By

C. V.Wigneswaran

(Text of address delivered by former Supreme Court Judge C.V.Wigneswaran at 39th annual convocation of Bar Association of Sri Lanka on March 30th 2013 )

Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnu Gurur Devo Maheshwaraha Guru Saakshaat Para Brahma Tasmai Shree Gurave Namaha

Former President Chandrika Kumaratunga at the event – Mar 30, 2013

Your Ladyship Dr.Mrs.Shirani Bandaranaike, President of the Bar Association Mr.Upul Jayasuriya, Former Attorney General Mr.Sunil de Silva, my dear Brothers and Sisters!

It was not very long ago that I had the good fortune to address the Original Judiciary at their Annual Judicial Officers’ Conference. I mentioned then that it took eight long years since my retirement for them to remember me. It was indeed a pleasant surprise when your President- elect just a few days ago, last Wednesday, called on me to invite me to address you. Despite the short notice it showed that the Legal Profession still appreciates though rather belatedly the values and principles for which some of us stood for at great inconvenience, when in recent times such values are getting watered down or eroded around us.

Continue reading ‘Could it be said that Parliament is a Kangaroo Court Arrogating Judicial Powers to Itself?’ »

By

Upul Jayasuriya

(Text of Inaugural Address by Upul Jayasuriya PC the New President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka at the Navaranghagala on March 30th 2013)

Ven. Maha sangha, Your Lordships Judges of the Supreme Court Hon. Attorney General, Your Lordship President of the Court of Appeal and other judges of the Court of Appeal, other judges Your Excellencies of foreign Missions, Distinguished guests Ladies & Gentlement,

I would like on this important occasion to thank all of you for the overwhelming support I received at the last election of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka. In the annals of the records of our association, the pattern of voting for the last election of office bearers reflects a rare trend. A clear unanimity amongst lawyers was reflected in the voting. While I take pride in receiving your trust and confidence, I am not so conceited to think that it was merely because of my popularity that this pattern of voting has emerged in our association!

Continue reading ‘The Bar Association Shall March With The Avowed Objective Of Protecting The Integrity Of The Bench And The Bar.’ »

By

Izeth Hussain

Suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, the term “racism” has come into vogue. I myself have been using it for years, in preference to the term “ethnic” in connection with our famous ethnic problem. But otherwise it has been normally used in Sri Lanka only to allege “Tamil racism”, the assumption behind which is that the Sinhalese of course have never been racist towards the Tamils, or towards anyone else for that matter. But now, in connection with the anti-Muslim hate campaign and the halal problem, – which involve Buddhist monks and a political party that is part of the Government – many including no less than the President have used the term “racism”. There is therefore recognition among the Sinhalese power elite that there could be racists within their own ranks. I see this as a step or even a great leap forward, the beginnings of a possible sea-change, holding out promise for the future.

Continue reading ‘Genocidal Drive is the Underlying Reality Behind Racist Anti-Muslim Campaign’ »

By

N. Sathiya Moorthy

Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, has reiterated the government’s post-war apprehension that the mood of the international community, particularly the sentiments in the South Indian State of Tamil Nadu, could ‘discourage those pushing for devolution of power under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.’ Much as Colombo would have to share a lot of blame in this regard, after a point unbridled anti-Sri Lanka diatribe, including personal attacks on its leadership, could make the armed forces’ high concentration in the North a precondition for a political solution – which the local population and the international community despise.

It does not end there. The ‘Diaspora diplomats’ of the ‘LTTE cause’ have now targeted the US, the hand that they said was going to feed the Tamils in Sri Lanka. To them, the 2013 US resolution at the UNHRC had been ‘diluted.’ Yet, they declare from available platforms across the world that it has still taken them closer to their goal of a ‘separate State.’ They can now be expected to tell their people back home that the international community has cheated them, just as India and Norway had done, and they alone could fight for the cause dear to them, and for which they had suffered every loss known to mankind for long.

Continue reading ‘TNA the “Credible Voice”of the Tamil Community in the Island has Abdicated its Right and Responsibility to the “Diaspora Diplomats”’ »

By

S.Sivathasan

“Youth is the embodiment of revolt and revolt is the very quintessence of youth.” Nehru

What is seen in Tamil Nadu now are the words of Nehru in full flush. The students and the youth have given expression to their depth of feeling in ample measure. An emotional upsurge sparked by the continuing tragedy of Tamils in Sri Lanka has rolled over to spurning the traditional political leadership in Tamil Nadu. Herein lies the significance of the struggle which defines an altogether new political direction in the state. The change in its incipient stage as of now portends great challenges to Delhi. More importantly it has strong implications on Sri Lanka and the future of the Tamils.

Continue reading ‘Emotional Upsurge in Tamil Nadu Over Continuing Tragedy of Tamils in Sri Lanka has Strong Implications for Future of Tamils’ »

By

Vishnuguptha

Cricket, the celebrated game of gentlemen is turning out to be a totally farcical spectacle manipulated and maneuvered by power-brokers and unscrupulous traders of corruption and bribery. The days of glory and glamour seem to have passed; though some spectacular display on the field appears to be continuing both with the willow and the leather by some extraordinary talent and skills of Kumar Sangakkara, T M Dilshan and Rangana Herat and the like though their brilliance is being eclipsed by a sinister game of planning and plotting that is taking place behind the dark curtains of the Cricket Administration Bodies and the Ministry of Sports.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lankan Cricketers are not Representing Govt but are Representatives of Our Country,Our Values and Our Heritage’ »

Tisaranee Gunasekara

“The elephant is crashing about in the room, trampling people to death, and politely ignoring it is no longer an option”.
AC Grayling (To Set Prometheus Free)

With the mob-attack on a Muslim-owned shop, Sri Lanka took a giant leap towards a new conflagration.

The attack on the Pepiliyana outlet of the ‘Fashion Bug’ happened less than a month after Gotabhaya Rajapaksa publicly associated himself with the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) and less than a fortnight after the outfits’ Rabble-Rouser-in-Chief, Rev. Galagoda-Atte Gnanasara Thero, launched an uncouth diatribe against the Muslim owners of the ‘Fashion Bug’, accusing them of conspiring to turn pure Sinhala-Buddhist maidens into harem-inmates

According to media reports, the mob-attack happened consequent to a rumour of a 15 year old Sinhala-Buddhist employee of Fashion Bug being raped, within the premises, by a Muslim fellow-employee. The connection between this wholly apocryphal rumour and Ven. Gnanasara Thero’s Kandy-diatribe against ‘Fashion Bug’ is obvious. Like the Nazis and the White Racists, the BBS is using the image of the ‘Lascivious and Predatory Muslim’ threatening Sinhala-Buddhist womanhood, and by extension Mother Lanka, in order to weld ordinary, law-abiding Sinhala-Buddhist men into a baying mob. Muslim-owned establishments are being depicted as dens of sexual iniquity; implicit and explicit images/charges of a sexual nature are being used to titillate and incite Sinhala-Buddhist men, and to provide the resultant mob with a cast-iron and time-honoured justification for hating – and attacking – any Muslim.

Continue reading ‘Bodu Bala Sena is Politically and Morally Responsible for the Outrage Against”Fashion Bug” at Pepiliyana’ »

By

Thayalan Bartlett

“On a quiet day in August of 1977, the night mail train from Bandarawela was making its way to Colombo. On the winding journey to the capital the train routinely stopped at Nawalapitya at around 1.00am to take in passengers. Breaking the still of the night were blood-curdling shouts from people embarking the train looking for Tamils. This was followed by screams from hundreds of people who were being pulled out on to the platform and beaten mercilessly. The train left the platform leaving behind some fathers and husbands whilst their families were released after being beaten and robbed. It was heartrending as children were torn from their fathers and some were moaning perhaps for the last time. The screams continued and they began to grow, mile after mile and station after station throughout the night as a bloodied train made its way to Colombo. My sister was 14 and I was 12yrs old and we were on that train. We understood nothing but numbing fear because we were Tamils. We survived the attack unscathed only because we had Sinhalese friends who enveloped us with their care and protection but above all prayer which saw the attackers mostly miss our carriage when they passed by. There were times when they boarded our carriage and flashed their torches right in our faces asking “themela the?” (are you a Tamil? ) Miraculously their lights blinded them from us being identified as Tamils.

Two months after this experience we saw ourselves seeking refuge in Jaffna. Leaving my school S’ Thomas’ College and being torn from dear friends who were mostly Sinhalese added to my trauma. I could never understand this move until my father explained it many years later. Unknown to me and my sister we had carried the screams from the platforms of Nawalapitya to our home in Bambalapitya, waking up in the night screaming for help. As a father he could take no more and Jaffna became a justified move.What was planted in Nawalapitya was fear and we spent the next few years in Jaffna, in an environment where we sadly saw that the resentment towards the Singhalese was the ‘right thing’ which eventually brought forth a fruit of false ideology. An ideology that eventually caused a war. A war that would last 30 years. A war that we now realise was useless for the Tamils as much as it was for the Sinhalese and the country as a whole. ”

My blog is primarily for trends related to marketing and advertising and you may wonder why I am posting an article that contravenes that theme. It doesn’t. In fact it complements it. Our primary role as brand advocates is to engage with consumers by understanding their social, cultural and behavioural transformations. Transformation is a natural phenomenon that occurs through time, influencing social and cultural trends and shaping the way consumers respond to brands. However, when one forces time to bring about drastic changes upon society like it is happening in Sri Lanka today, the results could be unnatural and the effects seriously conflict with the aspirations of making Sri Lanka a land of enterprise. The tilling of the ground to seed the nation with yet another tree to bear yet another fruit of false ideology is gradually underway. The time for harvest will be soon and the consequences severe if it goes unchecked. The only difference this time is that the terrain the tree grows in will not be in the North. With the country at heart, I share this space hoping it would enlighten people to ensure that in post war Sri Lanka no opportunity should be lost to hatred for one another.

Continue reading ‘The Majority of Sinhalese are not Representative of the Extremism They are Identified With’ »

by

Capt.Elmo Jayawardena

(Long War, Cold Peace by Dr.Dayan Jayatilleka -Vijitha Yapa Publishers- A review by Capt Elmo Jayawardena )

Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka has not stopped at merely hitting the nail on the head; he’s gone a lot deeper. The man has taken a Black and Decker and drilled the skull of the reader and carefully pushed in 498 pages of faction and action (shameful and laudable) that relate to our “Long War” of almost three decades.

