Monthly Archives: November 2017

Making and Unmaking Nations

War, Leadership, and Genocide in Modern Africa by Scott Straus, Cornell University Press, 2015 “In the end, he concludes, whether interethnic strife results in genocide depends almost entirely on national leadership.” “…Strauss views threat by itself as an insufficient explanation, as elites have multiple options for responding to grave and immediate threats and because these… Read more »

Resistance and Resilience

Tamil Guardian editorial, November 27, 2017 Today on Maaveerar Naal Tamils around the world gather in memory of those who died fighting Sri Lankan state oppression. Emboldened by the thousands that gathered at destroyed LTTE resting homes (Thuyilum Illams) last year, preparations this year have been on the largest scale since the end of the armed… Read more »

Selective Memory

Erasure & memorialisation in Sri Lanka’s North by Centre for Policy Analysis, Colombo, November 23, 2017 Viewable on picture rich Sway at https://sway.com/tErHAnhIQWtGz43d Prehistory; the kings of old and all the tanks, temples and kingdoms to their name; Dutch, Portuguese, British colonization; the struggles for freedom; Independence; the achievements of the first Presidents and Prime Ministers… Read more »

Early Inhabitants and the Rulers of the Island

By P. Sivakumar, November 8, 2017  During the early historic period (6th century BC to 3rd century AD), Lanka/ilankai (as first mentioned in the Ramayana) was a part of South India separated by a shallow sea and was only a walking distance before the sea levels rose.  Even today, one of the ancient bridges that… Read more »

Sri Lanka’s Proposed Constitution Comes Under Attack

International interest, not international laws, will deliver autonomy to Sri Lanka’s Tamils. by Ana Pararajasingham, ‘The Diplomat,’ Washington, DC, November 7, 2017 The interim report on Sri Lanka’s proposed constitution released on September 21 has come under a spate of attacks. On October 24, a retired Sri Lankan army officer, Major General Kamal Gunaratne, insisted that those seeking to… Read more »

An Ineffective & Fragmented Political Opposition

By: Thambu Kanagasabai LLM [Lond.], November 6, 2017 Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo President, Tamil Canadian Elders for Human Rights Organization. In the last Parliamentary and Presidential elections in 2015, majority of Tamils and Muslims voted for the ‘good governance’ promised by the UNP leader Ranil Wickremasinghe and SLFP led by Maithiripala Sirisena… Read more »

Dozens of Men Say Sri Lankan Forces Raped and Tortured Them

by Paisley Dodd, Associated Press, NY, November 9, 2017 (published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, NY Post, The Guardian and many others.) Video on report at https://www.apnews.com/ced017bd441f46ba838aaedf6ff5dbe2 LONDON (AP) — One of the men tortured in Sri Lanka said he was held for 21 days in a small dank room where he was… Read more »

PEARL Condemns Ongoing Torture & Sexual Violence in Sri Lanka

Urges U.S. Government to Re-Consider its Partnership with Sri Lanka (Washington DC, November 9, 2017) People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) condemns the Sri Lankan government for the torture of over 60 Tamils who have now sought refuge in Europe. The International Truth and Justice Project has gathered testimonies from these Tamil men,… Read more »

Joint Press Release on Peacekeeping Conference in Canada

by 10 Tamil diaspora organization, November 8, 2017 The video of the press conference is uploaded to Youtube and may be viewed here:​​ https://youtu.be/qBNm2MBIsv4 ​​Demanding accountability for international crimes committed by Sri Lankan Armed Forces attending 2017 UN Peacekeeping Defense Ministerial Conference in Vancouver PRESS RELEASE peacekeeping conference – Ottawa, ON – Nov 8 2017 For Immediate Release November… Read more »

Sri Lanka’s Military Aren’t Ready to be Peacekeepers

Given Sri Lanka’s history in Haiti, its treatment of Tamils on the island, and its history of impunity, its soldiers should not be allowed to wear the blue helmet, writes Liberal MP Gary Anandasangaree. By Gary Anandasangaree, ‘The Star,’ Toronto, Nov. 3, 2017   The recent appointment of Robert Mugabe as the World Health Organization (WHO)… Read more »

Origins of English Education in Sri Lanka

by Mandalam’s Note, source & date unknown It should be recalled that amongst the many Colebrooke Commission changes, English was made the Official Language of the country in 1833. For reasons that have not been researched, large sections of the Tamils ended up in the barren North with poor rainfall once a year during the… Read more »

Second U.S.-Sri Lanka Partnership Dialogue

Joint Statement From the U.S. Department of State and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka on the Second U.S.-Sri Lanka Partnership Dialogue 11/06/2017 10:56 AM EST Media Note Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC November 6, 2017 The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of… Read more »

MGR Remembered – Part 40

Political Motive in the Case by Sachi Sri Kantha, November 1, 2017 Part 39 Testimony of Head Constable Lakshmanan One of the vital evidence in the MGR shooting case, which links the political angle of the case was a ‘letter’ or ‘report’ handed by M.R. Radha (prior to his admission to the Royapettah hospital) to… Read more »

From New Jersey to Pandatherippu

Dr. John Scudder and the First Western Medical Centre in South Asia By  Dr. D.C. Ambalavanar, Visiting Lecturer in Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Jaffna, October 29, 2017 On October 18th a public function was held by the Church of the American Ceylon Mission in the village of Pandatherippu in Northern Sri Lanka. This was the… Read more »