by Kalyan Nadiminti, ‘Los Angeles Review of Books,’ June 16, 2018 EARLY IN Half Gods, the debut story collection by Sri Lankan-American author Akil Kumarasamy, Muthu, a Sri Lankan refugee-patriarch, narrates the melancholic reality of surviving the Sri Lankan Civil War. As an exile, he engages in games of “word memory,” compulsively absorbing text as a… Read more »
Monthly Archives: June 2018
Waiting for Herr Hitler?
by Jayadeva Uyangoda, ‘Colombo Telegraph,’ June 24, 2018 Is Sri Lanka ready for an elected dictator? This is the latest question to enter Sri Lanka’s current political debate. Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s preparations to contest the next presidential election in 2019 have already precipitated a potentially explosive controversy that can last for weeks and months. An admirer of… Read more »
The United States’ Role in Sri Lanka’s Peace Process: 2002-2006
by Jeffrey Lunstead, Asia Foundation, 2007 A Supplementary Study to the Sri Lanka Strategic Conflict Assessment 2005 Lunstead US Role in SL Peace Process 2002-2006 Contents Acknowledgements About the Author Executive Summary 1. Introduction 2. U.S. Interests and Engagement in Sri Lanka 3. Enhanced U.S. Engagement 3.1 Enhanced U.S. Interest 3.2 U.S. Relations with the… Read more »
Frustration of Tamils in Sri Lanka
Dying, deceptive good governance & the frustration of Tamils in Sri Lanka by Thambu Kanagasabai, LLM [Lond.], Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, June 21, 2018 The Tamils in Sri Lanka are being pushed back to square one yet again by the present government of good governance. The Tamil National Alliance openly… Read more »
House Subcommittee Hearing on “Human Rights Concerns in Sri Lanka”
by US House Subcommittee on Global Human Rights, Washington, DC, June 20, 2018 https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing/subcommittee-hearing-human-rights-concerns-in-sri-lanka/ https://docs.house.gov/Committee/Calendar/ByEvent.aspx?EventID=108444
Amnesty Statement on Human Rights Concerns in Sri Lanka
by Amnesty International USA, June 20, 2018 On June 20th, 2018, Amnesty International USA submitted a Congressional statement for the record in anticipation of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Subcommittee Hearing on “Human Rights Concerns in Sri Lanka.” Please find a link below to the statement for the record: AIUSA-Statement-on-Human-Rights-Concerns-in-Sri-Lanka-Final-1.pdf Date: June 20, 2018 RE: House Foreign… Read more »
Rep. Sherman’s Remarks at the House Hearing on“Human Rights Concerns in Sri Lanka,”
by Rep. Brad Sherman, June 20, 2018 “… I am not a member of this subcommittee, but I have been very involved in Sri Lanka as ranking member of the Asia Subcommittee, which had its own hearing hence delaying me from being here. Although Sri Lanka’s civil war ended in 2009, Sri Lanka’s northern and… Read more »
MAP Submits Statement for House Hearing
US Congress Considers Human Rights in Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka Monitoring Accountability Panel Submitted a Statement WASHINTON, DC, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, June 20, 2018 /EINPresswire.com/ — Today, 20 June 2018, the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations of the US Committee on Foreign Affairs heard evidence on “Human… Read more »
MGR Remembered – Part 45
2nd International Tamil Conference in Madras, Jan. 1968 by Sachi Sri Kantha, June 20, 2018 Part 44 My Correspondence with an Indian Plagiarist I ended the previous chapter that I had sent a mail to the blogger Rama Chandran about his plagiarism, on May 8, 2018. As of that time, I had not heard from… Read more »
Sivakumaran’s Supreme Sacrifice
Of his life was a turning point in the history of Tamil Eelam liberation struggle! by M.K. Eelaventhan, June 14, 2018 This article is based on two of my talks; one is given at the Trans-national government of Tamil Eelam office at 5210 Finch Ave. Unit 24, Scarborough (Middlefield and Finch) on 5th… Read more »
Army Top Brass Accountable for Violations Further Up the Ladder
by Athula Vithanage, Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka, Germany, June 18, 2018 The Sri Lankan government, which continuously avoid probing military implicated in committing serious human rights violations, has once again rewarded them with plum posts. Brigadier Deshapriya Gunawardena and Major General Duminda Keepetiwalana are those most recent recipients of military promotions. Brigadier Gunawardena appointed… Read more »
Sri Lanka is an Open Door to the Indian Ocean
by Major Nicholas R. Nappi, US Marines, Proceeding Magazine of US Naval Institute, September 2017 U.S. maritime engagements with India can be best described as a security cooperation courtship that never gets past the first date. On the surface, this budding partnership looks promising. The U.S. and Indian militaries participate in executive steering groups (ESGs),… Read more »
Resolution of 2nd Ottawa Conference
On Tamil Nationhood & Genocide in Sri Lanka Final Resolutions – 2nd International Conference – Ottawa 2018 – English final At the end of the 2nd International Conference on Tamil Nationhood and Genocide in Sri Lanka, held in Ottawa from May 5th-7th, 2018, the organizing committee aims to find a sustainable political solution that addresses… Read more »
The Reverberating Effects of Explosive Weapons
When the bombs fall silent by Action on Armed Violence, May 29, 2018 The long-term impact of explosive violence is known to be devastating, but is still relatively poorly understood. With civilian deaths from explosive weapons increasing each year, Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) conducted research into the reverberating effects of manufactured explosive weapons, so… Read more »
Counter Terrorism & Legal Certainty
by Gehan Gunatilleke, The Bar Association Law Journal, Colombo, 2017 Counter-Terrorism_and_Legal_Certainty
UN & IC Need to Ensure Justice for Tamils
And their existence in Sri Lanka by Thambu Kanagasabai, LLM [Lond.] Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Tamils have been inhabiting Sri Lanka for more than 2500 years with ‘Saivaism’ [Hinduism] also existing ‘Centuries before the arrival of Vijaya in BC 547” as stated by Paul Peiris in his book [Nagadipa and Buddhist… Read more »
CPA: Making the Case for an Office for Reparations
by Centre for Policy Analysis, Colombo, June 4, 2018 June 4th 2018, Colombo, Sri Lanka: Reparations are an essential part of transitional justice and focus on recognising and repairing past abuses. In 2015, the Government of Sri Lanka recognised the right to reparations by committing to the establishment of an Office for Reparations through at the… Read more »
ITJP: Families of the Disappeared
by International Truth & Justice Project, South Africa, accessed June 6, 2018 English translation of interviews with families of the disappeared. http://www.itjpsl.com/reports/disappear-site
SL Tamils Built an Online Library to Replace One Torched in 1981
Sri Lankan Tamils around the world have built an online library to replace one torched in 1981 Among the Noolaham Digital Library’s 16,000 documents are four volumes of one of the oldest Tamil grammar books, and copies of over 24 palm-leaf manuscripts. by Smriti Daniel, ‘Scroll.in,’ Feb 18, 2016 http://www.noolaham.org Seran Sivananthamoorthy is only 25… Read more »
Misery as Strategy
The Human Cost of Conflict by International Crisis Group, Brussels, May 31, 2018 In conflicts across the world, levels of displacement and hunger are increasing. The tactics used by leaders, governments and non-state armed groups have much to do with that misery. From Syria to Yemen, from South Sudan to Venezuela, war and political crisis… Read more »