013)

HT: Mr. Rajapaksa, in May 2009, your government and army managed to do something all previous governments in Sri Lanka had failed to do: end the 30-year-long civil war – one of the most brutal in the world – and decimate the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). What did you and your army do differently ?

Rajapaksa: It was sheer determination. The whole country had faced the war. But, I had the advantage over younger generations of having watched it from the day it started. When the LTTE were weak, they always asked for a ceasefire. Then, the international community intervened, the LTTE got powerful and – attacked all over again. So we knew and recognized that pattern. Our army too, knew, that as long as there are no political interferences as before, they could defeat them. We did not interfere and they succeeded in their endeavour.

Continue reading ‘All Wholesale Businesses in Sri Lanka -Food,Clothes,Saris and Gold-are India Aligned says President Rajapaksa’ »

By
Meera Srinivasan

Vasanthakumar Thiruchelvi does not, even for a second, take her eyes off her two children.

Even as she summons her daughter who is jumping over sand and cement heaped around their soon-to-be home, her son threatens to lift the tiles stacked nearby. “Now come here, it might fall on your leg,” she tells her son. “Building a home is a lot of work,” she smiles as she picks up her daughter.

Managing two little children and simultaneously supervising construction of her home is, however, the least of her worries. Thiruchelvi and her husband — like many other families trying to rebuild their homes and lives in the war-ravaged Northern Province — are worried they might soon be caught in a web of debt.

The young couple in Santhapuram village in Kilinochchi is among the beneficiaries of the Indian government-funded housing project in Sri Lanka.

Continue reading ‘Some Beneficiaries in North Receiving Houses from Indian Funds Face Burden of Increasing Debt.’ »

Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai reporting from Koovil, Jaffna District

Gnansakthy Sritharan is a former politician and an ex cadre of Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (Pathmanabha Wing), and is currently contesting in Jaffna District under the United People’s Freedom Alliance banner in the forthcoming Provincial Council Elections in the North of Sri Lanka.

Gnanasakthy Sritharan in Koovil (former High Security Zone), Jaffna District

I met passionate politician to be Gnanasakthy Sritharan amidst her hectic schedule durng the last week of the election campaign, at one of the worst affected villages in Jaffna District, known as “Koovil”.
Continue reading ‘“I want to serve my people because I feel their pain”~ Gnanasakthy Sritharan’ »

Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai reporting from Chulipuram, Jaffna District

Tamil National Alliance’s Jaffna District candidate Ananthy Sasitharan’s posters in Chulipuram

Ananthy Sasitharan is the wife of Ezhilan (Sinnaththurai Sasitharan), former Trincomalee District’s Political Wing Leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. He surrendered along with many other senior combatants of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during the last phase of the war.
Continue reading ‘“I will continue to raise my voice against human rights violations” ~ Ananthy Sasitharan’ »

By

Dr.Vickramabahu Karunaratne

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa speaking on behalf the government said that the TNA was attempting to push Tamils in the North to spread racism and separatism. According to him, the appeal to vote for the new manifesto amounted to that and nothing less. The minister further said that it was crystal clear with the new election manifesto that the TNA was playing the racist card to win the Northern Provincial Council election.

The pledges made by the TNA in their election manifesto could not be fulfilled through a Provincial Council administration. Hence, the minister said, the TNA was only playing the racist card to mislead the voters in the North. He charged that the TNA was planning to paint a different picture to the international community, in case they won the NPC elections. He said that all what the TNA wanted was to turn an election victory as a mandate for separatism. Meanwhile, the TNA was not willing to dismiss this criticism as election rhetoric as MP Sumanthiran had replied to this charge elaborately. His reply included the following excerpts.

Continue reading ‘Mahinda Should Convene Parliamentary Select Committee to Discuss How to Implement the TNA Manifesto’ »

By

Sathya Liyanasuriya

The forty third Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake appeared in the Colombo Magistrate’s court this week when a case filed against her by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption was called for hearing in an unprecedented event in the annals of justice in the country.

Declining any special privileges, Bandaranayake stood in the dock before Magistrate Gihan Pilapitiya and was informed that she would need the court’s approval to travel overseas. Over a hundred lawyers appeared to support Bandaranayake. The case was postponed until February next year.

This is the latest episode in a long drawn saga that pitted the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) against Bandaranayaka many months ago and saw her being impeached by Parliament and ousted from office unceremoniously in January this year.

