Yearly Archives: 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 »

Thousands Protest in Jaffna

by Tamil Guardian, London, February, 24, 2015   Rejecting any domestic inquiry conducted by the Sri Lankan state, protesters questioned how those responsible for mass atrocities can conduct a credible, independent investigation.Thousands of Tamils protested in Jaffna this morning, calling on the UN Human Rights Council to release the report looking into mass atrocities committed… Read more »

Amnesty International Report 2014/15

Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Head of state and government: Mahinda Rajapaksa Unlawful detentions and torture by security forces were carried out with impunity as the authorities continued to rely on the Prevention of Terrorism Act to arrest and detain suspects without charge or trial. Human rights defenders and f amily members of people… Read more »

The Tangled Roots of English

Tracing a Mother Tongue A newly revised family tree of Indo-European languages supports the theory that the root language, proto-Indo-European, originated in the steppes of eastern Europe.   The peoples of India, Iran and Europe speak a Babel of tongues, but most — English included — are descended from an ancient language known as proto-Indo-European…. Read more »

Children of Sri Lankan Refugees Born in India Uncertain about Future

More pictures KEEZHPUDHUPATTU, India – The election of a new president in Sri Lanka in January ushered in renewed hopes for the return of thousands of ethnic Tamils displaced by war – and uncertainty for their children born abroad during decades of bloody conflict. Many of the children are in their twenties now and have… Read more »

Sri Lanka Premier Starts With Fixing Civil War Ills

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Paintings at Temple Trees, this country’s White House, are still leaning against walls waiting to be hung, and the gated grounds are no longer teeming with guards and stewards who served the home’s previous occupant like supplicants at a royal court. But more than a month after taking over this iconic… Read more »

Amnesty: Promises of a New Beginning

AI Statement to UNHRC asa370022015en 16 February 2015 AI Index: ASA 37/002/2015 Sri Lanka: Promises of a new beginning – international cooperation is essential to ensure justice, accountability and an end to impunity Amnesty International written statement to the 28th session of the UN Human Rights Council (2 – 27 March 2015) Early in 2015… Read more »

NPC CM Wigneswaran Chennai Speech

Wigneswaran Kannabiran Memorial Lecture Nov 2014 Start watching at 1 hour 14 minutes. In Sri Lanka too our courts have amply demonstrated their little practical wisdom. When nearly three hundred and fifty thousand Tamils were incarcerated in open prison camps immediately after the end of the War, a public interest petition was filed claiming that… Read more »

Sri Lanka’s War Affected Women Call For Genuine Accountability Initiatives

133 war affected women and 20 organisations have today urged the new government to take immediate steps to address past violations and to initiate credible and independent investigations that lead to indictments and prosecutions of alleged perpetrators. We publish below the statement in full; We, as women impacted by war and ongoing post-war violence in… Read more »

Modalities for Truth and Justice

Exploring International and Domestic Modalities for Truth and Justice in Sri LankaThe ‘Declaration of Peace’ by the Government of Sri Lanka at the 67thIndependence Day Celebrations held on 4th February 2015 is a notable shift in its recognition of the past and the need for healing and unity. The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC)… Read more »

NPC’s Resolution on Genocide of Sri Lankan Tamils

by Colombo Telegraph, February 11, 2015 Northern Provincial Council yesterday (February 10, 2015) unanimously passed a resolution saying that genocide of the Tamil in Sri Lanka has been continuous since 1948, and that the UN must investigate it and submit a report at the March session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), and refer its findings… Read more »