By MICHAEL MOORE and OLIVER STONE

WE have spent our careers as filmmakers making the case that the news media in the United States often fail to inform Americans about the uglier actions of our own government. We therefore have been deeply grateful for the accomplishments of WikiLeaks, and applaud Ecuador’s decision to grant diplomatic asylum to its founder, Julian Assange, who is now living in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London.
Continue reading ‘Precedent set by US in Prosecuting Assange Could be Followed by Russia and China to Extradite Foreign Journalists’ »

By S. P. Udayakumar

Prime Minister, Prime Minister, why did you keep coal
When none of your predecessors ever had this foal?

Did you sell non-players and new ones all the Black Gold
So thermal power goes down and nuclear becomes bold?
Continue reading ‘Prime Minister, Crime Minister!’ »

By Ranil Wijayapala

Once a thriving industry in the centre of the Eastern province, the Valaichchenai paper mill after years of slow operations and going through the restructuring program initiated by the State Resource Management and Enterprise Development Ministry, is now gearing to resume its full capacity to become a jewel of the Eastern province again.

The paper mill which boasts more than five decades of history through its supply of a onsiderable share of the country’s paper requirement, is now ready to diversify its businesses under the restructuring process, to make it a profit-making venture in the near future.
Continue reading ‘Valaichchenai paper mill to Resume Full Production Capacity After Re-structuring’ »

Gopalkrishna Gandhi

By Gopalkrishna Gandhi

Until 7,000 years ago, the sea around Adam’s Bridge being 10 metres lower than it now is, the southeast coast of India and the northwest coast of Sri Lanka were umbilically linked by land.

The people of the two landmasses moved for millennia with ease, doubtless in both directions, across what is now a chain of soft islets between Dhanushkodi and Talaimannar.
Continue reading ‘Peace ,Normalcy and a Sense of Equity and Equality Have A long Way to Go In Sri Lankas North’ »

BY M. Thiyagarajah

In the great Hindu epic Mahabharata, it is often said, particularity in the context of war of words between Prince Dhuryodhana and Prince Dharmaraja, that it is good to listen to whoever has a comment to offer or advice to make.

Going by this maxim, the comment by UN agency, IRIN that there is lot of talking and not much improvement in the North Sri Lanka deserves to be heard.
Continue reading ‘Reconciliation and Rehabilitation Issues must be Addressed with Sincerity and Speed Befitting Nation Wedded to Buddhism’ »

Canadian High Commissioner Bruce Levy – Pix by: Kithsiri de Mel

Ayesha Zuhair Interviews Outgoing Canadian High Commissioner Bruce Levy

Q: What are your views on the Action Plan to implement the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC)? Do you feel that it adequately demonstrates the government’s commitment towards peace, justice, and reconciliation?
Continue reading ‘Where alleged war crimes are concerned, Canada naturally supports bringing perpetrators to account – Bruce Levy’ »

by Lalith “saku” Armbapolla

Residents in the historic Heritage City – Kandy are disappointed and disturbed in the manner in which the Kandy Municipal Council Heavyweights in the Council deliberately having things their own way with the support of some of the elected members to gain personnel benefit and making a good deal of the mismanagement and malpractices of the council.

City Of Kandy ~ from the big Buddha statue ~ pic by: Indi Samarajiva – indi.ca

The act is very damaging n particular to the residents of Kandy who have had a very peaceful life over five decades, besides brining undue disrepute to Mayor who has taken over for the first time with inadequate experience.
Continue reading ‘Heritage City Kandy on the Decline due to Municipal Council Maladministration’ »

by Ifham Nizam

All countries in the region are gearing up for the World Crocodile Conference, where the Crocodile Specialist Group’s 22nd Working Meeting will be held in Sri Lanka in May next year—with head counts of the three main species.

Leading herpetologist Anslem de Silva says that head counts of the species in Sri Lanka will be done with the support of the Department of Wildlife, university professors and animal enthusiasts.
Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka to Take Crocodile Census Ahead of World Crocodile Conference in Colombo’ »

by Professor S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole

While agreeing with The Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe’s statement that “Education blunders led to terrorism” (DM 20 Aug. 2012), I am writing to correct his claim that “the arms struggle in the North began with students being unable to enter universities. This happened in 1973, 1974 and 1975.”

The insidious practice of keeping Tamils out of universities began with the 1970 admissions. The Maanavar Peravai (Great Forum of Students) that was formed in response held demonstrations through the Summer of 1970. We were brutally assaulted by the police and the Peravai leadership began training for a violent response by 1971, holding classes at Jaffna and the universities at Peradeniya and Katubedde.
Continue reading ‘Premadasa Udagama Utilised Evil Scheme of Standardization to Downgrade Tamil Students’ »

by Prof.Rajiva Wijesinha M.P.

I have been deeply disturbed by some reactions to what seems a spate of criminality relating to the abuse of children. The argument is that we should respond to this by reintroducing capital punishment.

This is absurd, and not only because punishment should always fit the crime. Capital punishment for murder is another question, but that we already have, and the simple fact that it has not been implemented indicates the deep disquiet felt in general about the process.
Continue reading ‘Reintroducing Capital Punishment for Child Abuse Offences is Absurd’ »

by R. M. B Senanayake

The Bishop of Jaffna has issued a statement setting out the ground realities in the Northern Province. We can expect the bishop to be reasonable and objective rather than be swayed by emotion and emotional attachments to ethnicity. So we hope and pray that his statement will receive the attention of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The government says that the bulk of the internally displaced people who were in government camps like the Menik Farm have been re-settled because they are no longer in such camps.
Continue reading ‘Re-settlement that has been Carried out by the Government is Inadequate’ »

By W.A Wijewardena

The closure of the Sri Lanka’s State university system by the country’s higher education authorities recently is not quite an unexpected move.

When the strike action by the academics of the State university system had paralysed most of the universities and all attempts at bringing the striking academics within the Government’s solution-frame had failed, the only course of action available to authorities has been to seek guidance from history.
Continue reading ‘Perilous state of higher education and Ominous closure of State universities’ »

By Vishnuguptha

“Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps, down new roads, armed with nothing but their own vision.” – Ayn Rand, Russian-American Novelist

Forgotten are the days when people waited in line for two to three hours to buy a loaf of bread; forgotten are the days when rice was not available on Tuesdays and Fridays, when rice could not be transported from point A to point B; when one had to take the old bicycle tyre to buy a new one, when the groom had to take the registration certificate to purchase the cloth for his wedding suit; when only two yards of white cloth were sold for pansukùla ceremonies for the dead Buddhists; when assaults, sometimes culminating in murder, were committed for a loaf of bread; when no more than one hundred and fifty guests could be invited and dined at a wedding ceremony.
Continue reading ‘Country Yearning for Visionary Leader who Would Offer an Alternative to the Present set of Policies and Programmes’ »

By Camelia Nathaniel

The frequent breakdowns at the Norochcholai Power Plant and the ongoing power cuts has seen Minister of Power and Energy, Patali Champika Ranawaka receiving plenty of flack from the public as well as the media, the past few weeks.

What does the minister, who once promised never to impose power cuts, have to say about these and other issues plaguing the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB)? Ceylon Today interviewed the minister on these and other pertinent issues.
Continue reading ‘‘If No Rain by September We will have Serious Problem’ – Champika Ranawaka’ »

Udaya Gammanpila

By Udaya Gammanpila

The Tamil Eelam Supporters Organization (TESO) held a pro-Tamil Eelam Conference on 12 August in Tamil Nadu, under the patronage of its former Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi.

