Monthly Archives: August 2020

Space & Movement in the Sri Lankan Conflict

by Oivind Fuglerud, 2004 Space_and_movement_in_the_Sri_Lankan_conflict Concluding Remarks In approaching the different responses to the engulfing violence above I avoided framing this question in terms of ‘migration choice’. From an anthropologist’s point of view the application of choice models in migration research has provided limited insights. We should, I believe, in analyses of displacement and migration… Read more »

First Speeches in Parliament

Mr. CV Wigneswaran delivers his maiden speech in parliament.     Gajan Ponnambalam gives his introductory speech.  

In Sri Lanka, a People Living Off Borrowed Money

by Meera Srinivasan, The Hindu, Chennai, August 22, 2020 As Sri Lanka struggles with outstanding foreign debt, rural households across the country have been living off borrowings after exhausting their savings. Meera Srinivasan reports on how those already struggling with severe economic hardships are now grappling with a pandemic-induced crisis After doing seven jobs in the last three years in and around Colombo,… Read more »

The Centrality of Devolution in Development

by Meera Srinivasan, The Hindu, Chennai, August 17, 2020 In Sri Lanka, the Tamil people’s political and economic aspirations must not be separated The outcome of Sri Lanka’s August 5 general election had few surprises. The Rajapaksa family is decisively at the country’s helm for the next five years. The fragmented political opposition is struggling to come… Read more »

State-Sponsored Pogroms Against Tamils in Sri Lanka

And the need for a referendum in Tamils’ homeland [North & East of Sri Lanka] by Kumarathasan Rasingam, August 23, 2020 It is high time and urgent need for the United Nations, UNHRC, ICC and the International Community to find remedial justice to the oppressed Tamils in Sri Lanka. The following facts prove beyond doubt… Read more »

Why India Must ‘Win Back’ Sri Lanka Before China Casts Its Spell

Will Sri Lanka follow an ‘India First’ policy with regard to its strategic security? by Ashok K Mehta, The Quint, Mumbai, August 19, 2020 The stunning results of the parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka on 5 August are likely to break the prophecy of President Junius Jayewardene – in whose term, his party United National… Read more »

Struggling Tamil Nationalism

And Tamil aspirations in Sri Lanka by Thambu Kanagasabai, LLM [London] Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, August 18, 2020 For the recognition of nationalism, the prerequisite are the existence of a nation, defined by J. Stalin as follows: “A nation is a historically constituted, stable community of people formed on the… Read more »

Black Tiger Day Remembrance – Part 2

Devotion of Black Tigers by Sachi Sri Kantha, August 13, 2020 Part 1 Front Note Twenty five years ago, Prof. Michael Roberts [a Sri Lankan historian cum anthropologist of Sinhalese-Burgher descent, who is currently managing the informative tuppahi blog https://thuppahi.wordpress.com/about/ in his current domicile in Australia] published a short commentary on Black Tigers, in the… Read more »

For Several Groups, a Historic Candidacy

Harris is celebrated as not just first Black woman on a ticket, but also the first Asian-American by Dasia Moore, The Boston Globe, August 14, 2020 The initial headlines announcing Senator Kamala Harris’s candidacy for vice president heralded her selection as the first Black woman on a major party’s presidential ticket. But soon, social media… Read more »

Rajapaksa, in a Landslide

After a major victory, the family will be able to reshape Sri Lanka to ensure their control for the long term by Neil De Votta, Foreign Policy, Washington, DC, August 11, 2020 In 2016, supporters of Mahinda Rajapaksa, who had been president of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015, rechristened a minor political party and… Read more »

Election Sends a Chilling Message

Election rides a Gotabhaya surge and blends to a Sinhala-Buddhist ethos by Kumar David, The Island, Colombo, August 8, 2020 Let everyone first congratulate Deshapriya, Hoole, N.J. Abeysekara and the election staff for conducting a truly first-rate election under trying circumstances – COVID, political interference, a not very helpful AG and numerous court challenges by… Read more »

Interpreting the Sri Lankan Mandate

by Jayadeva Uyangoda, The Hindu, Chennai, August 8, 2020 The results of Sri Lanka’s parliamentary election held on Wednesday show a seismic shift in the country’s electoral map as well as the balance of political power. The near two-thirds parliamentary majority, easily achieved by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP — Sri Lanka People’s Front) by reducing… Read more »

Increasing Suppression of Dissent

Parliamentary Elections Heighten Fears of Renewed Crackdown by Human Rights Watch, New York, August 8, 2020 (New York) – The Sri Lankan government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is waging a campaign of fear and intimidation against human rights activists, journalists, lawyers, and others challenging government policy, Human Rights Watch said today. The crackdown on dissent under the… Read more »

Sri Lanka’s Possible Post-Election Scenario

By: M. K. Eelaventhan – Former Member of Parliament of Sri Lanka, July 28, 2020 Sri Lanka’s General election which is due on August 5th 2020 is pitting four main parties, UNP, SLPP, NPF, JVP led by Sinhalese leaders Ranil Wickremasinghe, Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sajit Premadasa and Anurakumara Dissanayaka along with several other independent groups including… Read more »

‘Sri Lanka: A Victor’s Peace’

2009 to 2019 by Ana Pararajasingham, Monitor Publications, Sydney, Australia, October, 2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TZW40y3-Cc In Sri Lanka A Victor’s Peace, Ana Pararajasingham, provides a perspective on events as they unfolded following the end of  Sri Lanka’s  civil war  in May 2009. This book is a collection of articles by the author published between September 2009 and… Read more »

US State Dept. Reports to Congress on Sri Lanka 2009, 2010 & 2012

by US Department of State Report to Congress on Incidents during the Recent Conflict in Sri Lanka 2009 Report to Congress by State Measures Taken by GoSL Apr 2012 Factual Supplement to the Report to Congress by State on Measures Taken by the GoSL April 4 2012 Report To Congress on Measures Taken by the… Read more »