Monthly Archives: April 2023

Designation of Sri Lankan Governor

Due to Involvement in a Gross Violation of Human Rights PRESS STATEMENT ANTONY J. BLINKEN, US SECRETARY OF STATE APRIL 26, 2023 The United States is designating Wasantha Karannagoda, Governor of North Western Province in Sri Lanka, pursuant to Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2023, due to his involvement in a… Read more »

The Ethnology of the ‘Moors’ of Ceylon

by the Hon. P. Ramanathan [read April 26, 1888] Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Society of Great Britain & Ireland, 1888; 10(36): 234-262. Ramanathan Ethnology of ‘Moors’ of Ceylon 1888 Introductory Note by Sachi Sri Kantha 135 years ago, Ponnambalam Ramanathan (1851-1930) read a paper entitled ‘The Ethnology of the Moors of… Read more »

The Smell of Terror

by Tissaranee Gunasekera, Groundviews, Colombo, April 23, 2023 “On land a tiger, in the water a crocodile.” A Bengali proverb In Sri Lanka terror means Tamil or Muslim. When the J.R. Jayewardene government responded to the ethnic problem not with the promised political reforms but with repression and the PTA was born, the concept of… Read more »

Ancient Hindu Shrine on Kurunthoormalai Hill was Destroyed by Soldiers

led by Minister Vidura Wickramanayake states Jaffna District MP Sumanthiran in Parliament;Urges Govt not to Continue in Racist Direction 9903_25th+april+2023.pdf (amazonaws.com) (Excerpts from Speech made in Parliament on 25 April 2023 by Jaffna District TNA Parliamentarian MA Sumanthiran PC) Video of the speech at https://fb.watch/kcEU-YAWeR/ I am mentioning this Kurunthoormalai issue and according to the… Read more »

Tamils Flag Escalating Attacks on Temples in Northern Sri Lanka

by Meera Srinivasan, The Hindu, Chennai, April 23, 2023 Several Tamil political parties have called for a protest on April 25 against the recent temple attacks, among other issues Tamils in Sri Lanka have witnessed an escalation in the attack on Hindu temples in recent weeks, a trend that they note is part of the… Read more »

Sudan is at Risk of Unravelling from Decades of Injustice

by Azza Ahmed Abdel Aziz, Middle East Eye, April 25, 2023 The civil war raging in Khartoum is a culmination of the violence to which the Sudanese state has subjected its citizens over many years )n 13 April, I happened to send a family member based in the UK a short WhatsApp video of a… Read more »

Myanmar’s ‘Forgotten War’ Lurches Deeper into Horror

by Guy Dinmore, InterPress Service, April 17, 2023 KAYIN STATE, Myanmar, Apr 17 2023 (IPS) – Food is passed around a campfire, and a guitar strums as cool night air tumbles down mountain cliffs, relieving the jungle of its heat. A dozen or so young Myanmar activists – some having just travelled long distances evading military… Read more »

Civilian Killings and Disappearances during Civil War in El Salvador

by Amelia Hoover Green and Patrick Ball, Demographic Research, Vol. 41, Article 27, pps. 781-814, October 1, 2019 DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2019.41.27 ABSTRACT Background: Debate over the civilian toll of El Salvador’s civil war (1980–1992) raged throughout the conflict and its aftermath. Apologists for the Salvadoran regime claimed no more than 20,000 had died, while some activists… Read more »

‘Prisoner #1056’ by Roy Ratnavel

From the publisher, Penguin Random House, April 18, 2023 ABOUT PRISONER #1056 An incredible immigrant story from a prominent Canadian Tamil who fled torture and imprisonment, arrived in Canada with $50 in his pocket, then rose from the mailroom to the executive suite of the country’s largest independent asset management company. Roy Ratnavel’s astonishing journey began… Read more »

Premadasa’s Saber-Rattling with Rajiv

And RAW’s rascality in 1989 by Sachi Sri Kantha, April 2, 2023 Former Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa’s (1924-1993) 30th death anniversary falls on May 1st. 15 years ago, I wrote about the puzzles of his assassination, alleged to be by the LTTE (but NOT proved legally!), in this website [https://www.sangam.org/2008/05/Premadasa_Assassination.php?uid=2906]. As such, for his… Read more »