Organizers of the conference had to overcome several legal barriers since the LTTE is a banned organization in Sri Lanka. They took all possible steps to avoid any activity, which risks the banning of the conference.
Continue reading ‘‘If you Love Eelam You Should Oppose Tamil Eelam’’ »

by Tisaranee Gunasekara

“….ordinary people, simply doing their jobs, and without any particular hostility on their part, can become agents in a terrible destructive process”. Stanley Milgram (The Perils of Obedience)

The Rajapaksa regime’s obvious antipathy to the just demands of the university dons and its striking indifference to the ballooning crisis in the education system stem from a politico-psychological wellspring sourced in the Ruling Family’s despotic agenda.
Continue reading ‘Rajapaksas do not want a citizenry which thinks, doubts, questions and dissents’ »

M A Sumanthiran M.P – pic courtesy: YATV

by M A Sumanthiran M.P

I have argued on this forum and elsewhere that Sri Lanka needs to take deliberate steps in a new direction. I have contended that stability is contingent upon the distribution of power away from the Centre.

I cited several examples to illustrate that the de-evolution of power need not come at the expense of security or as the harbinger of secession. I presented international examples of de-centralized government utilized for social and economic advantage.
Continue reading ‘It was President Rajapaksa who Wanted to Devolve Power Urgently so People could Take Charge of Their own Destiny’ »

Neil Armstrong – August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012 – Pic: NASA

ASTRONAUTS do not like to be called heroes. Their standard riposte to such accusations is to point out that it requires the efforts of hundreds of thousands of backroom engineers, mathematicians and technicians to make space flight possible.

They are right, too: at the height of its pomp, in 1966, NASA was spending about 4.4% of the American government’s entire budget, employing something like 400,000 workers among the agency and its contractors.

Neil Armstrong gives a personal commentary during a rare interview with CPA Australia on Apollo 11’s historic lunar landing, his thoughts on leadership and taking risks to innovate for the future-pic: CPA Australia

But it never works. For Neil Armstrong, who commanded Apollo 11, the mission that landed men on the moon on July 20th 1969, the struggle against heroism seemed particularly futile.
Continue reading ‘Neil Armstrong First Man on the Moon Passes Away’ »

University Of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka

by Mahendra Gunawardane

Everybody knows by now that the Federation of University Teachers Associations (FUTA) has been leading an all out trade union action of university academics. However, it has not been so widely known that there are some lecturers who refused to join the strike action. Some of them continue to teach their students without interruption and I am one of them.

Many would find it difficult to understand why some of us stay away from the trade union action while many others are engaged in.
Continue reading ‘Why some University Teachers are not Participating in the FUTA Strike Action’ »

Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri

by Deepal Warnakulasuriya

The strike action by the Federation of University Teachers Associations (FUTA) started on July 4 is still continued and discussions and efforts taken to meet their demands so far have been failed.

Higher Education Ministry and University Grants Commission (UGC) had stopped their July salaries and last Wednesday (22), they closed the universities indefinitely except the medical faculties.
Continue reading ‘An Interview with FUTA President Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri’ »

by Tisaranee Gunasekara

“….it’s a show, it’s a show” -Mookie and Sam

The Chinese deal to provide Sri Lanka with a communication satellite and a space-academy was one of the fastest BOI projects to get off the ground, according to the proud-boast of the state-media.

Unsurprisingly; there is an intimate connection between the Ruling Family and the space-project. “The idea of having a satellite was the brainchild of President Rajapaksa who spelt it out when he was in China recently” (The Sunday Observer – 19.8.2012). That is an extremely believable claim about the incomparable-brain which produced such winners as Mihin Air and the Magampura-Ruhuna Mahinda Rajapaksa Port (MRMR Port).
Continue reading ‘Main Purpose of Rajapaksa Development is the Development of the Rajapaksas’ »

by Rajan Philips

The acutest commentary on the current political situation has come from the Maha Nayake of the Malwatte Chapter, the Most Venerable Thibbotuwawe Siddharatha Sri Sumangala Thero.

Buddha Jayanthi Celebrations – 1956 – pic: SWRD Bandaranaike Museum

He reportedly told a delegation of the striking Federation of University Teachers Associations (FUTA) that the country’s five great political forces (Pancha Maha Balavegaya) are now on the streets.

It is a powerfully insightful and indicting comment that is also a trigger for fruitful political analysis.
Continue reading ‘‘Pancha Maha Balavegaya’ Which Helped Set Up Bandaranaike Regime in 1956 May Help Oust Rajapaksa Regime in Future’ »

by Kishali Pinto Jayawardene

At first look, the sight of darkly unsmiling men with a few women scattered among them, gathered together in a dilapidated school hall of an impoverished village deep in the dusty interior of the East of Sri Lanka is both formidable and unsettling.

Protesting detention without charges, Welikade, May 29, 2012-pic courtesy of: TamilWin

A litany of questions

The tense translator whispered that this was, at one time, a favourite recruiting area for the LTTE regional leaders who had preyed on the poverty stricken Tamil youth of this village.
Continue reading ‘Carefully Planned Post-War Reconciliation Process Would have Provided Sri Lankas Best Answer to Eelamist Lobbies Overseas’ »

By Namini Wijedasa

Like any other trade union action, the strike by university lecturers will have to end in the coming weeks. It is only a question of time, and of an appropriate exit strategy.

Several ministers have already indicated that a draft agreement is ready for signing between the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) and the state. It is expected to define the government’s commitments in response to the many demands put forward by FUTA.
Continue reading ‘At last a civilized debate on free education (at least, until SB opens his mouth)’ »

Prof. Arjuna Aluwihare

By Namini Wijedasa

The Friday Forum, a group of concerned citizens comprising some of Sri Lanka’s most distinguished professionals, recently issued a strong statement decrying the deterioration of the education sector.

One of its most active members, Prof. Arjuna Aluwihare last week warned that the politicization of universities had reached unacceptable levels.
Continue reading ‘University education is seen and felt to be politicized more than ever before- Prof. Arjuna Aluwihare’ »

by Ahilan Kadirgamar

The resignation last week of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairperson Tilak Karunaratne, after he blamed “a mafia of high net worth investors and their crony stockbrokers” for mobilising political pressure, has further exposed the crisis in the stock market.

Over the last year, there has been much discussion of two aspects of this crisis. First, the collapse of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) from one of the best performing markets in the world two years ago – when the market value of the CSE quadrupled from the end of the war to its peak within two years – to one of the worst performing markets this year.
Continue reading ‘Resignation of Tilak Karunaratne has Further Exposed the Crisis in the Stock Market’ »

Tilak Karunaratne

By Frederica Jansz

Tilak Karunaratne, the former Chairman for the Securities and Exchange Commission says that President Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Minister of Finance brought pressure on him to resign from his post as chairman SEC.

Excerpts of the interview:
Continue reading ‘Tilak Karunaratne Says President Rajapaksa as Finance Minister Pressured him to Resign SEC Chairman Post’ »

by Baradwaj Rangan

On the penultimate day, in mid-August, of the month-long annual festival of the Nallur Kandaswamy Temple, Alarmel Valli is sitting cross-legged in front of a makeup mirror, spine as upright as a skyscraper, in a modest room.

