For too long, Turkey bullied America into silence. Not anymore. by Samantha Power, The New York Times, October 29, 2019 On Tuesday, by a vote of 405 to 11, the House of Representatives defied the Turkish government’s intimidation and, for the first time in 35 years, passed a resolution that recognized the Armenian genocide. In acknowledging… Read more »
Monthly Archives: October 2019
Public Administration and Minority Language
The Case of District Administration in Amparai, Sri Lanka by Mohammad Agus Yusoff, Athambawa Sarjoon, Nordin Hussin & Azmi Awang, Public Administration Research; Canada, Vol. 4, No. 2; October 2015 ISSN 1927-517x E-ISSN 1927-5188 Abstract Even though minorities have gained international linguistic recognition, accepting and admitting minority languages in public affairs has been a contested issue in many countries. In… Read more »
The Internal and International Dimensions of Sri Lanka’s Presidential Elections
A Gotabaya Rajapaksa presidency will have serious repercussions for both Sri Lanka’s internal governance as well as its international partnerships. by Ana Pararajasingham, ‘The Diplomat,’ Washington, DC, October 23, 2019 On November 16, Sri Lankans will go to the polls to elect their next president. Although more than 30 candidates have nominated themselves, the contest… Read more »
In Simple Terms, the Choice is Between Dictatorship & Democracy
Presidential election 2019 by Jayadeva Uyangoda, Sunday Observer, Colombo, October 19, 2019 With the presidential election campaign now well underway, it appears that the contest is between the two main candidates, Sajith Premadasa and Gotabaya Rajapaksa. In the absence of scientific polling in Sri Lanka, no credible voter sentiment analysis is available. Therefore we are… Read more »
Don’t Forget the Tamil Genocide
Victims of decades of racist pogroms, state violence, and military occupation, the Tamil minority has long fought for liberation in Sri Lanka. We should not ignore their struggle. Book review by Lee Rhiannon, Jacobin Magazine, October 20, 2019 Review of Losing Santhia: Life and Loss in the Struggle for Tamil Eelam, by Ben Hillier (Interventions, 2019)…. Read more »
This Digital Library Is Preserving Sri Lanka’s Tamil Literary Heritage
by Radhia Rameez, ROAR, Colombo, June 22, 2018 Over the course of history, the world has seen countless pieces of its heritage vanish forever with no chance for recovery. Vast contingents of knowledge are continuously being lost- to the passage of time, to natural causes like disasters, insects and mould, and to acts of… Read more »
World Bank: Making (De)centralization Work
by World Bank, Washington, DC, October 13, 2019 See Chief Economist for South Asia video summary here Full report here In a focus section, the report highlights how, as their economies become more sophisticated, South Asian countries have made decentralization a priority to improve the delivery of public services. With multiple initiatives underway across the… Read more »
On the Way to Mineral Sand Mining Area in Kokkilai Lagoon.
by tharindutmc on YouTube, December 5, 2014 this video was taken during a visit to Kokkilai lagoon to inspect the mining works carried out by Lanka Mineral Sands Limited (LMSL) in the southern part of the lagoon.