It is a timely publication too. The International Tambourine Men gathered in Geneva flaunting their lily white innocence in attempts to barbecue us. At least, we the ordinary habitants of this land should know how the cookie crumbled while we suffered the consequences of divisibility for thirty grisly years. Of course the ‘mea culpa’ rests with none other than the leadership. They festered the wound of ethnic divide and titillated political maggots that nearly annihilated us as a nation. We need to know some truths that have been gagged and swept under the carpets by both sides, ably assisted by the good Samaritans who sat on the third seat preaching negotiated peace. ‘Long War, Cold Peace’ is the answer. Dr. Dayan is punching hard, in a ring where he knows the rules, and he is not holding anything back. There is a good possibility that the book may take him to the mouth of a long menacing serpent in the political game of ‘Snakes and Ladders.” But then, with his historically valuable contribution in ‘Long War, Cold Peace’, he will walk tall among people who really matter.

Continue reading ‘“Dr.Dayan Jayatilleka,I Salute You for a Book of Excellence”’ »

By

Vishnuguptha

At a ‘Think Tank’ session held in the South a couple of weeks ago, an American representative in attendance in the audience made a very relevant point. Drawing an example from his own country’s 2004 Presidential Elections, he stated that a party that is running on a totally negative platform would always lose, unless that negative slant is overshadowed by a strikingly bright positive campaign.

It’s true that John Kerry in 2004 ran one of the most lackluster campaigns in the recent history of American Presidential Elections. However, when Carl Rove and his Republican PR gang swift-boated the Democratic candidate unmercifully and painted a picture of a ‘traitor’, Kerry could not recover.

Ultimately the negative campaign that the Republicans ran against Kerry proved too lethal and decisive. Coupled with that brutal negativity, the ‘Cheney/Rumsfeld/Rove’ axis turned the 9/11 disaster into a positive pitch for the incumbent, President George W Bush. The result was a comfortable victory for Bush and his Republicans.

Continue reading ‘UNP Under Its Current Leadership is a Party with a Colorful Past, a Colorless Present and a Bleak Future…’ »

By

Jaliya Wickramasuriya

As economic and political power shifts east, western nations are responding by reinforcing trade and security alliances across Asia. With the U.S.-Korea free trade agreement, a new military base in Australia, and deepening alliances across the region, the U.S. has recommitted to the Asia Pacific. As President Obama’s foreign policy pivots to Asia and the vision of “America’s Pacific Century” unfolds, U.S. strategic relations with Sri Lanka must also be examined.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka is Well-Positioned to Become a Stronger Geopolitical and Strategic Ally of the US in the Days to Come’ »

By

Austin Fernando

Robert O. Blake has once said, “International mechanisms can become appropriate in cases where states are either unable or unwilling to meet their obligations.” After Geneva March 2013, US officials have reiterated this in stricter terms.

TNA MP Suresh Premachandran has said the final Geneva Resolution will not relieve the affected Tamils and reminded the UNHRC wish (2012) to implement the LLRC recommendations, which allegedly has been defaulted. TNA Leader R Sampanthan has said that if Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) complied by implementing the LLRC recommendations, a second resolution could have been avoided.

However, Japan’s Yasushi Akashi has made a favourable statement for Sri Lanka, quoting his visits to North Sri Lanka and how “the whole country coped with the challenges”

In Geneva Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe described positive developments. Later, Minister Wimal Weerawansa exhorted that Sri Lanka is unshaken by Geneva resolutions, while Minister DEW Gunasekara feared worse befalling by government defaulting.

Is this confusion due to different viewer notions?

Continue reading ‘Responding to Geneva by Exemplary Restitution’ »

By
Human Rights Watch

(New York, March 28, 2013) – The Sri Lankan government should act on the call by a government deputy minister to investigate war crimes by examining his own role in serious abuses, Human Rights Watch said today.

In early March 2013, Deputy Minister Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan, known as Col. Karuna, called for war crimes investigations into the Tamil National Alliance, an opposition coalition of ethnic Tamil political parties, presumably because some members had links to the secessionist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Karuna was effectively the second-in-command of the LTTE and the head of its Eastern Province forces until he broke away from the group’s leader, Vellupillai Prabhakaran, in March 2004.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lankan Govt Must Probe War Crimes of the LTTE Starting with Investigation of Its Own Deputy Minister Better Known as “Col”Karuna-Human Rights Watch’ »

By

Tisaranee Gunasekara

“The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants…”
Camus (Resistance, Rebellion and Death)

The Rajapaksas are imposing the superstructure of a prosperous, developed nation on the base of an underdeveloped, cash-strapped economy.

The Rajapaksas are antagonising every single ethnic and religious minority in Sri Lanka, simultaneously.

The Rajapaksas are loosing friends and isolating the country internationally.

Any one of these strategic mistakes would suffice to undermine Lankan stability and security. The harm the confluence of all three can do to Sri Lanka and all her people would be unfathomably immense and unimaginable various.

Previous governments were not immune to these mistakes, but none committed all three, all at once. Their simultaneous occurrence is a function of familial rule, of the measures implemented by the Siblings to promote dynastic needs and satiate megalomaniac desires.

The Rajapaksas are parasitic rulers; they can grow and thrive only by sucking the nation dry, of its resources, potential and friends.

Continue reading ‘Rajapaksas are Parasitic Rulers Sucking the Nation Dry of Resources,Potential and Friends’ »

(Text of Interview given by Robert O. Blake, Jr. Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs to the BBC Sinhala Service)

BBC: First of all, this is the second resolution, and having agreed the international community that Sri Lanka has so far failed to implement their pledges, their obligations. What would the U.S. do if they do not implement, if they do not abide by this resolution?

Assistant Secretary Blake: I don’t want to speculate about future actions, but I think the resolution underlines the importance of Sri Lanka now taking meaningful action on reconciliation and accountability in order to move forward to achieve peace and prosperity on the island.

BBC: Do you believe that Sri Lankan government will abide by this resolution?

Assistant Secretary Blake: Well, again, I can’t speak for the Sri Lankan government but I think it’s very important now that again, forward progress be made on important issues like holding elections for the Northern Provincial Council that have been promised for September of this year. I think it’s important that they move forward on the dialogue with the Tamil National Alliance to achieve an agreement on devolution. And I think it’s important to address a lot of the serious human rights concerns that many people on the island have identified.

Continue reading ‘The United States and International Community are Trying to Re-Unite not Divide Sri Lanka- Robert Blake Tells BBC Sinhala Service’ »

By

G. Parthasarathy

With a population of barely 20 million, people in Sri Lanka have, in recent years, shed earlier prejudices and fears about India. Roughly one-third of its Tamil population of 3 million are descendants of Indian workers.

Facing discrimination in the years following independence, Tamils who have inhabited the island’s north-east for centuries, resorted to an armed struggle, in which India rather unwisely associated with armed Tamil groups in the 1980s. Nevertheless, the 1987 India-Sri Lanka Accord provided substantive autonomy to the Tamil-dominated north.

This Agreement’s provisions were enacted as the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lanka Constitution. India, thus, has a historical role and responsibility in facilitating the devolution of powers to the Tamil-majority northern province.

Continue reading ‘New Delhi is Unable to Explain to the People of Tamil Nadu as to Why Reason Must Prevail Over Emotion in Conduct of Foreign Policy’ »

By

Dharisha Bastians

A swashbuckling opening for the country’s second airport ahead of a vote on a US-backed resolution against Sri Lanka could not quite take away the sting of defeat at the Human Rights Council in Geneva. Days later, warning bells sounded in Washington DC about an impending international war crimes probe if Sri Lanka fails to mount a credible investigation into alleged atrocities. The ruling administration in Colombo is choosing to focus instead on keeping the memory of war and bloodshed paramount in the people’s minds

On 2 June 1987, the LTTE slaughtered 33 Buddhist monks and four civilians in cold blood in a remote jungle village in the Ampara District. Thirty of the monks were novice priests, being escorted by bus on pilgrimage by their mentor, Ven. Hegoda Sri Indrasara Thera. After ambushing the bus the Tiger cadres went on the rampage, attacking the monks and four civilians travelling alongside with swords and bullets. The Tigers had hoped the attack on the Sangha would incense the Sinhalese community, whose Buddhist sensibilities would be deeply wounded by the atrocities against the theros, inciting them to reactionary violence against the Tamil population. It never materialised. But the Aranthalawa Massacre stands out in Sri Lanka’s separatist conflict as one of its most brutal and unforgiving moments.

Twenty-six years later, a Buddhist Cultural Centre has been constructed at the site of the gruesome murders. It will be named in honour of the teacher monk, Indrasara Thero. But the commemoration does not end there. The site also features a ‘monument’ to the massacre, a gruesome sculpture recreated inside an old CTB bus that inartistically portrays the slain and bleeding monks.

Continue reading ‘Several Key Member States Will Send Low-Level Representation if Commonwealth Summit Takes Place in Sri Lanka’ »

Dr.Dayan Jayatilleka Interviewed by Dianne Silva

(Academic and former Diplomat Dayan Jayatilleka spoke to the Daily Mirror on the consequences of the United Nations Human Rights Council resolution against Sri Lanka, the importance of holding the Northern Provincial Council elections in a free and fair manner and Sri Lanka’s lack of foreign policy architecture).

Consequences of the UNHRC resolution

Continue reading ‘By Hosting the Commonwealth Summit Sri Lanka Has Set Itself Up As a Target For a Massive International Campaign-Dayan Jayatilleka’ »

By

Latheef Farook

The speech of Ven. Galagodatte Gnanasara Thera at a public meeting in Kandy on March 17 shamed the nation and sent shudders over the spines of the island’s Muslim community.

Addressing the gathering Bodu Bala Sena Secretary Ven. Galagodatte Gnanasara Thera asked the Sinhalese to rise against the island’s Muslims, whom he described in very derogatory terms not worthy of a monk, besides accusing Muslims of converting Buddhists into Islam and treating Sinhalese girls and boys in their establishments as slaves.

Inciting them he also asked all Sinhalese girls working for Muslim owned establishments to leave. However he had conveniently forgotten to ask Sinhalese working in the Gulf to return home!
Continue reading ‘Jathika Hela Urumaya,Bodu Bala Sena,Sinhala Ravaya Combine Incites Sinhalese Against Muslims Without Realizing Dangers Involved’ »

By

B.Kolappan

From a bitter critic of the LTTE to a champion of the ‘Tamil Eelam’ cause, the political evolution of the AIADMK headed by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has always been a roller-coaster ride.

Continue reading ‘Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa Transforms From Opponent of the Tamil Tigers Into a Champion of Tamil Eelam’ »

by

Vishakha Wijenayake

The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) has highlighted in their website the fact the latest census reports have indicated a reduction of the percentage of the Buddhists in Sri Lanka by around nine per cent during the recent past.