A section of the audience in Jaffna. pic: R.K. Radhakrishnan

The morning has not begun well. She frets that she has made one eye bigger than the other.
Continue reading ‘Unique Three Day Festival of Song, Dance and Music in the Heart of Jaffna’ »

By Vishnuguptha

“One should always play fairly when one has the winning cards.” – Oscar Wilde

It’s been three months since the release of former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka from prison.

The euphoria that his release generated is slowly fading away. The after-dinner gossip is gradually being replaced by more constructive, innovative and friendly advice. However, the electricity that the news generated at the time was beyond comparison and there was and is a very good reason for it.
Continue reading ‘Sarath Fonseka – The wild card in Sri Lanka’s politics’ »

by Mike Andree

As expected, the Bar Association made a fortuitous turn for the better and to the relief of those who sincerely believe that the real freedom of the people lies not in their political leaders, but in an independent un-politicized judiciary.

It was not very long ago that the members of the public signed and submitted, to the Speaker, an impeachment motion, requesting the parliament to remove the then Chief Justice. One of the main protagonists of this historic motion was a prominent journalist.
Continue reading ‘Bar Association and Mannar Bar Stand Firm Against Minister Bathiudeens Attempts to Subvert Judiciary’ »

by Ariyawansa Ranaweera

The cultural and social upheaval of 1956 was not something that occurred all of a sudden. Their genesis could be traced to the struggle for independence, Anagarika Dharmapala’s crusade for national revival. But that year was a watershed in that the long suppressed emotions of the people on politics, social and cultural spheres exploded

The natural outcome of this phenomenon is that the arts and crafts of the country were also suffused with tremendous enthusiasm. Drama was one such area where this impact was strongly felt.
Continue reading ‘Sarachchandra, Sugathapala de Silva and the Evolving Nature of Sinhala Drama’ »

by Camelia Nathaniel

The southern coast is facing the threat of an imminent environmental disaster, as a Greek merchant ship carrying a load of crude oil has sunk in the seas off Panadura.

The 155 metre long Thermopylae Sierra, registered to Thersarco shipping company in Greece, had been anchored one nautical mile off the coast of Panadura since 2007 following a court order. It has around 75 metric tons of heavy oil, 200 litres of chemicals and 24,000 metric tons of cargo (steel structures) in its hold.
Continue reading ‘South West Coasts Face Environmental Disaster as Greek Crude Oil Ship Sinks Off Panadura’ »

by Martin Regg Cohn

Returning to Pearson Airport from vacation, I’m always jolted by the sight of our border guards clad, incongruously, in armoured vests.

Any threat to Canada’s border security from knife-wielding assailants is surely infinitesimal: passengers are pre-screened for weapons before boarding flights.
Continue reading ‘Genuine Refugees Must Always Find Sanctuary and Support in Canada’ »

Australia says it will increase its intake of refugees to 20,000 a year, from the current 13,750, in line with recommendations by an expert panel.

PM Julia Gillard said the jump of 45% was the biggest increase in 30 years.
Continue reading ‘Australia to Increase Annual Refugee Intake by 45% to 20,000 While Opening Off Shore Processing Camps to Deter Asylum Seeker Boats’ »

by Nayanima Basu

Sri Lanka has apparently informed Indian authorities it was not keen on having a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with India, as it feared granting more Indian access to its markets would destroy that country’s domestic industry.

However, it has made its own set of fresh demands to consider under the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which is under operation since March 2000.
Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka Informs India That it is not Keen on Signing CEPA’ »

by Devanesan Nesiah and Chulani Kodikara

(Report of Findings of fact-finding visit to Mannar – 8th and 9th August 2012 by Citizens’ Commission on the Expulsion of Muslims from the Northern Province by the LTTE)

On 18th July 2012 there was a protest outside of the Magistrate’s Court in Mannar that turned violent. According to media reports the incident occurred in relation to a dispute regarding a fishing harbor in the Uppukulam area of Mannar.
Continue reading ‘Muslims Have No Faith In Either the Civil Administration or the Magistrate in Mannar’ »

Waiting game … Sanjeev Kuhendrarajah is in a Bangkok detention centre hoping the UN will approve his application for refugee status

by Lindsay Murdoch in Bangkok

Sanjeev ”Alex” Kuhendrarajah, the spokesman for 254 Sri Lankan asylum seekers who refused for months to leave their boat at an Indonesian port, has resurfaced in Thailand, telling how he escaped capture by people-smuggling agents he had betrayed.

Mr Kuhendrarajah, 30, says he spent 12 months moving around Malaysia to avoid agents he had identified as having arranged the overcrowded wooden boat which was intercepted on its way to Australia in October 2009.
Continue reading ‘Sanjeev ‘Alex’ Kuhendrarajah Re-surfaces in Thailand’ »

by Amanda Hodge

Like thousands of his Sri Lankans, Palitha plunged deep into debt for a gruelling passage to a first-world job and the chance to buy land and a home for his family.

A decade ago, a relatively paltry US $2500 bought him a fake passport and a terrible 52-day boat journey from Sri Lanka’s west coast – not to Australia, but to Italy.
Continue reading ‘Sudden Rush of Sri Lankan Asylum Seekers to Australia is Mystifying’ »

By Nalin Abeysekera

Sri Lanka is experiencing the dividends of peace at the moment. The economy has expanded at a healthy growth rate of 7.9% during the first quarter of this year, from the same period a year earlier.

A Global Survey carried out by the ‘Equity and Bond Trading Institution’ chose Sri Lanka as the 4th rapidly developing economy in the 3rd quarter last year.
Continue reading ‘No Country in the World Including Sri Lanka can Develop Without the Help of Intellectuals’ »

by Salma Yusuf

I am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion…
I want the full menu of human rights” Desmond Tutu, Today, NBC, 9 January 1985

The disproportionate focus on human rights from a negative perspective has sadly resulted in detraction from understanding the role that human rights can in fact play in a post-war setting such as ours.
Continue reading ‘Important Contribution of Human Rights to Sri Lanka is the Protection They Can Bring to Minorities’ »

pic courtesy of: ISNA

By Ayesha Zuhair

Amidst the Western world’s psychological warfare against Iran, 42 heads of state including Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa have confirmed plans to participate in the forthcoming summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Iran’s capital city, Tehran.

News that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi will attend the 16th NAM summit to be held from August 26-31 has jolted Israel and its closest ally, the United States as it is certain to boost Iran’s international image.
Continue reading ‘Non -Aligned Movement Summit In Teheran Shows Majority of the World Does Support Iran’ »

by Gemunu Weerasinghe

Batticaloa, Jan 2011 – Pic by: Ramakrishna Mission

Rain, Rain Go Away
Go and rain in the catchment areas
Where Champika is crying for rain
Lest his fortunes may vary!
Continue reading ‘Rain, rain go away!’ »

By Andrew Scott

Where ever there is knowledge,
Where ever there is virtue,
Where ever there is beauty,
He will find a home.

