Monthly Archives: April 2019

Sri Lanka: The Untold Story, Chapter 7

State Councils – elections and boycotts  by K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore, September 22, 2001 Chapter 1 Chapter 6 In 1930, a delimitation commission was appointed to demarcate the boundaries of the 50 electorates for the proposed State Council. The Tamils agitated for seven seats to be allocated in the Northern province. The Commission,… Read more »

Sri Lanka: The Untold Story, Chapter 6

Donoughmore – Tamils no more  By K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore Chapter 1 Chapter 5 In 1927, the British government sent a Special Commission to Ceylon, consisting of the Earl of Donoughmore, Sir Mathew Nathan, Sir Geoffrey Butler and Sir Drummond Shiels, with the following terms of reference: “To visit Ceylon and report on… Read more »

UNHRC Resolution 40/1

And the pathetic plight of the victims of the war in Sri Lanka by Kumarathasan Rasingam, April 16, 2019 The UNHRC Resolution 40/1 was passed without voting giving another two years to Sri Lanka delay the implementation of UNHRC Resolution 30/1. In fact, Tamils are fully aware that Sri Lanka is finding ways and means… Read more »

Sri Lanka: The Untold Story, Chapter 5

Political polarization on communal lines  by K.T.Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore,  September 8, 2001 Chapter 1 Chapter 4 The Legislative Council was dissolved in August 1924 and elections for a new reformed council were held. According to the Order-in-Council, a candidate had to be over 25 years of age, be a British subject, able to read… Read more »

Sri Lanka: The Untold Story, Chapter 4

The Ceylon National Congress and its intrigues  This history series by K T Rajasingham is no longer available on the Asia Times website, so the links provided at https://www.sangam.org/ANALYSIS/AsiaTimes.htm are no longer active.  As time permits, we will be re-posting this series, along with that by T. Sabaratnam, which has some chapters missing.  Sachi Sri Kantha’s biographical series… Read more »

Sri Lanka: The Untold Story, Chapter 3

Muslim riots and communal rumblings  This history series by K T Rajasingham is no longer available on the Asia Times website, so the links provided at https://www.sangam.org/ANALYSIS/AsiaTimes.htm are no longer active.  As time permits, we will be re-posting this series, along with that by T. Sabaratnam, which has some chapters missing.  Sachi Sri Kantha’s biographical series is available… Read more »

Sampanthan Insists on Implementing UNHRC Resolution, Adopting New Constitution

As top priorities for Lanka by ‘The Island,’ Colombo, April 8, 2019 Former Opposition Leader Rajavarothiam Sampanthan told Parliament, on Budget 2019 voting day, last Friday, that implementing of the UNHRC resolution and the adoption of a new constitution are two issues of utmost importance to the country today. Sampanthan’s statement: Before I commence my… Read more »

Channel 4: Sri Lanka – the Search for Justice 10 Years On

Dear Friend, We are pleased to share with you a powerful new short film, from the makers of the award-winning ‘No Fire Zone’ documentary, which re-visits the final stages of Sri Lanka’s civil war and considers the ongoing need for justice a decade on. The film, which the Sri Lanka Campaign helped to screen at a recent meeting… Read more »

Alternative Avenues

Tamil Guardian editorial, March 24, 2019 For almost a decade, Tamil victims have looked to the UN Human Rights Council in their pursuit of justice. However, after years of resolutions followed by an extension, alongside lack of any progress on accountability, events at Geneva this week brought another deep disappointment. A day after the Sri Lankan government… Read more »

State Response to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam as an Illicit Power Structure

by Thomas A. Marks and Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Tej Pratap Singh Brar, PRISM, National Defense University, Washington, DC, May 24, 2016 CHAP_9 Sri Lanka https://cco.ndu.edu/Publications/Publication-View/Article/780214/chapter-9-sri-lanka-state-response-to-the-liberation-tigers-of-tamil-eelam-as-a/ … Lessons in an Era of Illicit Power Structures It is challenging, after the short breathing space of five years, to draw lessons from this most vexing case of an… Read more »

Brother of Sri Lanka Ex-president Sued over Alleged Torture and Killings

Gotabaya Rajapaksa was defence secretary in last years of war against Tamil Tigers by Michael Safi, The Guardian, UK, April 9, 2019 The brother of the former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa is being sued in a US court over alleged extrajudicial killing and torture, by the same lawyers who successfully brought a civil suit… Read more »

Col. Karuna of Pre-March 2004 Period: Where are You Now?

by Sachi Sri Kantha, April 6, 2019 Calling the then Col. Karuna (of the LTTE, pre 2004 period) – aka Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan. Where are you now? Do you remember an almost 800 word puff piece written by a BBC correspondent, in March 2004 that received world-wide currency. [See below, for a transcript of this report… Read more »

The Geopolitics of Sri Lanka’s Transitional Justice

Western countries are less interested in pressuring Sri Lanka now that Rajapaksa is no longer in charge. by Ana Pararajasingham, ‘The Diplomat,’ Tokyo, April 03, 2019 On March 21, at the 40th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Sri Lanka was granted another two-year extension to implement Resolution 30/1, “Promoting reconciliation, accountability… Read more »

The Shipping Technology of Cholas

by K V Ramakrishna Rao, Proceedings of the South Indian History Congress, Rajapalayam, India, 2007, pp.326-345. ark:/13960/t7mq2mb83 The Shipping Technology of Cholas 2007 https://archive.org/details/TheShippingTechnologyOfCholas Introduction: Of late, some researchers1 have started throwing doubt on the overseas expedition of Rajaraja Chola through Rajendra Chola on the plea that the Parasasti / Meikkirti could have been written… Read more »

Sri Lanka: The Untold Story, Chapter 2

Beginnings of British Rule [This history series by K T Rajasingham is no longer available on the Asia Times website, so the links provided at https://www.sangam.org/ANALYSIS/AsiaTimes.htm are no longer active.  As time permits, we will be re-posting this series, along with that by T. Sabaratnam, which has some chapters missing.  Sachi Sri Kantha’s biographical series is available… Read more »

AI: Release Lists of the Forcibly Disappeared

Sri Lanka: Release lists of the forcibly disappeared by Amnesty International , London, 18 May 2018 On the ninth anniversary of the end of the war, Amnesty International calls on the government of Sri Lanka to provide information to the families of the disappeared, with detailed lists and information of persons who surrendered to the… Read more »

What Sri Lanka’s 2019 Budget Tells Us About Its Economic Health

by Umesh Moramudali, ‘The Diplomat,’ Tokyo, March 27, 2019 In the aftermath of political turmoil, Sri Lanka’s government will be hard-pressed to manage debt and growth in 2019. Following one of the most dramatic political crises in the recent history of South Asia, Sri Lanka’s government budget for 2019 was approved by the majority of the parliament… Read more »

Extending the Woes of Tamils

And evasion of accountability and justice by Sri Lanka by Thambu Kanagasabai,  LLM [London] Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, April 1, 2019 At the much awaited 40th Session of the UNHRC, the Commissioner Her Excellency Michelle Bachelet released her Report on March 03 2019 and then made her oral statement on March… Read more »