Stirred up the masses

The BBS has likewise stirred up the masses with rhetoric on the low birth rate amongst the Sinhalese community. Yet another foreign conspiracy, they claim. The Sri Lankan Government, according to them, direly needs and yet lacks a national policy on population ‘control.’

Continue reading ‘Bodu Bala Sena Stirs up Masses with Rhetoric on the Low Birth Rate Amongst the Sinhalese Community’ »

By

Frances Harrison

Sri Lanka is a test case for reform of the Commonwealth, intended to produce a renewed commitment to rule of law, democracy and human rights. It looks as if the 54-nation body is already failing dismally.

The custodian of the Commonwealth’s political values is a rotating group of Foreign Ministers gathered in what’s called the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group. Last year its role was strengthened by new guidelines. It was not enough to deal with military coups – the Commonwealth decided it needed to tackle situations where its political values were undermined without a government being actually overthrown. After all, the Commonwealth claims to be an organisation based on the “shared values of peace, democracy, development, justice and human rights” as the Queen, its head, tells us.

And yet we have a country about to head the Commonwealth for two years and host its major heads of government meeting in November, that stands accused (in two UN reports) of crimes against humanity and murdering possibly seventy thousand of its own citizens. This is perhaps the worst bloodshed of this century and certainly not your run of the mill human rights problem – it is something quite out of the ordinary. Perhaps that’s the problem. As Samantha Power writes, “policymakers, journalists and citizens are extremely slow to muster the imagination needed to reckon with evil”.

Continue reading ‘Why is the Commonwealth Secretary-General not Following the Organization’s Own Guidelines in the case of Sri Lanka?’ »

By

Sankaran Krishna

A photograph often cuts through tonnes of verbiage and exposes the truth. One such photograph was published on March 19 soon after the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M. Karunanidhi announced his party’s withdrawal from the United Progressive Alliance government led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. It showed a handful of smiling DMK cadres outside party headquarters distributing bright yellow “laddus” as fireworks were set off “celebrating” the party’s decision.

Why would withdrawal from the ruling coalition, based on principled differences with the Congress over the Sri Lankan issue, specifically on the milquetoast Resolution supported by India at the recent Geneva meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Commission, be worthy of celebration? Should it not be marked by solemnity and a commitment to pressure the Centre to do the right thing by the Sri Lankan Tamils? Isn’t there something crass about distributing ‘laddus’ when issues such as the wanton killing of civilians, denial of rights to a minority, and other weighty matters are at stake?

Continue reading ‘Opportunism of Parties like the DMK,AIADMK and Congress Over the Sri Lankan Tamil Issue Exposed Clearly’ »

By

Dr.Vickramabahu Karunaratne

The US resolution on accountability and reconciliation, which was moved at the UNHRC, remains a threat directed at the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime.

But many Tamils feel that it falls far short of their expectations. It is naïve of them to believe that global powers will go against a regime that has won the heart of the IMF.

Despite the theatrics by Minister Wimal Weerawansa, the President follows the path laid down by the global capitalist masters; he has also satisfied the conditions placed by the IMF with regard to the path of development. Already steps have been taken to place the burden of repayments on the shoulders of the proletariat and the plebian masses of all communities.

Continue reading ‘Stupid Govt Delegation did not Realise That UNHRC was Not the Forum to “Explain”How many Roads and Bridges had Been Built in the North’ »

By Major General Boniface Perera RWP RSP

Sri Lanka is an island with a land mass of 65,610 Sq km. About 74% of the Sri Lankan population is represented by Sinhalese and about 12.55% is Tamils, the majority of who live in the North and the East of the island and the rest is represented by few other communities (i.e. Muslims and Malay). India with a population of over one billion people is the closest neighbour of Sri Lanka which has only a population of 20 million. However the Southern Indian Tamil population exceeds 60 million as against 2 million Tamils in Sri Lanka. Proximity to Southern India and vast the Tamil population in those states is a very crucial factor in dealing with the subject of security in Sri Lanka.

Furthermore, Sri Lanka, located in the southern tip of India, lies at the crossroads of all maritime routes in the region (See Map). 70% of the global oil trade and 50% of container traffic pass through the Indian Ocean. Today, this sea route is operational with 36,000 ships passing through Sri Lanka’s southern port of Hambantota annually, including 4,500 oil tankers. Sri Lanka is governed by a Presidential system with the Judiciary, the Legislature and the executive combining in the Governance process. It is an economically booming region mainly due to the rapid development of two giants: India and China.

Continue reading ‘The Southern Port of Hambantota Epitomizes Sri Lanka’s Increasingly Robust Relationship with China in Recent Years’ »

The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Wednesday called upon the Union government to take steps to move a resolution in the United Nations Security Council, asking for various measures against the Sri Lankan regime including a referendum for the creation of separate Eelam.

Chief Minister Jayalalithaa moved the resolution and the House adopted it unanimously through a voice vote.
Continue reading ‘Jayalalithaa Wants Indian Govt to Take Steps to Move Resolution Against Sri Lanka at the UN Security Council’ »

By

P.Satyanarayana

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa has called for a referendum among Sri Lankan Tamils on the formation of a ‘Separate Eelam’ (Tamil land) within Sri Lanka. The referendum, she said, should be held for the sake of their future welfare. “The referendum should be conducted among Tamils in Sri Lanka and other displaced Tamils across the world. A resolution should also be adopted in the UN security council in this regard,” she told the assembly.

Continue reading ‘Tamil Nadu Legislature Unanimously Adopts Resolution by Chief Minister Jayalaithaa Calling for Referendum to Create Eelam’ »

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA-Sri Lanka’s former captain Arjun Ranatunga on Wednesday slammed IPL Governing Council’s decision to withdraw Sri Lankan cricketers from Chennai matches of the tournament and asked the players to opt out of the entire high-profile event beginning from April 3.

Continue reading ‘“Captain Cool”Arjuna Ranatunga says Sri Lankan Cricketers Must Pull Out of IPL Tournament’ »

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA-Sri Lankan great Muttiah Muralitharan is disappointed at the IPL governing council’s move to disallow players from his country to play matches in Chennai, a decision taken in view of the prevailing anti-Sinhalese sentiments in the state.

Bowing to intense political pressure, top Sri Lankan players were yesterday withdrawn from the Chennai matches of the high-profile IPL after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa refused to host them due to the growing political tensions in the state resulting from the treatment of ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka.

“It’s a sad (day) for cricket as we are not allowed to play in a certain part of India. It is a government decision, if they cannot provide security for us, we have to be cautious,” Muralitharan, who plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, told ‘NDTV.’

Continue reading ‘“It’s a Sad Day for Cricket as we are not Allowed to Play in a Certain Part of India”-Muttiah Muralitharan’ »

by Dr.SUDHARSHAN SENEVIRATNE

(TEXT OF ACCEPTANCE SPEECH DELIVERED AT THE AWARDS CEREMONY OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF AMERICA on January 4th at Seattle. USA)

President Bartman, members and professionals of the AIA, Ladies and Gentlemen!

Dr. Sudharshan Seneviratne addressing Archaeological Institute of America Awards Ceremony, Jan 4, 2013

I was honored to receive a communication from President Bartman stating my name as recipient of the 2013 Award for Best Practice in Conservation and Heritage Management. It also gratified me to note that heritage initiatives carried out in Sri Lanka during the past few decades have been recognized by one of the oldest standing professional bodies of heritage in the world and by the community of global heritage professionals at large.
Continue reading ‘Humanizing, De-colonizing and De-politicizing Archaeology & Heritage Management’ »

By

Prof.Rajiva Wijesinha M.P.

(Remarks by Prof Rajiva Wijesinha at the launch on Saturday March 23, at COLOMBOSCOPE, of Dayan Jayatilleka’s ‘Long War, Cold Peace’ -Vijitha Yapa Publishers, 2013)

In Parliament yesterday I told Dr Jayalath Jayawardena, who is a master manipulator, that instead of making insidious use of the government’s misfortunes, he should be constructive, and move a motion to suggest that Prof Pieris be replaced as Foreign Minister by Dr Dayan Jayatilleka. He told me, characteristically, that he would be happy to suggest me instead, but I assured him that I knew my limitations.

I had no doubt that I would do a better job than Prof Pieris, but so would almost anyone in this room – but there was no need to think of simply improving on what we have, when there is available a man who understands international relations thoroughly, and whose track record is one of great success.
Continue reading ‘“Dr.Jayalath Jayawardena Should Suggest in Parliament That Dr.Dayan Jayatilleka Replace Prof.GL Peiris as Foreign Minister”’ »

By

N Sathiya Moorthy

Independent of the evolving politics and engaging protests, there is more to Tamil Nadu and the politics in the State than the ‘Sri Lankan Tamil issue’. If anything, the politics and the protests have the potential to do more harm than good to the State and its people -and by possible extension, the cause of the Sri Lankan Tamils that the divided pan-Tamil, Dravidian polity has sought to espouse.

Overnight, political parties in the State have become undependable allies at the Centre. If the DMK partner from the State in the ruling UPA coalition at the Centre withdrew its Ministers and also the support to the Manmohan Singh Government, the party along with its then PMK and MDMK allies had pulled out of the BJP-NDA Government in December 2003, hastening early polls to Parliament. In its turn, the AIADMK, the rival of the party, did it to the BJP-NDA Government of Prime Minister Vajpayee early on in 1999, causing early parliamentary polls, but with years to spare.

Continue reading ‘Inspiration and Input for Protesters in Tamil Nadu Come From Diaspora Groups Whose Linkages to the LTTE are Discernible’ »

by

Kath Noble

The UN Human Rights Council sessions ended last week with the passage of another resolution on Sri Lanka. It was a victory for the United States, which secured 25 votes in favour compared to 13 against, with eight abstentions and the representative from Gabon being recorded as AWOL.

Life having continued as normal in Colombo, the Government is bound to learn all the wrong lessons from the experience.

For a start, it will think that it can continue to allow the Bodu Bala Sena to run around inciting hatred against Muslims, since Muslim countries overwhelmingly backed Sri Lanka. Half of the votes the Sri Lankan delegation could muster were from Muslim countries – Pakistan, the Maldives, Indonesia, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Mauritania – as well as half of the abstentions. Only Libya and Sierra Leone – both recent ‘beneficiaries’ of Western military intervention – voted with the United States.

Continue reading ‘Separatism Would Have Been Dead and Buried if Mahinda Rajapaksa had Followed up the Military Defeat of the LTTE with a Generous Political Package’ »

(Text of an Editorial Appearing in “The Hindu”of March 27th 2013 under the heading”Chauvinism at its Worst”)

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa did more than give her stamp of approval to calls for protests against the participation of Sri Lankan players in the Indian Premier League. By declaring that the State government will permit the matches to be held in Chennai only if the organisers provided an undertaking that no Sri Lankan players, umpires, officials or support staff would participate in these matches, she effectively endorsed chauvinism and discrimination in sport and politics.

