By D.B.S.Jeyaraj The controversial appointment of Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero as chair of the ‘One Country, One Law’ (OCOL) Presidential Task Force (PTF) by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has created a political furore. The purported OCOL objective of the PTF as well as the alleged unsuitability of Gnanasara Thero to …

Continue reading ‘Tiruchelvam QC and Ali Sabry PC; A Tale of Two Ministerial Resignations’ »

By D.B.S. Jeyaraj In my article ‘SWRD’s flirtation with federalism’ published in these columns on 29 September 2021, I had referred to the pact signed by the then Prime Minister Bandaranaike and Tamil political leader Chelvanayagam in 1957. What I wrote then was as follows: “The agreement signed by S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike and S.J.V. Chelvanayagam in …

Continue reading ‘JR Jayewardene’s Infamous Kandy March Against the Banda-Chelva Pact’ »

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj United National Party Leader and National list MP Ranil Wickremesinghe has expressed concern over the continued detention of Wanni District Parliamentarian, All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) Leader and former Cabinet Minister Rishad Bathiudeen. Ranil Wickremesinghe, who has been a MP without a break since July 1977, said in Parliament on 4 October that …

Continue reading ‘Rishad Bathiudeen Targeted in Witch Hunt After his Fall From Rajapaksa Grace’ »

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike known as S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike was the fourth Prime Minister of Independent Sri Lanka known then as Ceylon. SWRD who was born on 8 January 1899 died due to assassination on 26 September 1959. This year therefore marks the 112th anniversary of his birth and 62nd anniversary of his …

Continue reading ‘SWRD Bandaranaike’s Flirtation With Federalism.’ »

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj (Legendary Muslim Congress Leader MHM Ashraff was killed on September 16th 2000 in a Helicopter crash.This article was written last year for the “Political Pulse” column in the “Daily Financial Times” to Commemorate his 20th death anniversary. It is being re-posted here without any changes to denote the 21st death anniversary of “Marhoom”MM …

Continue reading ‘Legendary Muslim Congress “Thalaiver” MHM Ashraff and the Tamils of Sri Lanka’ »

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj Saumiyamoorthy (spelled sometimes as Saumyamoorthy or Saumiamoorthy) Thondaman was the legendary co-founder and long-time leader of the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC). Thonda, as he was widely known, played a prominent role in the country’s post-independence politics for many decades. His political life was intertwined with the vicissitudes of the Indian Tamil people of …

Continue reading ‘Saumiyamoorthy Thondaman was the Masterful Strategist and Shrewdest Tactician Among Tamil Political Leaders’ »

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj Forty-five years ago on 5 May 1976, a section of militant Tamil youths in northern Sri Lanka re-grouped themselves into an organisation called the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The LTTE, which became popularly known as the Tiger organisation, had as its fundamental objective the setting up of a separate Tamil state …

Continue reading ‘The Rise and Fall of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam’ »

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj Today, 21 April, is the second anniversary of the Easter Sunday bombings which rocked and shocked Sri Lanka and the world at large two years ago. On the morning of that fateful Easter Sunday, suicide bombers targeted three plush hotels and three churches in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa; 269 were killed and over …

Continue reading ‘Is Naufer “Moulavi” the Mastermind Behind the Easter Sunday Bombings?’ »

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj Former Catholic Bishop of the Mannar Diocese the Most Rev. Rayappu Joseph passed away peacefully in Jaffna on 1 April, just 15 days before his 81st birthday. He served as Mannar Bishop from 1992 to 2016. There was spontaneous grief and widespread mourning. Having served as Bishop for over two decades in Mannar, …

Continue reading ‘Mannar Emeritus Bishop Rayappu Joseph and the Madhu Church Crisis of 2008’ »

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj The final version of the proposed resolution to promote “reconciliation, accountability and human rights” in Sri Lanka was tabled on 12 March at the 46th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva. It was sponsored by the United Kingdom (UK) and co-sponsored by Germany, Canada, Malawi, Montenegro and North …

Continue reading ‘Is Sri Lanka Fighting a Lost Battle at the UNHRC in Geneva?’ »

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj The ‘Great Game’ in Geneva involving Sri Lanka is now underway at the UNHRC! The 46th regular session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) that commenced on 22 February at the Palais des Nations in Geneva is scheduled to end after 30 days on 23 March. The current membership (2021) of …