Sinhalization of the North-East: Kokkilai
by People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL), October 16, 2019 Sinhalization of the North-East: Kokkilai – People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (pearlaction.org) The south-east of the Mullaithivu District has been a target for state-sponsored Sinhala settlements for decades. As with Pulmoaddai, the Kokkilai region of Mullaithivu lies on the strategically important… Read more »
Sinhalization of the North-East: Pulmoaddai
by People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL), September, 2019 Sinhalization of the North-East: Pulmoaddai – People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (pearlaction.org) Pulmoaddai is a majority Tamil-speaking, Muslim town in the Trincomalee District. The town, part of the Kuchchaveli Divisional Secretariat, is located on the border to the Mullaithivu District, occupying the… Read more »
Sri Lanka Presidential Hopeful Says Won’t Honor Deal with UN
by Krishan Francis | AP in The Washington Post, October 15, 2019 COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — A former Sri Lankan defense chief who is a front-runner in next month’s presidential election said Tuesday that if he wins, he won’t recognize an agreement the government made with the U.N. human rights council to investigate alleged war crimes during… Read more »
Identity, Choices and Crisis
A Study of Muslim Political Leadership in Sri Lanka by ARM Imtiyaz, Journal of Asian and African Studies 48(1) 47 –63, 2012 Identity_Choices_and_Crisis_A_Study_of_M Abstract This study attempts to understand the choices made by Muslim political leaders in general, and after independence in particular. Muslim leadership has been broadly classified into two categories based on their… Read more »
Tamil Parties in North-East Stipulate ‘Acid Test’ Terms to SL Presidential Candidates
by TamilNet, October 14, 2019 The demands translated from Tamil to English follow: New constitutional processes that uphold unitary system of rule should be rejected. The Tamil national question of Ilangkai [Ceylon] must be resolved through a federal framework with the realisation that Tamils constitute a nation with distinct sovereignty and that nation is entitled… Read more »
Came Forward for the Rights of Minorities
– M.K. Sivajilingam by Morning Leader, Colombo, october 13, 2019 Sivajilingam told The Sunday Morning that it is high time a candidate was put forward to fight for the rights of the minorities. Below are excerpts of his interview with The Sunday Morning: What made you decide to contest the presidential election? This is the… Read more »
Do You Think The Tamil Ethnic Question Would Ever Be Solved?
by C.V. Wigneswaran, Colombo Telegraph, October 14, 2019 C.V. Wigneswaran Someone asked: Do you think the Tamil Ethnic question would ever be solved and all Sri Lankans could travel along a common path to peace and prosperity? My response was: Yes of course! The time is ripe now for the resolving of the so called… Read more »
Review: ‘The Vanni’
by Tamil Guardian, London, October 13, 2019 Former UN staffer Benjamin Dix released his first graphic novel this month, exploring the story of Tamil families trapped in the Vanni in 2009, as the Sri Lankan military launches an ominous offensive that kills tens of thousands civilians. The Vanni, based on interviews that Dix carried out… Read more »
Why was Ranil Politically Assassinated by Prabha in 2005?
by KKS Perera, Daily Mirror, Colombo, October 14, 2019 Prabhakaran gambled hoping for an easier challenger Ranil’s meek reaction to Dissanayake rhetoric on Karuna and unreliable nature during the peace-talks The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) effectively chose the President of Sri Lanka in 2005. Yes, the Tigers did it – a few… Read more »
The Role of Emerging Technologies in Military Conflicts
by Izumi Nakamitsu, Inter-Press Service (IPS) Izumi Nakamitsu is UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs* STOCKHOLM, Oct 10 2019 (IPS) – Throughout history, technology has transformed armed conflict. The carnage of First World War battlefields is a stark example of what happens when advances in weaponry outpace the normative frameworks around its use. Today, we are experiencing… Read more »
Historicizing Nationalist Discourse of the Origins of the Communities of Sri Lanka among the Contemporary Sinhalese
A qualitative analysis by Jeyaseelan Gnanaseelan, (periodical unspecified), Melbourne, Australia, November 29-30, 2017 Historicizing Nationalist Discourse Abstract In the post-war reconciliation context, the Sri Lankans need to develop constructive discourse on political harmony, cohesion and co-habitation to make a positive impact on legislative changes towards post-conflict reconciliation, sustainable peace and justice. Ideological discourse constitutes power… Read more »
Is Federalism a Solution?
by Bhimraj M, NUJS’ International Journal of Legal Studies and Research, Vol. 7, No.1, West Bengal, March 2018 Is Federalism a Solution Abstract The change of power in 2015 and Maithripala Sirisena becoming the President of Sri Lanka is said to have sowed hopes for a political solution to the ethnic conflict. But the President… Read more »