Continue reading ‘Keeping Sri Lankan Players out of Matches in Chennai will Have larger,Long-term Repercussions For Cricket and India’s International relations’ »

By

Vasudeva Nanayakkara

Organized, merciless attacks carried out by gangs in Tamil Nadu on innocent civilians who travel to India on pilgrimages in search of spiritual serenity/happiness, have caused much distress amongst all and they have displayed horror whilst sympathizing with those who have been subjected to violent attacks. It is understandable if protests have been targeted at the Sri Lankan Government or politicians.

Although the Tamil Nadu State Government has initiated rearguard action to prevent such organized attacks, allowing attacks of the above nature to continue blatantly displays a void in the democratic government administration structure.

As such, necessary stringent action has to be taken to effectively control the anarchical situation that currently exists in the state of Tamil Nadu.

Continue reading ‘Forcibly Entering Places of Worship, Creating Violence and Injuring Worshippers can Bring Dishonour to Sri Lanka and Sinhala Buddhist Majority’ »

By

Gotabhaya Rajapaksa

(Full Text of Keynote Address delivered on March 25th by Gotabhaya Rajapaksa Secretary of Defence and Urban Development at the Serendip coast Festival 2013 at the Light house hotel in Galle)

Good Morning.

I would like to thank Mr. Geoffrey Dobbs, Mr. Herman Guneratne and the others involved in the Serendip Coast Festival for inviting me to speak here today. I am aware that many of the organisers were also responsible for the Galle Literary Festivalthat was heldon an annual basis over the last few years, which brought many world-renowned authors, poets and other illustrious individuals to this historic city. I believe today’s event and the Serendip Coast Festival represents the continuation of their efforts to promote Galle as a hub for similar events. This deserves encouragement and appreciation, because it provides an opportunity for a particularly discerning and influential segment of the international community to visit Sri Lanka and see the situation on the ground. As you will have noticed, the ground realities are rather different from what is often reported about this country internationally. Particularly in context of the fact that Sri Lanka only emerged from a vicious, three decades long terrorist conflict less than four years ago, I believe it is fair to say that the progress we have achieved is remarkable.

Just over a month ago, I had the opportunity to accompany His Excellency the President MahindaRajapaksa on his official visit to Jaffna.During this visit, he presided over the inauguration of a new power plant in Chunnakam, the opening of a new building complex for the Jaffna Hospital, and several other official functions. He also took the opportunity to travel throughout the peninsula and make a number of unscheduled stops to talk to the ordinary people in the area. He did all of his travels by road. I particularly remember that on the last day of his visit, he opened the Pier at Nagadeepa at about 6.30 in the evening, then attended a ceremony at a Kovil in Karainagar. This event ended at around 8pm. Afterwards, he travelled by road across the Peninsula to Palaly, which is a journey that takes about an hour. This is the President of Sri Lanka, travelling across the breadth of the Jaffna Peninsula, by night, on road. A few years ago, I don’t think even a military convoy could have travelled from Karainagar to Palaly by road without being confronted by a terrorist attack. Yet today, the Head of State is able to make such a journey. This exemplifies the peace, stability and security that exist in every part of the countryafter the defeat of terrorism in May 2009.

Continue reading ‘The Most Important Country that had to be Managed During War was India Because of the Political Pressures in Tamil Nadu’ »

By

M R Venkatesh

The anger of the common man, especially the youth, in Tamil Nadu is palpable. Colleges are being shut down. Even school children are seen discussing the mess in Sri Lanka. Private conversations invariably veer to this colossal human tragedy. In more ways than one this rage is explainable. After all, what has happened in Sri Lanka is unacceptable, inhuman and absolutely deplorable.

Expectedly, the issue concerning Sri Lankan Tamils once again dominates the political discourse in the state. Once politicians, especially those from Tamil Nadu are involved; one can reasonably be assured that it will be nothing but an elaborate exercise in semantics. After all, when it comes to rhetoric and hogwash, probably politicians from my home state are second to none.

Continue reading ‘By Bringing Sri Lanka into Our Economic Embrace we can Dominate Their Internal Politics and Offer True Protection to Tamils’ »

By

Fred Carver

Sri Lanka is disrupting BBC broadcasts in an apparent attempt to censor reports of a United Nations resolution that criticises escalating violence against the island’s ethnic Tamils.

The Sri Lankan Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) interrupted transmissions by the BBC’s Tamil language service as a high level UN human rights session in Geneva prepared to criticise the government for failing to investigate war atrocities or stem ongoing persecution.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka Disrupts Transmission of BBC Tamil Service”Thamizhosai”in Violation of Agreement with SLBC’ »

(Text of Press Release Issued by BBC)

The BBC’s World Service Director, Peter Horrocks, today announced the suspension of BBC broadcasts on SLBC (the Sri Lankan Broadcasting Corporation) following continued interruption and interference of BBC Tamil programming on SLBC.

Continue reading ‘BBC World Service Suspends Broadcasts in Sri Lanka on SLBC Due to Continued Disruption of Tamil Programs’ »

(Text of Joint statement signed by Activists and Organizations working for Women’s rights Condemning Views Expressed by Child Development and Women’s Affairs minister Tissa Karaliyadda on 11th March 2013, regarding women in leadership)

On the 11th March the Minister of Child Development and Women’s Affairs, Mr. Tissa Karaliyadda, stated that “women are incapable of performing duties of the head chair.” He went on to state that “when a woman is given authority in a department or a ministry they tend to suppress other women are under their administration out of jealousy. This situation will lead to inefficiency in that particular organization. Hence always the main chair should be given to a male and the assistant should be a female” (Source: http://www.mirror.lk/news/5843-a-male-should-always-be-the-chairperson). The same was circulated through a mobile phone message alert system. It has also generated several discussions in the cyber space and a few news agencies have republished his statement. In past too, the minister had made similar claims (Mawbima, 12 November 2012, Divaina, 15 March 2013). In such a context, we issue this condemning statement.

Continue reading ‘Women’s Affairs Minister Karaliyadda Condemned for Anti-Women Statement Belittling Leadership Capability of Women’ »

by

Nirgunan Tiruchelvam

A hurricane hit Sri Lankan cricket last week, but it was barely mentioned. Kusal Perera, a 22 year-old left-handed batsman and wicket-keeper blasted 336 off 275 balls for Colts CC against Saracens at Havelock Park, Colombo. The innings featured savage hitting with 14 sixes and 29 fours.

The innings is the highest score in the Sri Lankan domestic competition. It is also the only triple century in the 75 year history of the Sri Lankan domestic competition. Domestic cricket in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) was not recorded as first-class until the 1988-89 season, but there were no triple centuries in club cricket before that. The only other triple centuries in Sri Lankan first-class cricket were at Test level – Sanath Jayasuriya’s 340 against India in 1997 and Mahela Jayawardena’s 375 against South Africa in 2006.

Continue reading ‘Kusal Perera’s Awesome Achievement:336 with 14 Sixes and 29 Fours for Colts Against Saracens’ »

PRESS TUST OF INDIA- Bowing to intense political pressure, top Sri Lankan players were on Tuesday withdrawn from the Chennai matches of the IPL after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa refused to host them in view of the prevailing anti-Sri Lanka sentiments in the State.

Ms. Jayalalithaa wrote a letter to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh making it clear that IPL matches would be permitted in the State only if there were no Sri Lankan players, umpires, officials or support staff in these matches beginning April 3.

A few hours later, the IPL Governing Council met to discuss the issue and decided that Sri Lankan players will not participate in IPL League matches in Chennai.

Continue reading ‘IPL Governing Council Bows to Jayalalithaa and Officially “Withdraws”Sri Lankan Cricketers From Playing in Chennai’ »

by

Gargi Parsai

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned on Friday amid unruly scenes of AIADMK members breaking mikes and throwing papers in the air, even as the DMK protested against the Chair proceeding with conducting private members’ business.

The House also witnessed acrimonious exchanges between DMK members and Congress member Renuka Chowdhury soon after she left the Chair while adjourning the House to meet again on April 22 after recess.

Continue reading ‘DMK and ADMK Rajya Sabha Members Run Amok Over Lankan Tamil Issue Breaking Mikes and Throwing Papers in Indian Upper House’ »

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA-Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Monday made a strong appeal to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to attend Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in Colombo during November 15-17.

In her letter to Dr Singh, the Chief Minister said the Sri Lankan regime, “which continues to deny Tamils their legitimate human rights, equality and democratic freedom,” had “clearly violated” the central credo of the Commonwealth – democracy and human rights. “Nations have been suspended from the Commonwealth for far less,” she pointed out.

Continue reading ‘Jayalalithaa Does not Want Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Attend Commonwealth Summit in Sri Lanka’ »

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA-As protests in support of the Sri Lankan Tamils continued, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa today said IPL matches would be permitted in the state only if there were no Sri Lankan players, umpires, officials or support staff in these matches.

“In view of the popular antipathy and anger in Tamil Nadu against the actions of the Government of Sri Lanka, the Government of Tamil Nadu is of the view that IPL matches involving Sri Lankan players, umpires and other officials should not be played in Tamil Nadu”, she said.

Continue reading ‘Jayalalithaa Bans Sri Lankan Players,Umpires,Officials and Support Staff from Participating in IPL Cricket Matches in Tamil Nadu’ »

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA-Faced with the looming threat on the safety of Sri Lankan players taking part in the upcoming Indian Premier League, the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has sought the government’s advice on the cricketers who are scheduled to play in Chennai.

SLC Secretary Nishantha Ranatunga said that they have sought the External Affairs Ministry’s advice and hence, the players would be given suggestions depending on the MEA instructions.

Continue reading ‘Indian External Affairs Ministry Advice Sought on Safety of Sri Lankan Cricketers Playing in IPL Tournament’ »

By

Frances Harrison

He lay in agony on the ground on a tarpaulin sheet in the open, bandaged in rags in the scorching tropical heat after two major surgeries on his leg and hip, but Thevam considered himself extremely lucky. Just the day before he’d been moved out of the school building turned into a makeshift hospital. A day later and he too would have been among the eight dead and many more injured in the shell attack on the hospital. No matter that the building had a clear red cross painted on its roof, visible to government drones and surveillance planes.

Thevam is a 39-year-old Tamil shopkeeper with a wife and two young children from northern Sri Lanka. He is a witness to war crimes whose mother was killed while sheltering in a bunker, and himself still bears huge angry scars on his body. He was granted refugee status in Australia two years ago but is not free to restart his life. Thevam is one of 51 Tamils who have failed their security clearance and shockingly he hasn’t even been told why.