Continue reading ‘Shirani Bandaranayake “Issue” Continues to Attract Local and Foreign Headlines Detrimental to Country’s Image.’ »

By

Vishnuguptha

“Science is not, despite how it is often portrayed, about absolute truths. It is about developing an understanding of the world, making predictions, and then testing these predictions.” – ~Brian Schmidt

The much awaited elections for the trio of Provincial Councils, Wayamba, Central and North are upon us. In the next forty eight hours, the people in these three provinces would line up to cast their votes and if the enthusiasm shown by the average voter during the campaign is any indication, no more than fifty five percent (55%) would be on these lines.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa opened the newly built “Mahindodaya” science laboratory at Anamaduwa Wilpotha Anura Maha Vidyalaya, on Sep 17-pic: Chandana Perera-news.lk.

A lackluster campaign conducted by all parties hardly enthused any voter to wait eagerly for the day of elections; terror campaigns unleashed among the Estate sector Tamils in the Nuwara Eliya district was the exception, while many state-sponsored intimidation during the first four weeks of the campaign period was also reported in the North.
Continue reading ‘Given Prevalent “Anti-Rajapaksa Sentiment the TNA should Sweep the Northern Province Comfortably.’ »

(TEXT OF PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE EMBASSY OF THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA TO BELGIUM, LUXEMBOURG AND THE EUROPEAN UNION)

Sri Lanka’s Head of Mission to the European Union, Ambassador P.M. Amza, addressing the Meeting of the European Parliament’s Delegation for the Relations with the Countries in South Asia, (DSAS), on 17 September, said, “the Northern Provincial Council elections scheduled on 21 September, for the first time since the establishment of the Provincial Council system in Sri Lanka in 1987, has infused political momentum into the once war-stricken region and there are 12 political parties and 28 independent groups, in the fray comprising a total of 906 candidates vying for 36 seats.

After 25 years, 714,488 people registered as voters in Northern Part, will be exercising their franchise freely, and at the invitation of the Elections Commissioner, 23 international observers representing the Commonwealth and the SAARC countries will be observing this regional election process”.
Continue reading ‘Northern Provincial Council Election has infused political momentum in the Region – Ambassador Amza tells the EU Parliament’ »

by

Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka

The men of the Sri Lankan armed forces did not die, lose their limbs, their eyesight, their futures, so that the fascist separatist Prabhakaran could be openly hailed as a great hero, his photographs distributed, his songs sung and his organisation sanitised in the same battlefields. The revivalism that we have seen in the past weeks could, among other things, trigger a backlash that may initially be subterranean but has far reaching political and systemic consequences.

Jaffna’s Uthayan newspaper, as cited in the political column of the Sunday Times, (Colombo) quotes TNA’s chief ministerial candidate as having said: “Prabhakaran is not a terrorist. He is a hero and a warrior who fought for the liberation of the Tamil nation. A Sinhala newspaper that interviewed me recently, quoted me saying that I had said Prabhakaran is a terrorist. I told them Prabhakaran is not a terrorist and that he is a great hero. It is the angle from which we look at, that makes the estimation of the person. In my view he is not a terrorist. In Kandy, Keppetipola Dissawe who fought against the whites was declared as a terrorist and punished, but now the Sinhalese have installed a statue and celebrate him as a hero. One viewed by the Whites as a terrorist, was later declared a hero and warrior. It is in the same manner, Prabhakaran is seen to me as a liberation fighter…” (‘Showpiece Development in North but TNA victory inevitable’, Sunday Times, Sept 15, 2013)

Continue reading ‘Pro-LTTE Revivalism in TNA Election Campaign Erodes Legitimacy of Call to Withdraw Troops from the North.’ »

By
Susitha R. Fernando

With the campaigns for three Provincial Council elections heating up and the government busily getting ready for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), the Daily Mirror spoke to main opposition, the United National Party to clarify its stance on various issues especially the recent meeting with UN Human Rights High Commissioner Navi Pillay, elections and intra-party violence, problems faced by the country’s economy and the possibility of a common opposition candidate for next Presidential Election. Economic expert and UNP’s former Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya shared his views and made complaints against some of the burning issues.

Continue reading ‘Out of 20 Million People We will find a Trustworthy and Honorable Person to be Common Opposition Candidate –Karu Jayasuriya’ »

by

Taylor Dibbert

On foreign affairs, the US is looking somewhat irrelevant these days. Regarding Syria’s chemical weapons, it looks like a “deal” has been reached, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.