Continue reading ‘UNHRC, Gotabaya Government and the Great Game in Geneva’ »

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj (This is an Enhanced Version of an Article written for the “Political Pulse” Column in the “Daily Financial imes” of Feb 18th 2021). February 20th 1961 is a very important date in the history of the Sri Lankan Tamil political struggle to regain lost rights. It was on this day, sixty years ago …

Continue reading ‘Feb 20th 1961 Launch of Tamil ‘Satyagraha’ Encounters Baptism of fire on First Day’ »

By D.B.S. Jeyaraj It was widely reported in the media early this week that the National Anthem would be sung in Sinhala only at the official celebrations of Sri Lanka’s 73rd anniversary of gaining independence from Britain. Defence Secretary Maj. Gen. Kamal Gunaratne made it unambiguously clear at a press briefing that the National Anthem …

Continue reading ‘Excluding National Anthem in Tamil on Independence Day’ »

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj “Only God can save the Tamil people now” (Thamil Makkalai Inik Kadavul Thaan Kaappaatra Vaendum) was the anguished response of respected Sri Lankan Tamil political leader Samuel James Veluppilaai Chelvanayakam after the results of the 1970 Parliamentary Elections were known. The United Front (UF) led by Sirimavo Bandaranaike had swept the polls with …

Continue reading ‘Feeling of Helplessness Under Gota’s Rule Makes Tamil Parties Close Ranks and Escalate Demands at UN in Geneva’ »

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj Twelve years ago on 8 January 2009, Lasantha Manilal Wickrematunge, the Editor of The Sunday Leader in Colombo, was killed by “unknown” assassins. He was my colleague, Editor, friend and above all a kindred soul. How I miss him! There is a huge vacuum in the media scene after his departure. It is …

Continue reading ‘Unbowed and Unafraid, Editor Lasantha Wickrematunge Spoke Truth to Power’ »

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj ‘Murder in the Cathedral’ is a drama written in verse by the great poet, essayist and playwright Thomas Stearnes Eliot known to the literary world as T.S. Eliot. It is based on the assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in December 1170 during the reign of King Henry II. Eliot had …

Continue reading ‘Murder in the Cathedral: Christmas Killing of TNA MP Joseph Pararajasingham’ »

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj Tamil Nadu, the Indian State closest to Sri Lanka, is gripped by a great deal of political excitement these days. Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly elections are due in May 2021. All political parties active in the State – from the ruling All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham (AIADMK/ADMK) to the chief opposition Dravida Munnetra …

Continue reading ‘Tamil Cinema Superstar Rajinikanth’s Political Party Plunge’ »

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj Patabandi Don Nandasiri Wijeweera known to the world at large as Rohana Wijeweera was killed 31 years ago on 13 November 1989.The revolutionary leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) or People’s Liberation Front was 49 years old at the time of his death. The mastermind behind two bloody insurrections – in 1971 …

Continue reading ‘Sensational Capture and “Unofficial” Execution of JVP Leader Rohana Wijeweera.’ »

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) forcibly expelled the Tamil-speaking Muslim people from the Northern Province in October 1990. Within a few days the Muslims were chased out of their homeland where they had lived for many, many centuries. This year 2020 marks the 30th anniversary of this cruel, inhuman episode in …

Continue reading ‘Mass Expulsion of Muslims From The North By The LTTE Thirty Years Ago’ »

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj Today (26 August) is the 93rd birth anniversary of well-known Sri Lankan Tamil political leader Appapillai Amirthalingam, known affectionately as Amir and Amuthar. Amirthalingam served as a Parliamentarian for 20 years in an illustrious political career spanning four decades. He was a stalwart of the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) known as the …

Continue reading ‘Life and Times of Dynamic Tamil Political Leader Appapillai Amirthalingam’ »

By D.B.S.JEYARAJ Today (29 July) is the 33rd third anniversary of the Indo-Lanka Accord. It was on 29 July 1987 that former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and then Sri Lankan President Junius Richard Jayewardene signed in Colombo the agreement between India and Sri Lanka known as the Indo-Lanka Accord along with two letters described …

Continue reading ‘The Indo -Lanka Accord and the Sri Lankan Tamils’ »

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj Sri Lanka or Ceylon as it was known earlier has faced many challenges and problems since Independence from Britain in 1948. We have had military coup attempts, communal riots, pogroms, armed revolts, external military intervention, assassinations of heads of State, terrorist violence and above all a long secessionist war that threatened to tear …