Continue reading ‘“None of the Hardened Ex-LTTE Fighters I have met Wanted to Take up Arms Again”’ »

By

MA Sumanthiran M.P.

(Text of Speech made in Parliament on 21st March 2013 during debate on the Resettlement Authority Bill)

Thank you Mr. Deputy Chairman.

The Hon. Minister for External Affairs concluded with a question: ‘Is this right? Can we be happy with the way our Motherland is being treated by the United Nations system?’ I’d like to suggest that the question – more relevant question and the more serious question is not that. Is this how our Motherland should treat us, who are also citizens of this country? Merely because we are inferior in number that the greater in number should treat us as second class, or worse, third class citizens of this country. If you can answer that question in good conscience as you claimed then most of these issues can be resolved.

Continue reading ‘“Sheer Arrogance to Think That Because we are a Numerical Minority we don’t have a Voice or we Cannot Speak?-Sumanthiran MP’ »

By
Prof.Rajiva Wijesinha M.P.

In the last column in this series, I will look at the Civil Rights Movement, which was founded in 1971. In discussing its contribution to Rights, and the manner in which Rights can be most productively promoted, I will also talk about one of its founding members, Bishop Lakshman Wickremesinghe, whose 86th birthday it would have been today.

Like his father, Cyril Wickremesinghe, who was the first Ceylonese Government Agent, he was a radical in his commitment to social equity. At least, I like to think this was his father’s essential approach, though he was also a pillar of the establishment, a great friend of D S Senanayake and D R Wijewardene, whose eldest daughter married his eldest son. But, like DS, much of his working life was spent providing better opportunities to the peasantry, through the opening up of agricultural lands in the North Central Province.

Continue reading ‘Bishop Lakshman Wickremesinghe and the Civil Rights Movement’ »

By
Ranga Jayasuriya

Our persistent opposition to any kind of international criticism of our mishandling of domestic affairs has much to do with the inflated egos of our foreign policy handlers and politicians, than whatever those lofty claims of sovereign equality, internal sovereignty and non interference of internal affairs, and so forth. Sometimes, when those inflated egos explode, the whole affair takes a very ugly turn, like External Affairs Minister G.L Peiris’s outburst at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute last Friday, turned out to be.

Peiris exploded after the visiting Canadian Senator Hugh Segal noted, in his response to a journalist, that the Canadian Courts had given many rulings unfavourable to the government , on the ‘first nation’ which constituted four per cent of the total population, but that Toronto did not sack its Chief Justice due to those rulings.

Continue reading ‘“Spineless”GL Who Lets Sajin Vaas Call the Shots at Ministry “Bursts Out”at Canadian Senator to Score Brownie Points with Ruling Regime’ »

By

S. L. Gunasekara

The resolution against Sri Lanka proposed by the International thug otherwise known as the United States of America has, predictably, been passed by the UNHRC. Similarly and equally predictably, the resolution to impeach Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake was also passed by Parliament by a 2/3 majority.

Theoretically, where a person votes for or in favour of a resolution, by such act conveys his agreement with the factual basis on which the resolution is founded. However, was this laudable theory consistent with the facts in these two cases? I think not.

Continue reading ‘Can the MP’s who Voted to Impeach Chief Justice at Behest of Their “Master” Condemn Countries for Voting Against Sri Lanka in UN at Behest of Their”Master”?’ »

By

Shamindra Ferdinando

External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris said yesterday that the second US sponsored resolution was meant to ensure that Sri Lanka would come up for consideration as part of United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) agenda every six months, with human rights chief Navi Pillay to brief the council at its 24th sessions in September this year.

It was to be followed by the presentation of a comprehensive report to the 25th sessions in March 2014, Minister Peiris told The Island in a brief interview following last Thursday’s vote in Geneva. The presentation at the 25th sessions would pave the way for a discussion, the minister said, alleging that an obvious attempt was being made to ensure continuous attention on Sri Lanka.

Continue reading ‘“Is There Any Other Country Which Has Attracted This Kind of Focus”?-Asks Prof.GL Peiris’ »

By

Col R Hariharan

The UNHRC passed the U.S. sponsored resolution (A/HRC/22/L.1/Rev.1) on Sri Lanka at its 22nd session at Geneva on March 21, 2013. The text of the resolution is at Annexure. The resolution was passed by 25 votes to 13. Eight nations abstained. Gabon was absent.

The result was not unexpected. However, the content and wording of the resolution was stronger than the UNHRC’s 2012 resolution on Sri Lanka. It makes accountability in observing international human rights laws as its primary focus and has called for a “credible and impartial investigation” into such violations. This is important as it reflects the lack of faith in what Sri Lanka has done so far. Equally important is the reference to the continuing fundamental rights violations in the country.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka Tamils and UNHRC Resolution Became Critical Issues Even for National Parties After Upsurge in Tamil Nadu When Pictures of Prabhakaran’s son were published’ »

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA: After quitting the UPA coalition on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, DMK on Monday demanded that India should boycott the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting scheduled to be held in Colombo in November this year.

“While Commonwealth Secretariat should not convene the meeting at Colombo, but if it happens, India should boycott the meeting in order to reflect the sentiments of Tamils worldover and to keep up the democratic spirits,” the DMK Executive Meeting said.

Continue reading ‘DMK Wants India to Boycott Commonwealth Summit if Held in Sri Lanka to Reflect Sentiments of Tamils’ »

By

Charles Haviland

(After a series of attacks on mosques, wild rumours about animal slaughter and an attempt to outlaw the halal system of classification, the BBC’s Charles Haviland investigates how Sri Lanka’s Muslim minority is being targeted by hardline Buddhists.)

On a January morning a crowd of Buddhist monks storm a law college, yelling, chanting and even hitting one or two seemingly random people and pushing back the police. Furiously they shout that the exam results have been distorted to favour Muslims.

A few weeks later, apparently abetted by the police, monks attack a slaughterhouse in Dematagoda, Colombo, alleging that calves are being slaughtered inside (illegal in the capital) or the meat is improperly stored.

Both are incorrect, but the monks spread rumours that the facility is Muslim-owned as most of the truck drivers are Muslim.

Continue reading ‘The Hardline Buddhists Targeting Sri Lanka’s Muslims’ »

By

Michele.J.Sison

(Text of prepared Opening Statement by US Ambassador to Sri Lanka,Michele.J. Sison at Press Round Table
held on March 22, 2013 at the American Center Colombo)

Yesterday’s vote at the Human Rights Council was clear–the international community encouraged the Government of Sri Lanka to fulfill its own obligations to its people, and to take meaningful, concrete steps on reconciliation and accountability.

The resolution very clearly encourages the Government of Sri Lanka to move forward on a path toward lasting peace. As Secretary of State Kerry noted yesterday in his statement, the US looks to the Government of Sri Lanka to implement the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission and to reverse recent negative developments related to the rule of law and human rights.

Continue reading ‘US Wants Sri Lanka Govt to Implement LLRC Recommendations and Reverse Recent Negative Developments Related to Rule of Law and Human Rights’ »

by

Special Correspondent S Venkat Narayan

Gen Shavindra Silva on the battle front-April 2009-pic courtesy: BBC

The Sri Lankan Government may continue to stonewall the global community’s demand for a credible and independent investigation into the excesses committed by its security forces during the last phase of Eelam War IV in 2009, according to defence analysts here.

This may be because such a probe will expose the crucial roles played by President Mahinda Rajapaksa himself, his brother and Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, and at least 14 other senior officials of the Armed Forces, the analysts told the Sunday Island.
Continue reading ‘Credible Probe Into War Excesses May Expose Crucial Roles Played by Mahinda,Gotabhaya and 14 Armed Forces Officials Opine Indian Defence Analysts’ »

By

Shamindra Ferdinando

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa yesterday said that those wanting to haul Sri Lanka up before an international war crimes tribunal on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations propagated by the LTTE rump should examine the circumstances leading to the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 by Western forces.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the opening ceremony if an Exhibition in Ampara, Mar 23, 2013

Western governments and major media networks constantly quoted so called credible sources based in Iraq and Iraqi Diaspora as having said that the then government was in the process of making Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). Even 10 years after the invasion, Western intelligence services hadn’t been able to find Iraq’s WMDs or at least some secret facility, which may have been used by the Iraqis, the Defence Secretary said.
Continue reading ‘On Going “Operation”at UNHRC in Geneva Against President Rajapaksa’s Administration is Evidence of Western Conspiracy Aimed at Regime Change in Sri Lanka-Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’ »

By

Bishop Duleep de Chickera

pic courtesy of: UKinSriLanka

Over the past months Sri Lankans have been educated on two Arabic words: halal and haram (that which is permissible and not permissible). Unfortunately the circumstances of learning have been an unprecedented antagonism towards the Muslim community much deeper than the halal issue. This trend must be addressed without delay by the government and all religions before it spirals into a much wider conflict, which the country can ill afford.

The government’s responsibility is to do what all governments are mandated to do: ensure the prompt implementation of law and order without fear or favour to any. This should include steps to curb the provocation of religious animosity and ensure the security and dignity of the Muslim community; an intrinsic part of the nation from well before the Ninth Century.

Continue reading ‘A National Inter-Religious Council With Authority to Address Inter-Religious Tensions and Build Inter-Religious Goodwill and Trust’ »

By
Eran Wickramaratne M.P.

For a country to progress socially, economically and be at peace within her borders, democracy, justice and good governance needs to flourish. On the threshold of independence in 1948 Sri Lanka held much promise compared to her neighbor in the Indian Ocean.

Eran Wickramaratne during UNP Membership drive in Colombo East-Mar 2013-pic: facebook.com/Eran.Wickramaratne

While most countries in the region have struggled from autocracy to democracy – Bhutan, Maldives and Nepal being the most recent examples – Sri Lanka has become more autocratic.
Continue reading ‘Are the Communities of Sri Lanka More United and Reconciled Than They Were in May 2009?’ »

By

Ananth Palakidnar

Makkal Thilagam M.G. Ramachandran greeting Mr. Appapillai Amirthalingam & Mrs. Amirthalingam

Dr. A. Baheerathan, son of the late TULF leader, Appapillai Amirthalingam, was in Sri Lanka last week and in an exclusive interview with Ceylon Today traveled extensively ‘down memory lane’ in the North. He was happy to note there were no more cruel deaths on a daily basis and the people were living without the sounds of guns. While regretting the process to find a political solution to the Tamil question is not on the right track yet, he emphasized the government should ensure an early solution is found to stabilize the hard-earned peace.

