Monthly Archives: July 2019

SL Governor Dodges Ki’linochchi DCC Meeting

Colombo’s military and departments confronted by TamilNet, July 29, 2019 …SLA was having only seven acres of lands… …CSD was refusing to release the 310 acres of lands at the Civic Centre Village and 105 acres at Marutha-nakar… The so-called Civil Security Division (CSD) and the occupying SL Army, which come under the SL Defence… Read more »

UN SR Clément Nyaletsossi Voule Press Conference

Video courtesy Sunday Times, Colombo, July 26, 2019 End of Mission Statement United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, Mr. Clément Nyaletsossi Voulé, on his visit to Sri Lanka (18-26 July 2019) https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24818&LangID=E Colombo, Sri Lanka, 26 July 2019 Introduction Today I end my official visit to Sri… Read more »

Sri Lanka: The Untold Story, Chapter 32

Limbo between war and peace by K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore, 2002 Chapter 1 Chapter 31 The year 1985 was to be an excruciating one. The ethnic crisis worsened as the Tamil militants and the government security forces laid stress on military options, with terror, violence and destruction becoming the order of the day…. Read more »

Sri Lanka: The Untold Story, Chapter 31

Indira Gandhi – a casualty of terror  By K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore, 2002 Chapter 1 Chapter 30 In January 1984, the leadership of the Tamil United Liberation Front called for a unity conference in Madras, Tamil Nadu, in India. The invitations were signed by A Amirthalingham, the Secretary General of TULF, and sent… Read more »

Sri Lanka: The Untold Story, Chapter 30

Whirlpool of violence  By K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore, 2002 Chapter 1 Chapter 29 The July 1983 holocaust opened the floodgates for Tamil youths looking to join various Tamil militant organizations. Until 1983, the Tamil militants had not received any proper training. The LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) managed to have a couple… Read more »

Sri Lanka: The Untold Story, Chapter 29

Prisoners massacred  By K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore, 2002 Chapter 1 Chapter 28 The ethnic holocaust of 1983 was the last of the anti-Tamil program ingeniously devised, applied and implemented by the Sinhalese political leaders in the government for a “Final Solution” before embarking on full scale state-sponsored terrorism through military-adventurism. President Jayewardene said… Read more »

Tamil Female Civil Space

Its Evolution and Decline in Tamil Eelam by N. Malathy, Aakar Books, Delhi, July 2019 Region : World | Language : English | Product Binding : Paper Back | Page No. : 141 | Year : 2019 ISBN : 9789350026229 INR : 395 Overview Modern Feminist ideologies serve only middle class women in the developing world…. Read more »

July 1983: Turning Point for Eelam Tamils

by M.K. Eelaventhan, July 27, 2019 Riots against the Tamil population in Sri Lanka have been a recurring event since 1956, commencing from our protests against the Sinhala Only Act. The year 1958 was on a larger scale covering the entire island. The keynote event was the burning of the chief priest of the Panandura… Read more »

Targeting Foreign Assistance to Prevent Violent Conflict

By Peter Quaranto, US State Dept blog DipNotes, July 23, 2019 The United States and other international donors devote significant amounts of foreign assistance to fragile states, now more than $65 billion a year combined.  But how much of that assistance is focused on preventing violent conflict and instability? That was the question that the Office… Read more »

Divide in Press Reporting on Kanniya, Trincomalee

by The Media Analysis, Verite Research, Colombo, July 24, 2019 Was there a difference in front page headlines in reporting the protest? Find out at: 23 July 2019: http://divide.lk/divided-headlines-23-july-2019/ 19 July 2019: http://divide.lk/divided-headlines-19-july-2019/

The Muslim Factor in Sri Lankan Ethnic Crisis

by Ameer Ali, 1997 A Critical Front-Note by Sachi Sri Kantha, July 25, 2019 ‘Under the bamboo Bamboo bamboo Under the bamboo tree Two live as one One live as two Two live as three Under the bam Under the boo Under the bamboo tree.’ S.Eliot’s lines in the verse, ‘Sweeney Agonistes’, 1926-27. In a… Read more »

‘One Part Woman’

by Perumal Murugan review – a skilful Tamil tale by Meena Kandasamy, ‘The Guardian,’ UK, July 25, 2019 This sensuous novel about an infertile couple in 1940s Tamil Nadu was met with a furore on its publication in India With the backdrop of Hindu nationalist fervour gripping India, One Part Woman finds a historical parallel in Rushdie’s Satanic… Read more »

From Sachi’s Files – Chapter 9

Kothamangalam Subbu’s Poem on Jaffna Tamils by Sachi Sri Kantha, July 17, 2019 Polymath Poet Kothamangalam Subbu (1910-1974) has a reputation which many cannot easily match. Apart from being a poet, he was also a movie actor – director, lyricist, script writer, novelist, short story writer, folk lore expert and an exponent in Villu Paatu,… Read more »

Sri Lanka: The Untold Story, Chapter 28

Prelude to eruption  By K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore, 2002 Chapter 1 Chapter 27 The British Governor, Sir Herbert Stanley (1927-1931), opened the parliament building fronting the ocean at Galle Face, Colombo, on January 29, 1930. It was designed for meetings of the Legislative Council, and subsequently the State Council (1931-1947). Initially, it seated… Read more »

Sri Lanka: The Untold Story, Chapter 27

Horsewhip Amirthalingham  By KT Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore, 2002 Chapter 1 Chapter 26 Sri Lankan President JR Jayewardene, outlined his plans to appoint district ministers for all the 24 districts. It is believed that earlier in August 1978, in the course of a conversation with Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) leader S Thondaman, Jayewardene outlined his… Read more »

No Justice for ‘Trinco 5’

Joint statement by Amnesty International, London & Human Rights Watch, New York, July 9, 2019 A magistrate in the northeastern town of Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, acquitted all 13 defendants in the execution of five ethnic Tamil students on January 2, 2006, known as the “Trinco Five” case, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said today. On… Read more »

FeTNA & World Tamil Conference 2019

[2020 FeTNA will take place in Atlanta, GA over Fourth of July.] World Tamil Conference schedule – https://www.icsts10.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/ICSTS_Seminar_Schedule_05312019_v002a.pdf FeTNA pictures – https://www.facebook.com/fetnaconvention/ Dance before Parade of Sangams – https://www.facebook.com/bayareatamilmanram/videos/613844709104196/            

Time for Recognition of Sri Lanka’s Genocide

by Thambu Kanagasabai, LLM [Lond.] Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 9, 2019 Genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka, including structural genocide, commenced in 1948 soon after the independence. As defined in the United Nations Genocide Convention of 1948, genocide includes “ killing members of the group, or causing serious bodily… Read more »

Shifting the Blame

by Harini Amarasuriya, Himal, Colombo, June 20 2019 A minority is framed again to cover Sri Lanka’s fault lines, in wake of the Easter attacks. Photo: Francisco Anzola / Flickr Much has been and continues to be said and done, since the Easter Attacks in Sri Lanka on 21 April, that killed over 250 individuals…. Read more »