Dr Ananda Coomaraswamy was born exactly 135 years ago on August 22, 1877. His mother was English while his distinguished father, Sir Muttu Coomaraswamy, was a devoted Hindu who was also the first Hindu to be called to the English Bar. Ananda Coomaraswamy’s father died while Ananda was very young and young Coomaraswamy was brought up in England from where he ultimately graduated in Geology from the University of London.
Continue reading ‘We must Remember Dr Ananda Coomaraswamy as a Great Sri Lankan who Attained International Eminence’ »

By Charitha Ratwatte

One reason for poor communities the world over responding to the service facility provided by Micro Finance Institutions (MFI) to take in the small amounts of savings the poor generate on a daily or weekly basis is the security offered by the cash being securely looked after at a remote location.

Research has shown that poor savers, especially women, have no ability to secure any spare cash that they may have at any given time, within their household, given the conditions under which they live and the gender exploitation they undergo.
Continue reading ‘Micro Finance Institutions Have Turned to the Poor and the Marginalised to Attract Deposits’ »

By Prof.Rajiva Wijesinha M.P

(Text of the presentation by Prof Rajiva Wijesinha, MP at the Defence Seminar 2012 – ‘Towards Lasting Peace and Stability’ held on August 10, 2012)

I will begin with what might seem a paradox in the current context. I believe that much more must be done by the Armed Forces to promote reconciliation.
Continue reading ‘Much More Must be Done by the Armed Forces in the North-East to Promote Reconciliation’ »

by Gotabaya Rajapaksa

(Full text of the speech delivered by Secretary Defence at Graduation Ceremony of the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies (BCIS) on 21st August 2012 at BMICH, Colombo)

PIC: defence.lk

I would like to thank the Board of Governors of the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies for having invited me to be the Chief Guest at this occasion.

I am happy to note the good work being carried out by the BCIS in the teaching of International Relations, and I am confident that all of the students being conferred diplomas today will have learnt a great deal that will help them in their future careers.
Continue reading ‘Maintenance of Military Camps in Strategic Locations Throughout the Country is Essential for Maintenance of National Security’ »

by Maneckshaw

Arohara – hail the almighty – was the rhythm of Jaffna for the past one month as the people of Jaffna embraced the annual festival of the Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil and the spiritual atmosphere the festival brings with it.

Needless to say, the majority of the residents also opted to forego meat of any kind and remained vegetarian during this period. An unfortunate outcome of this was the skyrocketing of vegetable prices, which reached exorbitant heights and remained so until the water cutting ceremony, which signalled the culmination of the festival.
Continue reading ‘Air Force Helicopter Showers Flowers from Air on Nallur Kandaswamy Temple Chariot During Procession’ »

The casket found in the excavation site

by Dawpadee Kawshalya

‘Shraddha’ or devotion is the first door that reveals the marvels in the path to ultimate wisdom. Unwavering faith in a devotee can land him/ her on the shores of nibbhana, where the former plays a vital role in combining the more sophisticated essentials such as courage, wisdom and self-awareness.

Ever since Buddhism emerged as an established philosophy and religion, pilgrims were not scarce and pilgrimages were not rare.
Continue reading ‘Ancient Tradition of Sharing Religious Values and Relics has been Strength of Bilateral Relations Between India and Sri Lanka’ »

by Kath Noble

Rauff Hakeem is a generous man. A week or so ago, he issued what he referred to as an ‘unreserved apology’ to all Buddhists in Sri Lanka for a remark he made on the campaign trail that some people had interpreted as an insult to the Sangha.

Indeed, he didn’t just say sorry. The SLMC leader also praised the pluralism practised by Sinhalese Buddhists from as long ago as the time of King Senarath, who gave Muslims land in the Eastern Province when they were being persecuted by the Portuguese, and acknowledged the patronage and benevolence Muslims had always enjoyed under Sinhalese rule.
Continue reading ‘Faizer Mustapha Should be Apologising to Muslims for Attempting to Take Political Advantage by Raising the Awful Prospect of Race Riots’ »

by N Sathiya Moorthy

In a recent interview, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa had this to say: “The region looks up to India and India must examine itself whether or not it is doing the right thing in dealing with its neighbours…What they are doing is the best thing or not…”

Similar sentiments have been expressed by other leaders in other countries in India’s immediate neighbourhood from time to time.
Continue reading ‘Greater Realisation in New Delhi that India must Win Over Friends in the Neighbourhood’ »

by Meena Kandasamy

(Meena Kandasamy, poet, writer, activist and translator, on the city, its people, sights and sounds)

Give it to Chennai for chutzpah, for her courage to take on the world. For all the laidback calm, she launched the Home Rule League to overthrow the British, the Anti-Hindi Agitation to show New Delhi that she wouldn’t accept another tongue being thrust down her throat.

Meena Kandasamy. Photo: Thulasi Kakkat-courtesy: The Hindu

If you care to learn her whole history, listen to it come away in layers, like the names of old, unforgettable lovers: Pallava, Chera, Chola, Pandya, Vijayanagara. Empires who held her close, coveted, almost concealed, since the seventh century – a port city on the Coromandel Coast.
Continue reading ‘No Other City Shall Ever Seduce you in the ‘Tamizhachi Style’ of Chennai’ »

Bangalore – picture courtesy of: wikipedia

KANNADA is ailing.

It has speakers, of course—nearly 50m of them, mostly in southwestern India. It’s the official language of the state of Karnataka, where active film, television, and music industries broadcast Kannada voices to millions of people.

Writers have written in Kannada for nearly 1,500 years, producing a body of literature that includes a complex grammar written in 850. Kannada was the administrative language of some of the subcontinent’s most powerful kingdoms.
Continue reading ‘Kannada Language Under Threat in Karnataka Capital of Bangalore’ »

by Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka

On the 1st of August , Colombo based pro-government English daily “The Island” quoted a top UN official praising the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) for ‘achieving excellent results in its Northern and Eastern rehabilitation and resettlement programme and post-conflict economic development drive’.

In Kilivetti-June 2008-pic: Drs.Sarajevo

Wrapping up his three-day visit to Sri Lanka, John Ging, Director of Operations of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has reportedy said that “I have travelled to many countries with similar problems. But I can say Sri Lanka’s progress after the end of the conflict is tremendous.”
Continue reading ‘Sampoor: Destroying a Community for Development in the name of Security’ »

by Vishnuguptha

“The heights by great men reached and kept,
Were not obtained by sudden flight.
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiling upward in the night.” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

When one looks at the messy situation the United National Party (UNP) finds itself in today, some political pundits ponder as to whether there is a way out for the ‘official’ UNP and if so, what courses of action are available to it.

On the other hand, the dilemma in the case of the ‘reformists’ group is even more intriguing; if they are not willing to reach a compromise on the leadership issue; all avenues seem to be closed.
Continue reading ‘Karu-Sajith-Sarath Fonseka Trio will be an Instant Hit with the Voters’ »

Udaya Gammanpila

By Udaya Gammanpila

The Western countries change their slogans quite often. In early 2009 their slogan was ‘declare a ceasefire!’ Thereafter, it turned to different slogans such as ‘Resettle IDPs,’ ‘Punish war criminals,’ ‘Stop abductions,’ ‘Disarm paramilitaries’ and ‘Establish Northern Provincial Council.’

The latest slogan of the Western community is ‘Speed up demilitarization of the North.’ In simple terms, they want Sri Lankan armed forces to withdraw from civil activities and to remove their camps from the North, claiming military presence is the biggest barrier to restore the normalcy.
Continue reading ‘Why the Govt Cannot Further Reduce Military Strength in the North’ »

On 14 August the feast of the Sillalai church was marked on a grand scale. Many Sillalaians from all over the island and abroad travelled to the village especially to take part in its celebrations.