Excerpts:
Continue reading ‘Former Opposition Leader Appapillai Amirthalingam’s Son Dr.A.Baheerathan Visiting Sri Lanka Speaks Out in an Interview’ »

By
Vishnuguptha

“In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Condemnation by a majority of the Members of the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) would not speak well for a people of any country. The Government of Sri Lanka, steeped in an irrationally clannish mindset, has chosen to ignore the obvious. Instead, the leaders are changing gears on a terrible course of (mis)governing of the country’s destinies at their own whims and fancies.

Mahinda Samarasinghe, Minister of Plantation Industries of Sri Lanka during the voting of resolution L.1/REV.1, Promoting Reconciliation and Accountability in Sri Kanka on the the 22nd Session of the Human Rights Council. 21 March 2013. Photo by Jean-Marc Ferré-UN

Taking a totally different route does no appeal to this lot. Tactics have been given priority over strategy; macho-politics has overtaken prudent and cautious governance and a will and desire to perpetuate themselves in power has eclipsed and is in the process of destroying justice and fair-play.
Continue reading ‘Govt has Disregarded Two Most Vital Features of a Decent Democratic Society-Transparency and Accountability’ »

By

Javid Yusuf

Secretary Defence Gotabhaya Rajapaksa ‘Methsevana’ opening – pic courtesy of: defence.lk

Picking up the pieces after a protracted and debilitating civil war that drained national resources for over three decades would be a daunting task for any country. If it is a country which is on the bottom half of the economic ladder the task of rebuilding becomes that much more difficult. Moreover, creating new problems for ourselves would mean facilitating a situation which impedes any process of reconciliation. A repetition of the tragic events of the past is a luxury that Sri Lanka and its people can ill afford.

When every effort should be made to identify the mistakes of the past and correct them, we are allowing irresponsible small groups to do just the opposite and adding to our list of problems. With the process of reconciliation between the Tamil community and the State as well as between the Tamil and Sinhalese communities still finding its feet, making the Muslims insecure renders the nation building project an even more formidable task.

Continue reading ‘How Has The Bodhu Bala Sena Been Able to Reach Various Parts of the Country and Make an Impact Within Such a Short Time?’ »

A Chinese firm has won the award to supply fuel to the international airport in Mattala and the harbour at Hambantota for the pre-commissioning of a bunkering facility and tank farm.

The winner, China Hanqui Contracting & Engineering Corporation, has just completed work on the project in Hambantota.

Opening Day of Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport

The fuel requirements are for the pre-commissioning and testing of the facility before being handed over to the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA).
Continue reading ‘Sri Lankan Govt Awards Contract to Chinese Firm “Hanqui” for Supplying JET A 1 Oil to Mattala Airport and Marine Diesel Oil to Hambantota Harbour’ »

By

Namini Wijedasa

Sri Lankans forced to vacate college hostels due to student protests in Tamil Nadu (TN), are looking for alternate accommodation in private homes—and not always finding it easy.

One Sri Lankan student from an Arts college in Chennai, yesterday approached an Indian family for paid lodging. She was turned way as she was Sri Lankan. She was also informed that another Sri Lankan student who lived there had been asked to vacate the previous day.

Continue reading ‘Current Protests in Tamil Nadu Against Sri Lanka Fueled by Biased reports and False Messages in Media’ »

By
Amit Baruah

It took me some time as a Delhiwallah in Colombo to understand how important the politics of the various Dravida Kazhagams and some fringe groups in Tamil Nadu was to Sri Lanka. Soon after I landed in Colombo as The Hindu’s correspondent in 1995, their significance grew on me.

High Commissioner of India meets Ven. Senior Monks of the Mahasangha-Mar 19, 2013-pic: facebook.com/hcicolombo

Those were days that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was running amuck, striking the heart of Colombo time and again. They blasted the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and sent oil storage tanks in Kollonnawa up in flames. If there was an earth-shattering sound, you knew Tamil Tiger terror had struck.
Continue reading ‘Letting Tamil Chauvinists Attack Innocent Sri Lankans in Tamil Nadu is Neither Justice nor Good Policy but Sheer Lunacy’ »

By

N. Sathiya Moorthy

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at an Iftaar Party-Pic: PTI

Independent of the voting pattern, the much-hyped UNHRC resolution on Sri Lanka has left it almost where it had begun. There is thus the underlying admission that for ethnic peace in the island-nation to prevail, the whole-hearted support and involvement of the Government in Colombo is still the prime requisite.

In a way, the Diaspora Tamils and their advocates have won the battle for now. Yet, to the international community, it should have also brought out for once, their ‘hidden agenda’ of a ‘separate state’.
Continue reading ‘Though Perceived as a Weak Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has Shown India’s neighbours What True Strength is all About in Terms of Values and Commitments’ »

By

Quintus Perera

Protest in Maharagama-Jan 2013-pic courtesy of: gossiplankanews.com

Sri Lanka’s loss at this week’s UN vote in Geneva and religious intrusion into the market place was the main focus of a discussion on Monday organized by the Sunday Times Business Club (STBC).The club is sponsored by Etisalat.

In all the crises building up in Sri Lanka, the Government appeared to be ‘sleeping’ and weak in its responses, panellists said.

Continue reading ‘Ethno Religious Forces Have Invaded and Distorted the Functioning of the Market Place in a Completely Irrational way-Dayan Jayatilleka’ »

By

Tisaranee Gunasekara

“The future lies in darkness and the forces of right are weak”.
Brecht (On the suicide of Walter Benjamin).

Almost four years after winning the Eelam War, Sri Lanka has no discernible enemy and a very discernible military.

This gross disproportion would not have mattered overmuch had the economy fared better and the people were burdened less. But with a distorted economy and a weighted-down populace, even Rajapaksa supporters might question the logic of maintaining a gargantuan military sans an enemy.
Continue reading ‘If Muslims Face Bodu Bala Sena Together with Moderates of Evey Commuity They will WIN and So Will Sri Lanka’ »

By

M.A. Sumanthiran MP

During the voting of resolution L.1/REV.1, Promoting Reconciliation and Accountability in Sri Lanka on the the 22nd Session of the Human Rights Council. 21 March 2013. Photo by Jean-Marc Ferré-UN

The recent passage of the second UN Human Rights Council resolution on reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka was a triumph for all its citizens. This is because it is now clear that Sri Lankans who desire ethnic reconciliation, democratic reform, positive peace, justice, and an end to the culture of impunity are not alone.

The international community’s disapproval of the incumbent regime’s intransigence is a clear message to the government that it would do well to heed the voices of moderation within Sri Lanka.

Continue reading ‘Second UN Human Rights Council Resolution on Reconciliation and Accountability in Sri Lanka Was Triumph for all its Citizens’ »

By
Meena Kandasamy

Marx begins his Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, modifying Hegel’s assertion that history always happens twice, by adding that it occurs “once as tragedy, and again as farce”.

First, the tragedy.

On April 27, 2009, in the absurd theatre of parliamentary electoral politics, M. Karunanidhi mercilessly wagered the lives of more than a hundred thousand Eelam Tamils facing imminent genocide by embarking on what must have been a historic act of protest—an ‘indefinite’ hunger strike, strategically timed between breakfast and lunch. And then he declared, just as dramatically, that he was giving up his fast having received an assurance from P. Chidambaram that Colombo had decla¬red a cessation of hostilities. Even as this ready¬made propaganda was being disseminated, bombs continued to rain in the Vanni. Mulli¬vaiykkaal, the tiny sliver of beach that became the last refuge of the Eelam Tamil people, turned into a mass grave. In the ensuing days, Karunanidhi kept himself occupied by exercising his literary talents in letters to the prime minister.

Meena Kandasamy

Now, the farce.
Continue reading ‘Massive Protests in Tamil Nadu Signal New Chapter in the Radical Struggle for the Cause of Eezham Tamils’ »

By

Pranay Sharma

High Commissioner Prasad Kariyawasam

In his college days, Prasad Kariyawasam, Sri Lanka’s high commissioner to New Delhi, was a promising cricketer. But in the turning track of Indian politics, the 59-year-old diplomat had to summon all his diplomatic and cricketing skill to play with a straight bat. In the wake of India’s vote against Sri Lanka in Geneva, he speaks to Pranay Sharma on the agitation in Tamil Nadu and the future of Indo-Lankan relations.

The Sri Lankan issue has created a political crisis in India. How do you see it?

This is very unfortunate. The root-cause of this crisis is extra-regional and nothing to do with our region. It’s because of a resolution by the US at the Human Rights Council in Geneva. In our view that initiative, both in substance and procedure, is uncalled for because it is not going to help the ground situation in Sri Lanka. In terms of rehabilitation and reconstruction we have gone far ahead. We have achieved a lot which has in fact been acknowledged by the international community. But we do understand that in terms of the reconciliation process we still have several objectives to achieve.

Continue reading ‘Leaders in Tamil Nadu Seem to Have Been Misinformed About Situation in Our Country-Prasad Kariyawasam’ »

By

By Saba Naqvi ,Anuradha Raman & Panini Anand

Street painiting of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa ~ pic by: Feroz Khan ~ via flickr

• July 1997 The DMK threatens to withdraw support from the United Front government over its differences with the CPI(M), especially on fodder scam accused Laloo Prasad Yadav, and allocation of ministerial berths

• November 1997 The I.K. Gujral-led UF government falls after Congress withdraws support when its demand for sacking DMK ministers is rejected. The demand came after a Jain Commission report on the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi had held that the DMK had tacitly supported the LTTE.
Continue reading ‘The Sword Of The Dravidians: How Political Threats from Tamil Nadu have Kept New Delhi Govts on Edge’ »

(Text of Press Release issued by sri Lanka’s Ministry of External Affairs)

The Government of Sri Lanka regrets the recent incidents of intimidation of Sri Lankan nationals particularly instances of violent assaults against Buddhist Monks in Thanjavur and at the Central Chennai Railway Station, India.

Ministry of External Affairs has lodged strong protests with the Indian Government through its High Commission in New Delhi and the Deputy High Commission in Chennai over the incidents of assaults on Sri Lankan Buddhist monks in the State of Tamil Nadu.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lankans Going to Tamil Nadu Asked to Contact Deputy High Commission in Chennai Well in Advance’ »

By
Raisa Wickrematunge

The Bodu Bala Sena manifesto doesn’t just touch on halal food; it also focuses on a variety of different issues. One of the group’s goals, which does not seem to have garnered much attention is the aim to stop sending female domestic workers to the Middle East. This proposal was one, which even met with some support, when it was first announced. Originally, Executive Committee Member, Dilantha Withanage said that tragic stories like that of Rizana Nafeek had spurred the group on to call for a ban of domestic workers.