Now, it’s not clear whether Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent (and ridiculous) New York Times op-ed helped facilitate anything, but isn’t it remarkable that he was given such a platform to make his case?

What is becoming clearer with each passing day is that Barack Obama’s foreign policy is on life-support. An adequate response to Iran’s Green revolution in 2009 would’ve been good; a meaningful response to the Arab Spring would’ve been great – neither of which happened.

Continue reading ‘Obama Happens to be a President but he most certainly is not a Leader’ »

(Text of a press communique issued by the Ministry of Traditional Industries and small Enterprise Development)

Minister Douglas Devananda

Hon. Basil Rajapakse, Minister of Economic Development , addressing several political rallies held in Chunnakam, Araly and Velanai electorates in Jaffna district on the 10th and 11th of September 2013, said that massive development projects at a cost of more than Rs.1,000 billion had been commenced in the Northern Province, amongst them , the Power House in Chunnakam and the launching of train service from Omanthai to Kilinochchi to be opened for the public by His Excellency the President would certainly have a positive impact on the life of the people of the North.

Continue reading ‘Douglas Devananda Urges People of the North not to get Carried away by the Emotional Speeches of the TNA’ »

by
D.B.S.Jeyaraj

Thirteenth Death Anniversary of Legendary Muslim Congress Leader

M.H.M. Ashraff

THE tragedy of September 16 2000 involving an MI-17 helicopter of the Sri Lanka Air Force above the Urakanda mountain range in the Aranayaka area in Kegalle district of Sabaragamuwa province resulted in the death of a dynamic political leader of the island – Cabinet Minister M.H.M. Ashraff.

Along with him were killed 14 others including crew members, security personnel, personal staff and political supporters.There is no denying that the demise of Ashraff, the founding president of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), the island’s largest Muslim party, has created a political vacuum.

Muhammed Hussain Mohammed Ashraff was a pioneering leader of Sri Lankan Muslims in particular and the country in general. He was ahead of his times in more ways than one. He realised the vast untapped political potential of his community and strove to charter a course that would have enabled his people to have their grievances redressed and aspirations fulfilled.
Continue reading ‘MHM Ashraff: Demise of Pioneering Muslim Congress Leader has Created Political Vacuum.’ »

by

N Sathiya Moorthy

Justice CV Wigneswaran

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) chief ministerial candidate for the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) elections in Sri Lanka, Justice C V Wigneswaran, could not have said it more candidly and categorically. It is a strong and unwavering indictment of the Tamil Nadu political class, who have often been accused of indulging in competitive cry-wolf on the ‘Sri Lankan issue’, without any relation or concern for the sufferings of their ‘umbilical cord relations’ across the Palk Strait.

“In Tamil Nadu, our problems have been taken to be the ball to be playued in the tennis court between two or three parties, the retired Justice of the Sri Lankan Supreme Court told ‘The Hindu’ (Friday, 13 September 2013), the Chennai-based Indian daily, at Jaffna, the seat of the Northern Provincial Council. A clear-headed, no-nonsense non-politician who has been specifically chosen to be the TNA’s chief ministerial candidate precisely for the same reason, Wigneswaran was obviously ticking off the Tamil Nadu politicians for what is often perceived as playing dirty politics with the lives and livelihood of their Sri Lankan brethren, whose cause they have been claiming to fight for within the State and across India, particularly with the Union Government at distant Delhi.

Continue reading ‘Unprecedented and Forthright Indictment of Tamil Nadu Political Class by TNA Chief Ministerial Candidate CV Wigneswaran’ »

By

Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka

The TNA manifesto is not secessionist. It does however unlock the door and keep it ajar for secessionism.

I do not know whether Mr Sumanthiran ever bowled spin for my father’s old school, Royal College, but he is certainly doing so for his party the TNA and the Tamil nationalist project.

The TNA is not a secessionist party, but as the best informed and most authoritative commentator on Tamil politics DBS Jeyaraj has revealed, it has not broken with the secessionist paradigm and even flirts with dangerous secessionist discourse and symbolism. (‘Why and How Ex- SC Judge CV Wigneswaran Praised LTTE Leader Prabhakaran as a Great Hero’, https://dbsjeyaraj.com/dbsj/archives/25697#more-25697)

Continue reading ‘TNA Manifesto is not Secessionist but it Unlocks the Door and Keeps it Ajar for Secessionism’ »

By

Dilrukshi Handunnetti

Among the most historic monuments found in Jaffna is a ravaged fortress with pockmarks, still standing as living evidence of Dutch rule and its influence in Sri Lanka’s North.