It was a time for reunions between those who had left the village and those who still lived there.
Continue reading ‘‘Kathirai Maatha’ Church of ‘Little Rome’ Sillalai in Jaffna’ »

by Kishanie S. Fernando

The Madhu festival is said to be like no other church feast in the island. The jungle seclusion and travelling distance only strengthens one’s faith.

The camp atmosphere where everyone is called to prayer on blaring loudspeakers relaying morning and night payers, masses, litanies, rosaries and hymns in English, Sinhala and Tamil.
Continue reading ‘All Roads Lead to ‘Our Lady of Madhu’ in August’ »

Lord Nolan

By Stuart Littlewood

‘People in public life are not always as clear as they should be about where the boundaries of acceptable conduct lie.’ – Nolan Committee.

“Who will own Mitt Romney if he is elected?” asks Philip Giraldi after Romney’s trip to Israel to raise campaign funds. The Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1966, he explains, prohibits the involvement of foreigners in funding election campaigns.
Continue reading ‘Seven Principles of Conduct for Political Leaders in Public Life’ »

S.W.R.D Bandaranaike

by Hemantha Warnakulasuriya

If you want succeed in politics, you have to exude charisma. Voters tend to soft-pedal allegations of corruption made against such a politician. The iconic leader with charisma and charm is permitted to rule unchecked.

Peasants and the common man are swayed by the oratory and the sheen emanating from his glowing personality and would feel assured that the he would lead them to the ‘promised land’.

Lal Bahadur Shasthri

Lal Bahadur Shasthri died a pauper and did not even own a house. He had neither nor oratorical skills, but he was one the most honourable politicians ever to be the Prime Minister of India. Today, no one remembers him.
Continue reading ‘1956:When Ordinary Men got Absolute Power a New Culture of Corruption Dawned’ »

R.Sampanthan
Member of Parliament,
Trincomalee district,
Parliamentary Group Leader,
Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi.

Hon. Speaker,
Parliament,
Jayewardanapura.

Sir,

I hereby give notice that I shall on Wednesday 22nd August 2012 at adjournment after question time, as a matter of urgent public importance as per the agreement reached at the Leaders’ Meeting move the following motion pertaining to the North East:

TNA Provincial Election campaign meeting in Kathiraveli-Aug 15, 2012-pic: TamilWin

Whereas more than three years have lapsed since the conclusion of the war on 19th May 2009 during the course of which grave violations of international human rights laws and international humanitarian laws occurred. And whereas since the conclusion of the war the following significant events have occurred:-
Continue reading ‘TNA Leader Sampanthan to Move Motion Pertaining to North – East Situation in Parliament’ »

By Sanjayan Rajasingham

University students have different opinions about the strike action by the Federation of University Teachers Associations (FUTA). Some oppose it, and went to court to get lecturers back to work. Others have expressed support. However almost all are annoyed at the time lost.

pic courtesy of: universitiesnews.com

In writing this I do not intend to exhaustively analyse the demands of FUTA. Rather, I want to discuss the issues arising out of two of its primary demands: the salary increase and an increase in government spending on education.
Continue reading ‘Reflections on the FUTA Strike Action from an Undergraduate’ »

by Col R Hariharan

Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (DMK) leader M Karunanidhi seems to have quietly acquiesced to New Delhi’s pressure to shift the focus of his widely publicized “Eelam Tamils’ Rights Protection Conference” on August 12 from ‘Tamil Eelam’ to ‘Eelam Tamil.’

DMK president M. Karunanidhi with Ram Vilas Paswan, President of Lok Jana Sakthi at the TESO Conference in Chennai. Photo: R. Ragu- courtesy: The Hindu

The exercise was more than semantics; except for two – Thol Thirumavalavan of the Viduthalai Chiruthai Katchi (VCK) and Veeramani of the Dravida Kazagham (DK) – other mainline speakers hardly made a reference to an independent Tamil Eelam. Even Thiruma’s speech was mostly devoted to redeem Karunanidhi’s reputation damaged during the Eelam War-4.
Continue reading ‘Moving from ‘Tamil Eelam’ to ‘Eelam Tamil’’ »

By Salma Yusuf

It has been said that since wars begin in the minds of men and women, it is in the minds of men and women that the defences of peace must be constructed.

Logically following from this has been the statement by Maria Montessori that ‘establishing a lasting peace is the work of education. All politics can do is keep us out of war’. Hence, the importance of Peace Education cannot be over-emphasized.
Continue reading ‘It is in the minds of men and women that the defences of peace must be constructed’ »

By N Sathiya Moorthy

If there is one thing about the recently-held TESO conference at Chennai, capital of the south Indian State of Tamil Nadu, that stake-holders and other protagonists from all sides, in Sri Lanka and elsewhere, have to understand, it is this.

There is truth in the considered view that the understanding of the ethnic issue and its political fallout on either side of the Palk Strait is inadequate, at best.
Continue reading ‘Feverishness of Sinhala-Buddhist Lobby in Sri Lanka is not Often Matched by Ground Realities in Tamil Nadu and the Rest of India’ »

by Ariyawansa Ranaweera

One of the unpardonable and lasting damages the LTTE perpetrated on the body politic of Sir Lanka is the killing of Liberal intellectuals and moderate Political leaders across the language divide. It is not necessary to name the victims because, every public spirited person is aware of this dastardly act.
Continue reading ‘‘You Have to Change if you are to Live up To Peoples Expectations’: An Open Letter to Sajith Premadasa’ »

by Fr JC Pieris

The other day General Sarath Fonseka (SF) declared that he would be guided in governance by the Buddhist Dasa Raja Dharmaya (DRD) not by Marxism, Capitalism or any other ism.

We understood what he wanted to say though the isms and the Decalogues are different. There are two great popularly known works on statecraft; “The Prince” by Niccolo Machiavelli and the more ancient “Arthasasthra” by Kautilya (Chanakya).
Continue reading ‘Silence is Slowly Receding and Voices are Beginning to be Heard, Here and There, Louder and Louder’ »

By Prof. Jayadeva Uyangoda

Some people have made an argument that FUTA has exceeded the mandate of a trade union when it demands the government to allocate 6% of the GDP to education. This argument emanates from the position that trade unions have no business with government’s fiscal policy.

According to the advocates of this position, deciding priorities and policies of allocating government expenditure is entirely the job of the government and its policy-making officials.
Continue reading ‘FUTA Strike:Neither Parliament Nor Cabinet has any Serious Say in Public Policy Making’ »

By M. A. Sumanthiran M.P.

In October last year I submitted to Parliament a 30-page report on the situation in the North and the East. I did not criticize the mere presence of military bases. ‘Militarization’ is not so passive a word as to denote only the military’s existence in a given zone. Instead the term ‘militarization’ describes the military’s enterprise, that is their involvement and interference in the daily lives of the people who inhabit those zones.

Out of a total land mass of 65,619 sq km, Tamil people inhabited 18,880 sq km of land in the North and the East, but after May 2009 the defence forces have occupied more than 7,000 sq km of land owned by Tamil people.
Continue reading ‘Militarization in North-East Denotes Military Involvement and Interference in the Daily Lives of the People’ »

Although the International Community, despite continuing media exposure of the Sri Lankan government’s atrocities against the Tamils in Sri Lanka, appeases the Sri Lankan regime for economic and commercial reasons some highly influential European, US and Canadian Human Rights Organizations have refused to give respectability to one of the most reprehensible genocidal regimes in modern history.