Now, however, Withanage cites a different reason. “The Sinhala population is decreasing. One reason is because people are going for LRTs and abortions, but another is because women are being sent to the Middle East.”. He went on to add that even globalisation and the educational system were to blame as Sinhala women were having children later in life.

Continue reading ‘Bodu Bala Sena to Stop Sri Lankan Women Going to Work in Middle-Eastern Countries as Domestic Aides’ »

By

Vishnuguptha

“Civilization is a movement and not a condition, a voyage and not a harbor.”
~Arnold J. Toynbee

Fundamentalism, whether it’s Christianity, Islam or any other religion has been the order of the day in modern society. Its attraction to the elements that dwell on the fringes of any religion is beyond doubt. Its perverse focus on appealing to the base instincts of the human mind and heart, its play on the most susceptible landscapes of human behavior and its provocations aimed at the helplessness of a hapless community could have shattering effects culminating in the most socially-devastating consequences. Such explosions could generate social divisions that would take centuries to heal and recover from, if any recovery is possible at all.

The toll that Muslim Fundamentalism has taken in the Middle-East, the then Soviet Union, Chechnya, Iraq, Iran, Libya and Afghanistan are too gruesome to pen on paper. The violent manifestations of such fundamentalist approach to religion has its inherent momentum which eventually drives any sane person mad, any intelligent one foolish and educated ones to most unwise acts. Nationalism that overwhelmed Europe in the last couple of centuries and the birth of freedom for the then colonies of the British, French and Dutch have combined together to create this most volatile concept of fundamentalism. Its outer veneer of ‘patriotism’ is lending itself as a ready and noble offering at the altars of violent uprisings and explosive outbursts of narrow thought. The noble has been desecrated and substituted for by a fierce sense of ‘our thing’.

Continue reading ‘Possibility of Sri Lanka’s Bodhu Bala Sena Becoming Something Akin to Afghanistan’s Taliban Must be Stopped Now’ »

by

Dilrukshi Handunnetti

Similar to the time when Sri Lanka stepped up the military engagements in 2008 against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), when some 11 citizens of Tamil Nadu sacrificed their lives in dramatic form for the Tamil cause – in one week, two more lives have been lost, in similar fashion and for the same cause.

Vikram, the latest victim, died on Thursday night from severe burn injuries, while earlier this month, Mani of Cuddalore District died after he set himself ablaze, demanding action against Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa for alleged war crimes committed against Sri Lankan Tamils. Even before their deaths, lawyers in Chennai held their own protests, while different groups and Tamil Nadu politicians demonstrated on their own, showcasing an entire Indian State’s anger towards Sri Lanka. Just two days ago, in the temple town of Madurai and elsewhere, activist groups and lawyers once again took to the streets, demanding justice for Sri Lanka’s Tamil community.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lankans Studying in India Feel Insecure Due to Current Political Situation’ »

By

N.M. Ameen

(Following is the text of a letter sent to President Mahinda Rajapaksa by Mr. NM Ameen the President of the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka)

His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa,
The President,
Socialist Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka, Office of the President,
Temple Trees,
150, Galle Road,
Colombo 3, SRI LANKA.

Your Excellency

As you are aware the Muslim community has recently been targeted by extreme Buddhist groups for virulent attacks of hate and abuse on the basis of our religious beliefs and cultural practices and erroneous assumptions regarding the increase in our numbers. These groups who- are targeting all minority religions have created a great sense of unease among Muslims throughout the country. Their campaign has also affected all businesses—not just Muslims—and resulted in a threat to the maintenance of law and order affecting all communities.

Out of our concern over the continued erosion of the above situation Muslim Religious, Civil, Professional, and Academic and Business representatives gathered on the 5th of March 2013 at a meeting organized by the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka in Colombo. At that meeting the group resolved to write to your Excellency regarding our concerns.

Continue reading ‘Extremist Groups are Publicly Calling for Boycott of Muslim Run Businesses and Referring to Our Religious Practices in Abusive Language’ »

By

N. Sathiya Moorthy

Despite outgoing DMK partner’s demand for a parliamentary resolution on the post-war ethnic situation in Sri Lanka, most political parties, including those from other regions, have refused to be tempted into taking yet another pot-shot at the Government of the day, which anyway was suffering one embarrassment after another on a host of issues and fronts for months, if not years, now.

In doing so, the Parliament has demonstrated where politics ends and policy-making on a sensitive area as external affairs and neighbourhood relations begin.
Continue reading ‘The UNHRC Outcome on the Sri Lanka Resolution Showed that International Diplomacy is Often Aimed at Possible Consensus not Confrontation’ »

By

Narayan Lakshman

At the eleventh hour before a crucial United Nations Human Rights Council resolution calling on Sri Lanka to improve the post-war welfare of ethnic Tamils on the island, the U.S. appears to have watered down the text of that resolution.

Washington’s revised draft copy of the resolution, which was freely circulating on the Internet by Tuesday, in particular hinted at at least one major change from an earlier version: an entire paragraph calling for “unfettered access” in Sri Lanka by a host of external observers and specialists was deleted.

Continue reading ‘Did the USA Dilute the Text of the Resolution It Sponsored on Sri Lanka at the UNHRC in Geneva?’ »

By

Shamindra Ferdinando

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa yesterday expressed his deep disappointment with the Indian government’s position articulated by its envoy to the UNHRC, Dilip Sinha.

Responding to a statement attributed to Sinha that Sri Lanka should address accountability issues to the satisfaction of the international community, the Defence Secretary told The Island that those wanting Sri Lanka to satisfy the global community should realise that they were adopting double-standards. In fact, they would never have tolerated external intervention in domestic issues, though Sri Lanka was being asked to give into an investigation on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations.

Continue reading ‘Would India Address Its Accountability Issues to the Satisfaction of Western Nations or the UN? Asks Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’ »

By Saman Indrajith

Prof G.L. Peiris MP

The US sponsored anti-Sri Lanka resolution, at the UNHRC sessions in Geneva, could not achieve anything positive except for spreading hatred, distrust and violence among South Asian nations, External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris told Parliament yesterday.

Continue reading ‘US Sponsored Anti-Sri Lanka Resolution has Sread Hatred, Mistrust and Violence Among South Asian Nations-GL Peiris’ »

Renowned Nigerian author Chinua Achebe has died at the age of 82 after a brief illness.

Albert Chinualumogu Achebe (16 November 1930-21 March 2013)

A statement from his family said his “wisdom and courage” were an “inspiration to all who knew him”.

One of Africa’s best known authors, his 1958 debut novel Things Fall Apart, which dealt with the impact of colonialism in Africa, has sold more than 10 million copies.

He had been living in the US since 1990 following injuries from a car crash.

The writer and academic wrote more than 20 works – some fiercely critical of politicians and a failure of leadership in Nigeria.
Continue reading ‘Renowned Nigerian Writer Chinua Achebe Dead at the Age of 82 After a Brief Illness.’ »

A USA-sponsored resolution on Sri Lanka, calling on the Sri Lankan Government to conduct credible independent investigations into allegations of war crimes, was passed in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) yesterday with 25 member States, including India, voting in favour and 13 against. Eight member States abstained.

During the voting of resolution L.1/REV.1, Promoting Reconciliation and Accountability in Sri Lanka on the the 22nd Session of the Human Rights Council. 21 March 2013. Photo by Jean-Marc Ferré

Continue reading ‘UNHRC Passes US Sponsored Resolution on Sri Lanka by 25 Votes to 13 With 8 Abstentions.’ »

(Intervention by India in the United Nations Human Rights Council under Agenda Item: 2 on the Resolution on Promoting Reconcilation and Accountability in Sri Lanka)

Mr. President,

Allow me to make a few remarks on the resolution under discussion “Promoting Reconciliation and Accountability in Sri Lanka”.

Dilip Sinha, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations Office at Geneva-Photo by Jean-Marc Ferré

India believes that the report of the LLRC and its findings and recommendation provides a window of opportunity to forge a consensual way forward towards a lasting political settlement through genuine national reconciliation and the full enjoyment of human rights by all its citizens.

Continue reading ‘We Call on Sri Lanka to Move Forward on Devolution of Political Authority Through Full Implementation of 13th Amendment and Building Upon It-India at UN’ »

By
John Kerry

(text of Press Statement made by the US secretary of State)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meets with Singaporean Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on March 13, 2013. [State Department photo]

Today’s vote in the UN Human Rights Council encourages the Government of Sri Lanka to continue on the path toward lasting peace and prosperity following decades of civil war and instability. This resolution, which builds on a similar 2012 resolution, reaffirmed that Sri Lanka must take meaningful action on reconciliation and accountability in order to move forward.

Continue reading ‘I Look Forward to Continuing Engagement with Sri Lanka Govt and Strengthening our Friendship with the People’ »

(Text of a Press Communique Issued by the Amnesty International)

A new UN resolution passed today, does a good job of highlighting past and on-going human rights violations in Sri Lanka, but regrettably fails to establish an independent and international investigation into alleged crimes under international law, Amnesty International said.

The UN Human Rights Council (UN HRC) in Geneva, this morning passed a resolution on the need to promote reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka following the country’s armed conflict, which ended in 2009.

Continue reading ‘UNHRC Resolution Fails to Establish an Independent International Investigation into Sri Lankan Armed Conflict-Amnesty International’ »

JOSEPH STALIN is unhappy. The boss of a Sri Lankan teachers’ union claims that the country’s schools are losing their independence. Last month, unions say, nearly 4,000 headteachers were invited to interviews at the National Cadet Corps. Successful applicants will get 45 days of training, and then full military titles. The idea, supposedly, is to improve discipline in schools.

The army’s grip is spreading across Sri Lankan society. Activists talk of a general effort to promote military culture among the young, especially among the ethnic Sinhalese majority. Prominent academics and former diplomats say that militarisation has been going on ever since the end of a bloody civil war in 2009. No effort has been made since then to shrink the armed forces.

Continue reading ‘Army’s grip is Spreading Across Sri Lankan Society’ »

By

Nate Raymond

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A younger brother of Raj Rajaratnam was charged with insider trading on Thursday, nearly two years after the founder of the Galleon Group hedge fund was convicted of that crime.

Prosecutors said Rengan Rajaratnam, 42, conspired with his brother to trade on non-public information concerning Clearwire Corp and Advanced Micro Devices Inc in 2008.

Rengan Rajaratnam was a portfolio manager at Galleon, and the trades for which he was charged resulted in nearly $1.2 million of illegal profit, according to U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in Manhattan, who announced the charges.

