Monthly Archives: March 2015

Identity & The Island’s Political Order

What Tamils would call ‘The National Question.’ — Ed/

The only debate is which nation that is: Sri Lankan or Sinhalese. I’d say both.

The claim of Tamil nationhood is the flip side, the other way, of the expressing the refusal to accept that on this island the Tamils are a national minority… The Tamil delusion is that on this island they are entitled to the same political status, weight, space and share of power as the Sinhalese who are a vast majority. The Tamils cannot have the same weight and space in the island’s political order…

It is too small and vulnerable to experiment with loose centrifugal forms of state. Sri Lanka needs a strong single state which covers the natural borders of this island.

MGR Remembered – Part 25

by Sachi Sri Kantha, March 6, 2015 I received the following critical comments from fellow MGR biographer and friend R. Kannan, for Part 24 (Secured and Damaged Charisma), on Feb.3rd. Initials MKT refers to M.K. Thiyagarajah Bhagavathar, with whom I have compared MGR’s film career: “Dear Sachi: I read your part 24 of the MGR… Read more »

Sri Lanka’s Unfinished Humanitarian Business

First, the new administration must address the problem of internal displacement in Sri Lanka.

Second, Sri Lanka must deal with the issues of detention and disappearances.

Third, Sri Lanka’s new government must act on both local and international demands for a full enquiry into the conduct of the military campaign that put an end to the Tamil quest for autonomy. Were crimes against humanity committed, and if so, will the perpetrators of those atrocities ever be held accountable for of their actions?

The Allure of Colombo

By Valentine’s Day 2015, Colombo had managed to court back many of the jilted exes.  They are the same coterie of capitals that were once fellow strategic travellers with Colombo but the relationship was starting to strain around 2010. Neither why nor how these suitors were itching to get back together was a secret. The… Read more »

On Gota’s Glossitis

Gota in the title of this commentary refers to Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, the younger sibling of ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The other word, ‘glossitis’ is a medical term, referring to inflammation of the tongue (Gk. Glossa = tongue). The Feb.12th issue of the Colombo Daily Mirror carried an interview with Gota by Lakna Paranamanna. The caption… Read more »

Hindu Party in India in Coalition for Kashmir

Negotiations between the two parties about forming a government were prolonged, chiefly because the two hold diametrically opposing views on crucial questions.

These include whether to repeal a law that gives Indian soldiers broad immunity from prosecution, even in cases involving the rape and murder of Kashmiri citizens, and whether to keep a constitutional provision, which the B.J.P. wants to scrap, that provides special privileges to Kashmir.

In a carefully worded alliance agenda, the two sides acknowledged their continuing differences.

HRW: Press Ahead on Rights Reforms

2015 HRW World Report section on Sri Lanka by Human Rights Watch, February 26, 2015 (New York) – Sri Lanka’s new government should advance a reform agenda to address past and ongoing human rights problems in the country, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to the newly elected president, Maithripala Sirisena. The government… Read more »