Rathika Sitsabaiesan (L) at the Caribbean Carnival in Toronto Aug 4, 2012

To its credit Canada has consistently opposed the oppression of minorities just as it sided with those nations, Black, Brown and Yellow and demanded the expulsion of the notorious apartheid regime from the Commonwealth while in contrast, the white members like Australia and New Zealand continued to give comfort to the apartheid regime.
Continue reading ‘The V.K.Krishna Menon Insitute’s Personality of the Year Award to Canadian MP Rathika Sitsabaiesan’ »

The special casket carrying the sacred relics

During President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s State visit to India in June 2010, it was agreed that Sri Lanka and India will undertake joint activities to commemorate the 2600th Year of Enlightenment of Gautama Buddha. Following this agreement, President Rajapaksa wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh requesting for the Sacred Kapilavastu Relics to be sent to Sri Lanka for veneration on this historic occasion of significance for both countries.

The Relics, discovered in 1898 in Kapilavastu, the ancient land of the Sakyas, are housed in the National Museum of India, under the greatest care and attention.
Continue reading ‘Sacred Kapilavastu Relics Being Brought from India for Veneration in Sri Lanka’ »

The signing of the agreement in Kandy in the presence of Governor Central Province, Tikiri Kobbekaduwa, Chief Minister, Sarath Ekanayake, MP Sanath Jayasuriya, Vice Minister of Industries and Information Technology of the People’s Republic of China Chen Qiufa, Chairman of SupremeSAT (Pvt) Ltd R.M. Manivannan and other officials-Pic: Saliya Rupasinghe

By Shirajiv Sirimane

Centuries ago, there was evidence to suggest that King Ravana of Sri Lanka used a wooden plane to fly across to India. However, since then, this amazing technology the Sri Lankans had was never heard of. During recent times, if someone said that Sri Lankans were to build an airplane, the world would have laughed it off. However, President Mahinda Rajapaksa thought otherwise!

He did not want to build an airplane, but thought the country should own its own communication satellite and belong to an elite group of nations that own one.
Continue reading ‘Sri Lanka to have Communications Satellite with Chinese Cooperation and Train Astronauts for Space Missions Too’ »

by Prof. M A Nuhman

The ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka has had a direct impact on literary production in Tamil, comparatively greater than in the case of Sinhala. This is largely due to the fact that it has been the Tamil-speaking communities who were most directly and severely affected by the ethnic conflict throughout the postcolonial period.

The Tamil language is shared by three distinct ethnic communities in Sri Lanka , namely the Sri Lankan Tamils, the Muslims and the Malayaha (= hill country) Tamils, with their own dialect variations. This linguistic pluralism and the associated ethnic distinctions reflect in literary production too. Hence, when we speak of Tamil literature or Tamil poetry in ethnically divided contemporary Sri Lanka , the term encompasses a multi-ethnic socio-political context and reality.
Continue reading ‘Ethnic Conflict and Tamil Poetry in Post-Colonial Sri Lanka’ »

By R.K.Radhakrishnan

“At what point of your dance training can you develop a style of your own,” a student asked Bharatanatyam exponent Alarmel Valli at an interaction here on Friday.

Bharatanatyam exponent Alarmel Valli explaining a point as Carnatic vocalist T.M.Krishna listens intently, in Jaffna on Friday, Aug 17, 2012-Photo: R.K. Radhakrishnan

The elaborate answer’s crux was that timing depended on the person, ability, confidence, and creative impulse. “You will know when you are ready,” the dancer said.
Continue reading ‘Alarmel Valli, TM Krishna and Unnikrishnan Successfully Interact with Students in Jaffna’ »

by Dr.Vickramabahu Karunaratne

I finally went to Chennai and participated in Tamil Eelam Supporters Organization (TESO) conference and the public meeting. The whole thing was effective in raising the plight of the Eelam Tamils. Even for a Marxist revolutionary there was a space to intervene with out conceding any principle.

Though near 90 years of age, DMK leader Karunanidi, is very alert and active. From a wheelchair he was guiding the whole operation; keenly following the entire discussion. His son Stalin led the organizing of the event. He reminded me of late Vijaya, handsome and charming. Obviously it was a bourgeoisie event.
Continue reading ‘My Participation at TESO Conference and Public Meeting in Chennai’ »

by Our Political Editor

Prasad Kariyawasam Summoned by South Block in New Delhi

Ebullient and charming Ashok Kantha, India’s High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, the accomplished diplomat that he is, found it difficult to hide his feelings.

That he chose to say it at a formal official ceremony that marked the 65th anniversary of India’s independence was all the more important. The Indian community – diplomats and their families, Indian security forces personnel assigned to their diplomatic mission, their citizens in Sri Lanka and their own media representatives – were there to hear the nuanced message.
Continue reading ‘‘Ground Zero’ level Relationship Prevailing now Between New Delhi and Colombo’ »

By Tisaranee Gunasekara

“The bamboozle has captured us”. – Carl Sagan (The Demon-Haunted World)

The Rajapaksa administration’s tryst with the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is just two months away. India, Spain and Benin are assigned to review the Lankan case; indubitably, Delhi’s will be the decisive voice.

The UPR report will be submitted to the next UNHRC session. That session will also review the progress made by the Rajapaksa administration in implementing its own LLRC Report, since the one year grace-period accorded to Colombo under the UNHRC Resolution will end in March 2013. An unfavourable UPR report is bound to colour the way the UNHRC will view and judge Colombo’s record.
Continue reading ‘Lies and Deceptions are Indispensable Weapons in the Rajapaksa Arsenal’ »

UNP Kurunegala district MP Dayasiri Jayasekera speaking to LAKBIMAnEWS admits that he met President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Parliament at the Ports and Highways Ministry Consultative Committee meetings. He however said he never met the president at Temple Trees as alleged by the UNP hierarchy.

Excerpts:

A report has been handed over to the party’s Disciplinary Committee by party general secretary Tissa Attanayake against you. What is your stand on that?
Continue reading ‘I met President Rajapaksa in Parliament but not at Temple Trees-Dayasiri Jayaekera’ »

by Namini Wijedasa

A senior minister has rejected any inference that Navi Pillay, the UN human rights chief, had deliberately assigned three countries that voted for a resolution against Sri Lanka to oversee a review of our rights situation due later this year.

In fact, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has no influence over the choice of countries selected to be members of the troika. They are chosen by the drawing of lots.
Continue reading ‘Spain, Benin and India were Selected to Assess Sri Lanka UPR at UN by Drawing of Lots and Not by Navi Pillays Office’ »

by Gamini Weerakoon

The often used quote: An ambassador is an honest man sent abroad to lie for his country, has been given cynical and ambiguous interpretations by cynics such as an ambassador is one who is expected to lie in speech for his country or lie in bed for pleasure. Ambassadors will obviously deny both insinuations.