Continue reading ‘Raj Rajaratnam’s Brother Rengan Rajaratnam Charged in New York for Insider Trading at Galleon in 2008’ »

By

SAMANTH SUBRAMANIAN

Mullyvaaykkal – May 10, 2009

A YEAR ago, when I was living in Colombo, Sri Lanka, I arranged to meet a friend for lunch, to talk about a Sri Lankan journalist who had gone missing and was presumed dead. By the time we met, my friend had a new mission: to keep another Sri Lankan safe.

The previous day, the United Nations Human Rights Council had passed aresolution “noting with concern” the Sri Lankan government’s refusal to address serious allegations of human rights abuses by the military — carried out during and after its 26-year war with the separatist Tamil Tigers, which ended with a defeat of the rebel group in 2009.
Continue reading ‘India the Dominant Power in South Asia is Content with the Politest of Wraps on Sri Lanka’s Knuckles Lest it Alienate a Close Neighbour’ »

By

Tisaranee Gunasekara

“A key lesson is that civic passivity and willed blindness were the preconditions for the triumph of National Socialism….” – Fritz Stern (Leo Baeck Lecture)

Rally Kandy – Mar 17, 2013-pic via: pearltv.lk

Fanatics hate facts. Therefore the fact that the Sinhala population has actually increased between 1982 and 2011 would be of no interest to those who are trying to ignite a new – religious – inferno.

According to census figures, in 1982, Sinhalese constituted 74% of the population; by 2011, this has increased to 74.9%. The Muslims constituted 7% in 1982 and 9.2% in 2011. If any community is in danger of depletion it’s the Tamils. Indu Bandara, Director, Population Census and Demography Division of the Department of Census and Statistics, “disputed a claim being propagated in the country that the Muslim population is likely exceed that of the majority community” (The Island – 18.3.2013).

Continue reading ‘By Making Sri Lanka Unsafe for her Minorities the Bodu Bala Sena is Making the World Unsafe for the Sinhalese’ »

by

B.Raman

Is there a neo-LTTE emerging nearly four years after the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was wiped out in May, 2009, by the Sri Lankan security forces?

That is a question that needs the attention of the intelligence agencies in the wake of the growing support for the Sri Lankan Tamils’ political and human rights in the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora abroad and among large sections of the international community.

India had reasons to be gratified with the total elimination of the LTTE, which had become a Frankenstein’s Monster, by the Sri Lankan security forces. Indian intelligence and security agencies had played an active, but low profile role in helping in the counter-LTTE operations of the Sri Lankan security forces through means such as exchange of intelligence, monitoring the movement of LTTE’s commercial ships used for smuggling arms and ammunition, strengthening the anti-aircraft defence of the Sri Lankan forces, training etc.

Continue reading ‘An Emerging Neo-LTTE is Waiting to take Over Ground Situation 4 Years After the Tigers were Wiped Out in May 2009.’ »

By

Ben Doherty

(The repatriation of Sri Lankan asylum seekers has, for the moment, ‘stopped the boats’. But many of those forcibly returned to Sri Lanka say they are not safe. Ben Doherty reports from Batticaloa.)

Megaraj Suresh* agrees to meet, after some reluctance, outside a Hindu temple under renovation. We sit under a banyan tree in a corner of the sandy grounds, backs against the trunk, facing out, so we can see anyone coming.

He doesn’t remove his motorbike helmet ”so from a distance, they cannot see it is me”.

”They” are Megaraj’s great worry at present, even if he’s not precisely sure who ”they” are, or when they will come.

”I don’t sleep at night for fear. I know they will come, there might be a white van, government people or paramilitaries, I don’t know who, but I will disappear. They might never find my body.”

Continue reading ‘Eastern Tamil Asylum Seekers Involuntarily Returned From Australia Face Danger and Intimidation in Sri Lanka’ »

By

S. Vijay Kumar

A students’ organisation spearheading ongoing protests against Sri Lanka on Wednesday warned that it would go to any extent to stop Sri Lankan cricketers from playing in IPL matches in Chennai.

Urging the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to prevent Sri Lankan players from participating in the IPL matches here, the ‘Students’ Federation for Free Eelam’ coordinator V. Prabhakaran said students would disrupt the match if Sri Lankan nationals were allowed to play. He called for a permanent boycott of IPL matches if Sri Lankans played here.

Continue reading ‘Protesting Indian Students Demand That Sri Lankan Cricketers Must Not be Allowed to Play in Tamil Nadu Matches for IPL Tournament’ »

Smita Gupta

Parliament of India.

The all-party meeting called by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Wednesday evening to seek a consensus on the government’s draft resolution on Sri Lankan Tamils failed: if the text did not go far enough for the DMK and the AIADMK, the BJP, the Samajwadi Party and the Janata Dal-United all said they were opposed to a country-specific resolution.

The BJP had pointed out earlier that if India had objected to the resolution passed on the Afzal Guru issue, it would not be proper for it to pass one on Sri Lanka in Parliament.

Continue reading ‘Indian All Party Meeting Fails to Reach Consensus on Drafting Parliamentary Resolution on Sri Lankan tamil Issue’ »

By

Alan Keenan

With a vote due soon on a U.S.-sponsored resolution at the U.N. Human Rights Council (HRC), the Indian government has a chance to strongly encourage sustainable peace and political reform in Sri Lanka. Policy-makers in Delhi are clearly disturbed by the Sri Lankan government’s backsliding on promises of devolution of power to Tamil-speaking areas, its politically motivated impeachment of the Chief Justice there and its refusal to comply with last year’s HRC resolution on “Reconciliation and Accountability in Sri Lanka.”

To maximise its ability to influence Sri Lanka towards a lasting resolution of its ethnic conflicts and a restoration of its democratic institutions, India should take the lead in developing a forceful, international strategy, first at the HRC, then through other multilateral bodies, to be able to hold Colombo to its promises.

Continue reading ‘India Must Assume Real Leadership Role in Forming International Policy on Sri Lanka by Voting for Strong Resolution at the UN’ »

By

Dharisha Bastians

Sri Lanka will feature prominently in an extraordinary meeting of a powerful grouping of Commonwealth nations with the muscle to suspend and expel member states, following a vote on a US backed resolution against Colombo that will be taken at the UN Human Rights Council’s 22nd Session today.

Continue reading ‘Canada Moots Extraordinary Meeting of CMAG Via Teleconferencing to Discuss Boycott of Commonwealth Summit in Sri Lanka’ »

By

Dharisha Bastians

Vasudeva Nanayakkara, current Minister of National Integration and long-time friend and ally of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, tells a fascinating story.In September 1990, after a violent insurrection had been crushed with brutal force by the United National Party Government at the zenith of its power, a young Opposition politician from Hambantota joined Nanayakkara on a journey to Switzerland.

They were travelling to Geneva, where the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (the older avatar of the current UN Human Rights Council) was housed to lobby country delegations there.
Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka Rejects Indian Advice Not to Contest Resolution at UNHRC and Belligerently Challenges US to a Vote in Geneva’ »

by

Harim Peiris

Sri Lanka continues to be under international scrutiny for its lack of progress on human rights and reconciliation. The absence of any progress on implementing the excellent recommendations of the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) has meant that the international community to whom undertakings of post war reconciliation was promised, seeks to hold the government to its word. The UNHRC resolution is on Sri Lanka. It is not against Sri Lanka.

Continue reading ‘Both JHU and LTTE Sympathisers Reject LLRC Recommendations and Oppose the UNHRC Resolution’ »

By

Dr. Nimalka Fernando

Mullivaaykkaal, May 12, 2009

Chennai is burning. Tamil Nadu is in uproar. As I sit in my room in Geneva glancing through the resolution on Sri Lanka the papers scream that Karunanidhi’s DMK has pulled out from the Indian Congress led UPA government. With 18 DMK members including 5 Ministers out of the UPA government this will leave the Congress government in the “conditional” hands of Mayawati’s BSP and the Samajawadi Party. Unlike the DMK, these two parties are not alliance partners with ministerial portfolios and more importantly, they are political opponents in Uttar Pradesh. Without the DMK the Congress government now walks on a political “tight rope”.

Continue reading ‘Fires That Were Lit in Mullivaaikkaal Then Cannot be Doused by Setting Chennai on Fire Now’ »

By

Dharisha Bastians

“Last night, I dreamt Buddha was shot dead by the Police, guardians of the law. His body drenched in blood on the steps of the Jaffna Library. Under cover of darkness came the ministers. “His name is not on our list, why did you kill him?” they ask angrily, “No sirs, no, there was no mistake. Without killing him it was impossible to harm a fly”
From Buddha Murdered by poet M.A. Nuhman

As the sun blazed down on a warm Sunday afternoon in February, rows of young men and women lined the balcony of a Municipal building in the centre of Maharagama town. They wore white t-shirts bearing a ‘no-Halal’ sign and each carried a small Buddhist flag. On a cue by saffron-robed monks on the ground, they placed their right hands on their chests and took a pledge to safeguard the Sinhala race and the Buddhist faith. Thousands more gathered at the town centre for a massive rally, a Sinhala-Buddhist call to arms against alleged Muslim extremism sweeping through the country.

Continue reading ‘Politics of Hate in Sri Lanka:Virulent Anti-Muslim campaign is Deeply Wounding Trust Between Sinhala and Muslim Communities’ »

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA-The UPA government has convened an all- party meeting this evening to discuss a resolution it plans to move in Parliament on violation of human rights of Tamils in Sri Lanka, a demand which the DMK had placed as a condition to stay in the ruling coalition.

Though the DMK withdrew support to the UPA on Tuesday and its Ministers in the Manmohan Singh Cabinet resigned today, the Government has decided to go ahead with the proposed resolution in Parliament.

Continue reading ‘Indian Govt Convenes All-Party Meeting to Discuss Resolution on Sri Lanka to be Passed by the Parliament of India’ »

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) officials on Wednesday raised concerns over the safety of its national players who would be taking part in the Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 tournament starting next month following the recent spate of attacks against Sri Lankans in Tamil Nadu.

Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka Concerned Over Safety of Its Cricketers Playing in IPL T20 Tournament As 10 Matches will be in Chennai’ »

By
S.Vijay Kumar

Many Sri Lankan nationals, who had planned to visit Tamil Nadu as tourists or pilgrims, cancelled their trips following a travel advisory issued by their Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday.

According to diplomats, a large number of citizens of the island nation who called the Sri Lankan High Commission in New Delhi and the Deputy High Commission in Chennai, were told to avoid visiting Tamil Nadu in view of the attacks on Buddhist monks and ongoing protests across the State.

Continue reading ‘Tourist Industry in Tamil Nadu Hit as Sri Lankans Cancel Planned Visits to State After Attacks on Buddhist Priests’ »