Initially built as a small garrison in Jaffna by the Portuguese after they invaded the North in 1618, the Dutch captured it in 1658 and expanded it, giving it a clear Dutch architectural identity. In 1795, it fell into the hands of the British and so remained until independence.

Confrontations between the Sri Lanka Army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) converted the historic place to a battleground. Residents recall a time when the Army used it as a camp – known as the ‘Fort Camp’ – and later captured by the LTTE for storing of weapons. The magnificent Dutch architectural was soon marred by the pockmarked, ravaged walls.

Continue reading ‘Historic Dutch Fort of Jaffna Being Restored by Govt in Association With Netherlands’ »

Part IV: Discovering Social Divide and Desert Transitioning to Oceans and Beaches

by Harrish Thirukumaran

Mural Symbolism

Painting, had been another relevant project that asked for our contributions as well. This opportunity was required for the entire group to equally participate in as part of a running tradition by the Brock University abroad program.

A photo credit: Rachel

It was also thoughtfully satisfying as not only could we devote our time to the BNC but to the wider Namibian community in Katutura. For instance, we had created special paintings in two local orphanages: Baby Haven and Dinosaur Land.
Continue reading ‘Discovering Social Divide and Desert Transitioning to Oceans and Beaches: Namibian experiences of a student-volunteer’ »

By

Vishnuguptha

“Up the hill-side; and now ’tis buried deep
In the next valley-glades:
Was it a vision, or a waking dream?
Fled is that music:—do I wake or sleep?” ~ John Keats– Ode to a Nightingale

Death is the greatest equalizer that ever paraded among mankind. With its enormous power and in the most unpredictable way it visits upon every human being with no prejudice or partiality. Its final blow extinguishes the most promising flames; it could still the most eloquent orators at the height of their oratory, it could put a halt to a forward-march of an expectant people in the most ominous way and it could kill a nation’s hopes and dreams of youth.

When death’s mysterious ways are hastened by the accompaniment of an inauspicious accomplice such as a malignant tumor which is commonly called cancer, the effects are even more expressive than words could ever describe. No orator, from Cicero of ancient Rome to Jawaharlal Nehru and Martin Luther King Jr. of the modern day world, has done justice to the agony and sorrow that death leaves behind; no poet from Chaucer to Rossetti has penned sufficiently poignant contemplations to fill the vacuums of departure and depths of death.

Sunila Abeysekera was visited upon by that ‘agent of death’- cancer- several years ago and it departed with her leaving only her mortal remains on the afternoon hours of the ninth day of the ninth month of the year Two Thousand and Thirteen, sixty one years after she walked into this word from her mother’s womb.

Continue reading ‘“An Ode to a Crusader, a Humanist and a Nightingale………. Celebrating the Life of Sunila Abeysekera’ »

by

N.Sathiya Moorthy

TNA Election paraphernalia

By coming up with a controversial election manifesto when none was required to win the Northern Provincial Council (NPC) polls of September 21, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) may have put the cart before the horse, and advanced excuses well before time.

This could lead to the party losing the confidence of the people who may be voting it to power in the first place. It was a repeat-performance of sorts from the Eastern PC polls last year, where no formal manifesto of the kind got released, but similar sentiments were expressed from the TNA platforms.
Continue reading ‘TNA Shoots Tamil People in the Foot by Coming up with a Controversial Manifesto when it was not Required to Win the Election’ »

By Lasanda Kurukulasuriya

As the Northern Provincial Council election draws nearer many contradictions appear in the heavy rhetoric used by major players in the campaign, in relation to the circumstances they refer to. The TNA is seen as the frontrunner in the five Northern districts of Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Vavuniya and Mannar, having presented a manifesto full of nationalist rhetoric. There seems to be a disconnect between the authors of this document and the real issues faced by the people whose votes are being solicited. One of the loudest complaints of the TNA has been in relation to military presence in the North. Another charge relates to people’s alleged lack of confidence in the police.

Continue reading ‘Northern election, Nationalist rhetoric and the threat to Communal harmony’ »