A good ambassador knows well that lies are soon found out and will do damage to his country’s credibility as well as himself.
Continue reading ‘Does Power to Appoint or Sack Ambassadors lie with President Rajapaksa or Professor Peiris?’ »

by Victor Ivan

The overall content of the social psyche of the current Sri Lankan society has run down to an appalling level of deterioration. The degree of degeneration is such that it has reached almost the point of putrefaction. This phenomenon is rather obvious and it can no longer be concealed. The religious institutions i.e. the temple, the church and the kovil have failed in rescuing the country from this predicament.

Various political movements both capitalistic and socialist and many other diverse political movements too, have equally failed in arresting this trend.
Continue reading ‘Current Head of State Lacking Adequate Foresight Required for Effecting Transformation after War’ »

By Tisaranee Gunasekara

“….everything that was ever invented by knavery to impose upon imbecility”.Voltaire (A Philosophical Dictionary)

The Rajapaksas are world class, and more, when it comes to building innocuous facades to hide insalubrious realties.

Who would expect a bill regarding the self-employment scheme sponsored by the Ministry of Economic Development, a bill harmlessly, even trifle boringly, titled ‘Divineguma (Uplifting Lives), to be a front for an insidious attempt to dismantle devolution?
Continue reading ‘‘Divineguma’ Bill: Disempowering Provincial Councils via Legislative Measures is a Permanent Fixture on Rajapaksa Agenda’ »

by Kalana Senaratne

Critically Re-imagining Lakshman Kadirgamar

Ever since his brutal assassination in 2005, those of us who have admired Lakshman Kadirgamar have often imagined what Sri Lanka would have been like, had he remained at the helm of Sri Lanka’s foreign policy making.

In this imagination, Kadirgamar re-appears as a hero, almost super-man like, to save us from the diplomatic ignominies that have struck Sri Lanka on the international stage. This is what our deep attachment to the man does. We had an idea as to how he operated, we know that the current operation looks hopeless, and in comes Kadirgamar who shakes up the system, makes it work, makes it look wonderful.
Continue reading ‘Had Kadirgamar been Alive and Engaged in Politics,we might have begun to love him less’ »

by Prof.Rajiva Wijesinha M.P.

(Full Text of a presentation at the Seminar on Changing Social Dynamics in South Asia: Prospects and Challenges for India and Sri Lanka conducted by the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies and the observatory research Foundation on August 17th 2012)

I am grateful to the Bandaranaike Centre and the Observatory Foundation for this opportunity to speak on governance.

I was not sure initially what the topic entailed, nor how it fitted into the theme of this Seminar, but in the last few months I have understood how desperately we need better principles of governance if we are to benefit from the victory over terrorism that we managed to achieve three years ago.
Continue reading ‘TRACKS: Basic Principles of Governance are Transparency, Responsibility, Accountability,Coherence,Knowledge and Skills’ »

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj

A Leading Christian Pastor of the Assembly of Church (AOG) and his wife have been brutally attacked by a mob of around 40 persons at Deniyaya in the Matara district of the Southern Province on August 9th.

The attack on the senior AOG pastor and wife was followed by another incident in Deniyaya where a woman church worker of the Methodist Church was threatened and abused by a mob which wanted her to leave the area.
Continue reading ‘Buddhist Mob Backed by President’s Brother-In-Law Attacks Christian Pastor and Wife in Deniyaya’ »

Swaziland’s government could be on a collision course with King Mswati III over the sacking of striking teachers.

King Mswati pronounced last week that a national teachers’ pay strike that has crippled schools for more than five weeks should end; that teachers should go back to work and the government should enter into talks to end the dispute.
Continue reading ‘Education Minister Defies Swaziland Monarchs Orders While King Mswati Visits Sri Lanka’ »

Evans Gunalal Cooray

Evans Gunalal Cooray, former press secretary to the late President Ranasinghe Premadasa, passed away yesterday after a protracted illness in London.

Born on February 13, 1936, Cooray served as an efficient press secretary to several ministries under both UNP and SLFP governments.
Continue reading ‘Evans Cooray Passes away in London’ »

by S. J. Anthony Fernando

(Former Press secretary to President Premadasa , Evans Gunalal Cooray,passed away on August 16th in London.This article written in 2006 by his colleague and friend to mark Cooray’s 70th Birthday is reporoduced here as tribute to Evans)

The name of Evans Cooray, I am certain, needs no introduction. The mere mention of the name is sure to ring a bell in the higher echelons of the local political and media circles specially of the old guard.
Continue reading ‘Evans Cooray: Flamboyant and Robust Media Personality’ »

The translation of the whole text of the LLRC Report, into Sinhala and Tamil, undertaken and completed by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, was handed over by Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal to External Affairs Minister Prof G L Peiris and Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga, at the External Affairs Ministry yesterday.
Continue reading ‘LLRC report translated into Sinhala and Tamil’ »

By John J. Mearsheimer

There is abundant speculation these days about whether Israel will strike Iran’s nuclear facilities. It is widely believed in both Israel and the United States that this would be a remarkably foolish move. I share that sentiment.

Yet Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and his Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, seem to disagree and keep talking like an Israeli attack is in the offing.
Continue reading ‘Seven Reasons Netanyahu And Barak Might Want War With Iran’ »

by A Special Correspondent

‘Sinhalisation’ of Tamil areas is a ruse used by the Sri Lankan government to take over land, seashore and other resources of Tamils and hand them over to multinational companies, alleged Vickramabahu Karunaratne, president of the Nava Sama Samaj Party, on Monday.

Mr. Vickramabahu, as he prefers to be referred to, was here to attend the Tamil Eelam Supporters Organisation (TESO) conference.
Continue reading ‘Sinhalaisation of Tamil Areas is a ruse to hand over Tamil Resources to Multi-national Companies -NSSP Leader’ »

Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Malaysia Kalyananda Godage, will be leaving exit in a fortnight’s time. Pic by Rosela Ismail

by Balan Moses

ENVOYS are almost never sacked by home governments except in the event of a change of regime in the home country or if they are guilty of an exceptionally nasty faux pas in their host country.

Both do not seem to apply to outgoing Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Malaysia Kalyananda Godage, who will make an ignominious exit in a fortnight after a mere eight months of trying to further the Sri Lankan cause here.
Continue reading ‘Colombo govt may be sacrificing goodwill with Malaysian Tamil groups by recalling its High Commissioner Kalyananda Godage’ »

By Dr. Deepika Udagama

There are many views about what we must achieve in post-war Sri Lanka. There appears to be a general acceptance that reconciliation among the various ethnic groups in the country is of topmost priority.

Vigil against 18th Amendment held in Colombo on 8 September 2010-pic courtesy of: VikalpaSL

Some think that for reconciliation to be realized we must primarily focus on economic development; others think that we must focus on a political solution; yet others think that what is of crucial importance is the investigation of alleged war crimes and establishing the truth; some are of the opinion that all those measures are necessary.
Continue reading ‘An Ideology of Reconciliation Cannot be Built Without Basic Ingredients of Democracy and Rule of Law’ »

By Charitha Ratwatte

The dictionary definition of a ‘pun’: ‘the clever or humorous use of a word that has more than one meaning, or words that have different meanings but sound the same’.

The second word of the headline of today’s column is not exactly a pun, but somewhat akin to one, as it is a play of a similar sounding activity which can be done with the human or animal tongue, spelt differently.
Continue reading ‘18th Amendment to Constitution and Rise of ‘Posterior Liqueurs’’ »

by Dr Upul Wijayawardhana | Cardiologist

I really have enjoyed the bliss of retired life, being able to watch the London ‘Olympics’, savouring the great moments in real time without the hindrance of work!