Continue reading ‘Poetry For Reflection On Sri Lanka’s Election Day’ »

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj The fourth week of July revives bad memories among most Tamils who lived in Sri Lanka during the month of July in 1983. It was in that week in July that large-scale violence was let loose upon Tamils living in various parts of Sri Lanka including Colombo and suburbs. The week long spree …

Continue reading ‘July 1983: Two Northern Attacks and One Island-wide Anti-Tamil Pogrom’ »

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj Sri Lanka known as Ceylon made history 60 years ago when Sirimavo Bandaranaike was sworn in as the world’s first woman prime minister on 21 July 1960. The first paragraph of a news report in the prestigious British newspaper ‘Guardian’ dated 22 July 1960 stated as follows: “Mrs. Sirima Bandaranaike, Leader of the …

Continue reading ‘How Sirimavo Bandaranaike Became The World’s First Woman Prime Minister 60 Years Ago.’ »

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj It was the morning of Saturday 4 July. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) had organised a meeting to discuss the forthcoming Parliamentary Elections at the ‘Ilankalainger Mandapam’ (Young Artistes Hall) in Nallur, Jaffna. The meeting was for all TNA past and present members of local authorities as well as Parliamentary Election candidates in …

Continue reading ‘Sumanthiran’s Unconventional Reaction To Sarvanapavan’s Newspapers Targeting Him’ »

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj‘ With Parliamentary Elections being scheduled for 5 August, most political parties and independent groups contesting the polls have commenced their respective campaigns in a big way. The hopelessly-divided chief Opposition, seemingly bereft of valid issues to raise, has eagerly seized upon the ‘Karuna Amman admission of Elephant Pass killings’ to target the SLPP …

Continue reading ‘How Ex- LTTE Commander “Col”Karuna Was Deported To Sri Lanka in 2008 After Being Arrested, Detained and Convicted in Britain’ »

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj Vinayagamoorthi Muraleetharan alias “Karuna Amman” a.k.a. “Col” Karuna is currently very much in the news. The former Eastern Regional Leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) who broke away from the LTTE in 2004 and collaborated with the Sri Lankan armed forces in combatting the Veluppillai Prabhakaran-led Tigers appears to be …

Continue reading ‘Karuna Ammaan’s Boast of Killing 2000-3000 Soldiers in One Night at Elephant Pass.’ »

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj JR Jayewardene and Gotabaya Rajapaksa:A tale of Two Executive Presidents – Part Three The entry of Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa into the presidential race in 2019 brought about a paradigm shift in the mode and manner of contesting elections by major political party fielded presidential candidates. In the past all candidates who fancied themselves …

Continue reading ‘Gotabaya a Standalone President Acting Extra-Constitutionally Without a Parliament’ »

by D.B.S.Jeyaraj JR Jayewardene and Gotabaya Rajapaksa: A Tale Of Two Executive Presidents -Part Two Junius Richard Jayewardene’s reign as Executive President which began in 1978 came to an end in 1988. Even at the tail-end of his tenure, the grandmaster of political chess did toy with the idea of contesting for a third term …

Continue reading ‘Premadasa Impeachment Move Showed That a President Facing a Hostile Parliament was Vulnerable.’ »

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa who was sworn in as Executive President on 18 November 2019 has been in office for six months now. He has been compelled to cope – and continues to cope – with several challenges during his brief but eventful tenure. However, it is not my intention to evaluate Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s …

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By D.B.S.Jeyaraj‘ ‘Traitorisation,’ the monster created over the years by Tamil nationalist politics, is running amok again. The current target is former Jaffna District Parliamentarian and Tamil National Alliance (TNA) spokesperson Mathiaparanan Abraham Sumanthiran. The lawyer-politician is being attacked as a ‘Tamil traitor’ for some of the comments he reportedly made in a Sinhala language …

Continue reading ‘The “Traitorisation” Tragedy Of Tamil Nationalist Politics.’ »

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran was killed 11 years ago in combat with the armed forces of Sri Lanka on 19 May 2009. The longest war in South Asia came to an end after the military debacle of the LTTE on the shores of Nandikadal Lagoon in the …

Continue reading ‘Tale of a Tiger: Facets of LTTE Supremo Veluppillai Prabhakaran’s Life.’ »