by US Embassy, Colombo twitter feed, September 6, 2016
Monthly Archives: September 2016
That Great Betrayal and Institutional Accountability
by Kishali Pinto Jqyawardene, ‘The Sunday Times,’ Colombo, September 4, 2016 Visiting United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon’s assertion that ‘much needs to be done in order to redress wrongs of the past and restore accountability of key organizations, particularly the judiciary and the security services’ raises an interesting question. Myopic framing of core… Read more »
Gotabhaya Rajapaksa Charged with Corruption
by BBC, August 31, 2016 One of Sri Lanka’s most controversial politicians has been charged with corruption involving the illegal transfer of state-owned weapons. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa is charged with allowing a private firm to establish a floating armoury. It is claimed the move deprived the state of more than $75m (£57m). Mr Rajapaksa, who denies… Read more »
Bishop Rayappu Joseph: ‘A Living Hero’
Biography describes the bishop’s efforts to stand up for the rights of the Tamil people by UCA News, Bangkok, September 5, 2016 A biography about the challenges faced by a Catholic bishop who played a major role in assisting Tamil people during Sri Lanka’s civil war was launched Sept. 1. Written by Oblate Father David… Read more »
Road to Nandikadal
by Shanika Sriyananda, ‘Daily FT,’ Colombo, September 6, 2016 Battle-hardened soldier Maj. Gen. Kamal Gunaratne, who has shed his Army uniform which he wore for 35 years, yesterday urged political leaders of the country to maintain the hard-earned peace. Maj. Gen. Gunaratne, who is credited for commanding his troops of the 53 Division to fight the… Read more »
The Story of a Brief Marriage
by Anuk Arudpragasam, to be published September 6, 2016 from ‘The Wall Street Journal,’ 10 Books to Read This Fall, September 1, 2016 This debut novel begins with a gut-wrenching scene, in which a 6-year-old child has his arm amputated. Other striking moments, all calmly told in meticulous detail, follow: a woman compulsively eating sand,… Read more »
The Formula for a Richer World?
by Dierdre N. McCloskey, ‘The New York Times,’ September 2, 2016 Equality before the law and equality of social dignity are still the root of economic, as well as spiritual, flourishing — whatever tyrants may think to the contrary. The world is rich and will become still richer. Quit worrying. Not all of us are… Read more »
Plea for Assistance
by Eelaventhan Manickavasakar, August 15, 2016 Eelaventhan met Rev.Bishop of Chennai – Antonysaamy and handed over a copy of his book on Rev.Fr. Thaninayagam. Eelaventhan pleaded with the Bishop to come to the rescue of Eelam Tamils, who are facing cultural genocide, physical liquidation and economic strangulation. He, being the spiritual head of Tamil Nadu Catholics,… Read more »
CERD Concluding Remarks & Video
by UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, August 15-16, 2016 CERD_C_LKA_CO_10-17_24983_E-1 Videos of proceedings: August 15 – 2hrs 50 minutes http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/human-rights-treaty-bodies/committee-on-the-elimination-of-racial-discrimination/watch/consideration-of-sri-lanka-2468th-meeting-90th-session-of-committee-on-elimination-of-racial-discrimination-/5096765195001 August 16 – 3 hrs http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/human-rights-treaty-bodies/committee-on-the-elimination-of-racial-discrimination/watch/consideration-of-sri-lanka-contd-2469th-meeting-90th-session-of-committee-on-elimination-of-racial-discrimination-/5089683096001 Documents associated with the report at http://sangam.org/committee-racial-discrimination-assessment-sri-lanka-report/
Concerns of the Tamil Community in Relation to the Transitional Justice Process
Letter handed over to the UN Secretary General at a meeting of civil society representatives on 02, September 2016 in Colombo Civil Society Letter to UNSG Sept 2 2016 About the signatory organisations: Home for Human Rights (HHR): HHR has close to 40 years of institutional history in documenting and litigating human rights in North-East Sri… Read more »
Constitutitonal Reform Process
by Law and Society Trust, Colombo, date unknown
UNSG: Sustaining Peace – Achieving the SDGs
by UN Secretary-General, Colombo, September 2, 2016 UN Secretary-General – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opfyKTCA_wM&feature=youtu.be Foreign Minister – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T32wo98qUCU https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/speeches/2016-09-02/remarks-event-sri-lanka-sdg16-sustaining-peace-%E2%80%93-achieving 2 September 2016 Secretary-General’s remarks at event in Sri Lanka on SDG16: Sustaining Peace – Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals It is an honour to be here today to talk about the links between peace and sustainable development. This is my… Read more »
Lost Evenings, Lost Lives
by Charles Sarvan, ‘Colombo Telegraph,’ August 25, 2016 This bilingual anthology of fifty poems is by the very nature of its subject (ethnic conflict) political, and yet it would be inaccurate and unfortunate to describe the volume as a political work. It is about the experience of politics: politics as experienced not by the makers… Read more »
Being a Christian in Sri Lanka
Historical, Political, Social, and Religious Considerations – Book by Leonard Pinto Reviewed by Basil Fernando, ‘diasporaasianvoices,’ July 29, 2016 Being a Christian in Sri Lanka is a book with a striking cover, showing the view from theSigiriya Rock Fortress (built 477 – 495 AD, a UNESCO World Heritage Site). Leonard Pinto, an ecologist and an… Read more »
The Other Tamils of Sri Lanka
by V. Suryanarayan, ‘The Book Review India,’ March 2016 CLASS, PATRIARCHY AND ETHNICITY ON SRI LANKAN PLANTATIONS: TWO CENTURIES OF POWER AND PROTEST By Kumari Jayawardena and Rachel Kurian Orient BlackSwan, Hyderabad, 2015, pp. 364, Rs. 825.00 VOLUME XL NUMBER 3 March 2016 The book traces two centuries old history of plantations in Sri Lanka… Read more »