Niluka Karunaratne of Sri Lanka hits a return during his men’s Singles Group Badminton victory match on Day 3 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Wembley Arena-pic: London 2012

When I read the negative comments of ‘I can C’, who obviously could neither see nor appreciate the finer points of the opening ceremony, in your paper of 31st July I wanted to respond but delayed as I still had lingering doubts whether things could go wrong and I may be speaking too soon.
Continue reading ‘Olympics 2012 Through Eyes of a Lankan in London’ »

By R.K.Radhakrishnan

After huge delays, the US $ 270 million Indian housing project for displaced Tamils in Sri Lanka is now on track.

Mohiniyattam performance by members of the Nalanda Troupe — at India House, on the occasion of the Indian Independence Day, Aug 15, Colombo-pic: India High Commission

“The pilot phase of the project for construction of 1,000 houses has been completed. The next phase of the Indian Housing project for 43,000 housing units under the owner-driven mode in the Northern and Eastern provinces has been launched,” said Ashok K. Kantha, High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka in an Independence Day message.
Continue reading ‘Despite Delay Indian housing project for Displaced Tamils in Sri Lanka is on track’ »

Urgent government legislation reinstating offshore processing centres for asylum seekers has cleared parliament’s lower house.

Only two MPs – independent Andrew Wilkie and Adam Bandt from the Australian Greens – voted against the bill.
Continue reading ‘Australia Parliament Lower House Passes Urgent Laws to set up Off Shore Processing for Asylum Seekers’ »

By Jagath Gunawardana

The commonest and most widespread of the kingfishers found in Sri Lanka is the White –breasted Kingfisher, which can be seen in many home gardens, away from a body of water.

The White-breasted Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis fusca) or the White-throated Kingfisher is the well-known Pilihuduwa in Sinhala although some have given it the name Lema-sudu Pilihuduwa, a direct Sinhala version of the English name.
Continue reading ‘White-breasted Kingfisher: more at home on dry land’ »

By Alaina Varvaloucas

Every bus traveling north has to stop at the military checkpoint just after Vavuniya. Only men disembark. They know the drill.

Without being asked, they form two orderly columns, present their IDs, spread their legs for a pat-down, and open their bags for soldiers to rifle through. Some field questions about why they are headed toward the territory once controlled by the separatist Liberation Tigers for Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Continue reading ‘Military Still Occupies Tamil Areas With a Heavy Hand’ »

PHOTO: THINKSTOCK/IMAGEBANK

By Moshe Dann

In the wake of an Israeli government- initiated report presenting Israel’s legal rights in Judea and Samaria, opponents of settlements argue that the issue is not about Israel’s legal and historic rights, but about “morality.” I assume that means supporting “Palestinian self-determination,” “ending the occupation” and establishing a second Arab Palestinian state west of the Jordan River.
Continue reading ‘The Moral Question of Palestinian Statehood’ »

by P.K.Balachandran

(August 15th is the 65th anniversary of India’s Independence)

When the Japanese occupied Malaya and Singapore in 1942, a large number of Indians joined the Indian Independence League (IIL) and the Indian National Army (INA) headed by Subhas Chandra Bose, the Indian freedom fighter who was striving to free India from the British, in collaboration with the Japanese armed forces.
Continue reading ‘Sinhalese who Fought with the National Army of ‘Netaji’ Subhash Chandra Bose against Britain’ »

By James M. Dorsey

As the civil war in Syria continues to spread Turkey is faced with a new dimension to its long-standing Kurdish problem. For decades, modern Turkey has been battling a bloody insurgency in southeastern Turkey, led by the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) that has left some 40,000 people dead on both sides.

After having virtually squashed the insurgency in a 16-year long war, however, Turkey found the reality on the ground change fundamentally with the emergence of a Kurdish state-in-waiting in northern Iraq, following the imposition of a US-led no fly zone there in 1991 and the toppling of Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Continue reading ‘Time has Come for Emergence of Autonomous Kurdish region in Syria’ »

By Nipuni Panamaldeniya

Growing up in Sri Lanka, if someone had told me that I would move to Canada when I was 16, I certainly would have thought that they had surrendered to insanity. But when the opportunity arose for us to immigrate, we took it, knowing that sooner or later, my brother and I might have to pursue a higher education in a foreign country anyway.
Continue reading ‘Why Kids Who Are Intelligent Enough To Enter Universities in Other Countries Cannot Enter Universities in Sri Lanka’ »

By Kath Noble

While Tamil Nadu is fixated with the politics of India’s relationship with Sri Lanka, as was amply demonstrated by the hullabaloo over the conference of the Tamil Eelam Supporters’ Organisation in Chennai on August 12th, the rest of the country has been focusing on rather different issues.
Continue reading ‘From FTA to CEPA: Indian Business Class Wants to Sell not Just its Goods but also its Services like Energy and Education to Sri Lanka’ »

by Kerry Brewster

You Tube Video & Transcript of ABC “Lateline” Presentation

STEVE CANNANE, PRESENTER: Three Sri Lankan men who’ve been declared genuine refugees are fighting secret ASIO rulings that mean they can’t be released from immigration detention despite their refugee status.
Continue reading ‘Tamils speak out against Australian Security Intelligence Rulings’ »

by K. S. Sivakumaran

We all know history is subject to revision when new research shows new evidences. It is also an exercise in interpretation and it depends on who does it for whom. In Lanka, history is interpreted in different ways.

While being skeptical on what I am going to record below, I feel it is necessary to report how the Tamils in Lanka look at their past.
Continue reading ‘Tamils have lived in this country for more than 3000 Years’ »

by Dr.Muttukrishna Sarvanantha

Before the meeting with the Secretary of State Hilary Clinton on May 18, 2012, Foreign Minister G. L. Peiris made some remarks which included the following.

“The most striking developments have really been in the northern province of Sri Lanka where the economy is growing by as much as 22 percent in comparison with the average for the rest of the island, which is about 8 percent. Now this is the result of an emphasis on the development of infrastructure to a degree that is really without (inaudible) at any other time in the island’s history.”
Continue reading ‘Prof.GL Peiris is Economic with Truth About Economic Growth In The North’ »

by Naunihal Singh

The media has treated the shootings in Oak Creek very differently from those that happened just two weeks earlier in Aurora.

Only one network sent an anchor to report live from Oak Creek, and none of the networks gave the murders in Wisconsin the kind of extensive coverage that the Colorado shootings received.
Continue reading ‘Oak Creek Massacre Is Treated as a Sikh Tragedy Rather Than an American Tragedy’ »

Dr. Neelan Tiruchelvam

by Dharisha Bastians

“…we cannot glorify death whether in the battlefield or otherwise, we must celebrate life, and we are fiercely committed to protecting and securing the sanctity of life which is the most fundamental value without which all other rights and freedoms become meaningless…” – Dr. Neelan Tiruchelvam – Parliament of Sri Lanka 15 June 1999

Dr. Neelan Tiruchelvam’s words, in an impassioned speech against the death penalty, inspired the brightly coloured peace mural at the Kynsey Road and Kynsey Terrace Junction in Colombo 08.
Continue reading ‘Defacement of Tiruchelvam Peace Mural Must be Viewed with Great Seriousness’ »