by Sachi Sri Kantha, January 29, 2024 35 years have passed since Caludewage Cyril Mathew (1912-1989), popularly known as Cyril Mathew was called to his Maker. A nasty Tamil-baiting politician made a big splash in November 1978 with the infamous ‘Mosquito question’ in a university entrance zoology exam paper to trap the Tamil university academics… Read more »
Monthly Archives: January 2024
S. Shritharan’s Interview with Tamil Guardian
Tamil nationalism must begin from graves of Eelam fighters – Shritharan’s exclusive interview by Tamil Guardian, London, January 23, 2024 The newly elected leader of the Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK), Sivagnanam Shritharan spoke to the Tamil Guardian for an exclusive interview on how he hopes to further Tamil aspirations. Below are excerpts from the interview. –… Read more »
HRW: New Transitional Justice Process Lacks Credibility
UN Human Rights Council Engagement Remains Vital to Ensure Justice for Atrocity Crimes by Human Rights Watch, New York, January 29, 2022 (Geneva) – The Sri Lankan government’s proposed law to create another body to investigate wartime abuses replicates previous failed efforts, ignores the needs of victims, and falls far short of meeting Sri Lanka’s international legal… Read more »
US Senate Res. 493 & House Res. 926
by US Congress, December 12, 2024 Resolutions are identical. Co-sponsored by Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) & James Risch (R-ID) and Representatives Bill Johnson (R-OH) & Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) BILLS -118 senate res. 493 is 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. RES. 493 Expressing the sense of the Senate in support of the peaceful, democratic, and… Read more »
Ganguly 2018: Ending the Sri Lankan Civil War
by Sumit Ganguly, Daedulus 147 (1): 78–89., January 1. 2018 PDF Abstract The Sri Lankan Civil War erupted in 1983 and dragged on until 2009. The origins of the conflict can be traced to Sri Lanka’s colonial era and subsequent postcolonial policies that had significantly constrained the social and economic rights of the minority Tamil… Read more »
Wigneswaran Points Out the Root Cause of Sri Lanka’s Ethnic Conflict
Many Sinhalese consider Wigneswaran a racist and tend to ignore his views. But no matter how problematic it is, he points to the viewpoint prevailing in the Tamil society in general about the history of Sri Lanka. by P. Harshani Dias, Sri Lanka Guardian, Colombo, May 20, 2023 Colonial Architecture, Jaffna, Northern Province, Sri Lanka,… Read more »
Prof. Singer 1992: Sri Lanka’s Tamil-Sinhalese Ethnic Conflict
Alternative Solutions by Marshall Singer, Asian Survey, Vol. XXXII, No.6, (University of California Press), August 1992 Marshall R. Singer is Professor in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh. This article is a version of a paper presented at the Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting, April 1992, Washington, D.C. Warfare… Read more »
The Sri Lankan Civil War: Notes for UPSC Exam
by Byju’s Exam Prep, accessed January 22, 2024 UPSC is the arm of the Indian civil service which administers the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) exam. The war in Sri Lanka between the separatist Tamil forces and the government was a heavy one with a death toll of over 150000 from both sides including civilians. Starting… Read more »
MGR Remembered – Part 74
Chief Minister – Phase 1 by Sachi Sri Kantha, January 19, 2024 I provide below the comments received from pal and fellow MGR biographer R. Kannan on Nov. 21st about the contents in Part 73 of this series, and my response. Kannan had written, “…thank you for part 73 of MGR-remembered [series]. Your eye for… Read more »
OHCHR’s Sri Lanka Accountability Project FAQs
OHCHR’s mandate under resolution HRC 46/1 by UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, March 2021 SLAP FAQ-accountability-project_EN …What roles do victims and survivors have in the work of the new OHCHR Sri Lanka accountability project? Victims and survivors are a key part of each aspect of the work of the OHCHR Sri… Read more »
President in the North, Governor in the East
by A. Nillanthan, January 13, 2024 [Translated from the original Tamil by Google Translate with improvements by the Sangam editor.] At the same time as the President visited the North to celebrate the New Year, his Governor in the East staged a huge cultural festival. The President met various people in the North: entrepreneurs, university… Read more »
Elections Cast a Shadow of Uncertainty
Over Sri Lanka’s economic recovery by Dushni Weerakoon, IPS posted in East Asia Forum, January 16, 2024 Nearly two years after announcing a debt default in the middle of a severe social and political crisis, the Sri Lankan economy is showing the first signs of recovery. Year-on-year inflation dropped sharply to a low of 1.5… Read more »
HRW: Response to Economic Crisis Undermined Rights
Heightened Repression Against Minorities, Dissent by Human Rights Watch, New York, January 11, 2024 (Bangkok) – Regressive government policies and inadequate social protection left many Sri Lankans at risk from the worst effects of the country’s economic crisis, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2024. The government of President Ranil Wickremesinghe continued to repress freedoms… Read more »
In Defense of Sri Lanka’s Defense Budget
Reducing allocation for defense will require retrenching soldiers. Cutting loose angry youth with weapons skills is not what the crisis-ridden island needs now. [Sri Lanka has actually not done any de-commissioning since the end of the war 15 years ago, using exactly this excuse. Most of these impoverished soldiers have been deployed in the former… Read more »
Expert Warns of Future Decline in Sri Lanka’s Population
by Ada Derana, January 8, 2024 Sri Lanka will face a significant decline in its population in the future due to a drop in birth rate, Emeritus Professor of Demography at the University of Colombo, Prof. Indralal de Silva said. Prof. de Silva has identified the current drop in the birth rate in Sri Lanka… Read more »
50th Anniversary of the Tragic Deaths at the 1974 International Tamil Research Conference
Held in Jaffna by Sachi Sri Kantha, January 10, 2024 In 2014, I had presented my impressions on the 4th International Tamil Research Conference, held in Jaffna, from Jan 3 to 9, 1974. [Please check this link. https://sangam.org/jaffna-international-tamil-research-conference-1974/] In addition, I had also contributed my thoughts about the tragic deaths of 9 Tamils that occurred… Read more »
Sluggish Investment is Holding India Back
by Tom Easton, The Economist, London, November 13, 2023 Will the coming year be any different? Strong headline growth, and the possibility of offsetting China as a location for global production, have raised expectations for India. It is the world’s fifth-largest economy, and potentially larger than Germany by 2025, so it would be reasonable to… Read more »
How to Evade Justice: Reconciliation without Accountability
by Ambika Satkunanathan, Financial Times, Colombo, January 2, 2024Inter-faith initiatives avoid addressing impact of Sinhala Buddhist majoritarianism on inter-community relations The lack of outcomes in previous processes is not due to the lack of truth, as there is plenty of truth in the reports of the past commissions, but due to the lack of… Read more »
G.G. (Kumar) Ponnambalam Jr. Remembered on His 24th Assassination Anniversary
by Sach Sri Kantha, January 1, 2024 Front Note G.G. (Kumar) Ponnambalam Jr. (1938-2000) was assassinated on January 5, 2000, in Colombo. To remember him, I provide two published documents. One – an ‘Open Letter’ to the then Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunga. Most probably, this was the final public statement released by Kumar prior… Read more »
The Fearlessness of Kanji
by Pallavi Pundir, Eater, New York, January 2, 2024 How a simple rice dish became a Tamil symbol of resistance in Sri Lanka Photography by Steephan Sansigan; Interpreter: Gowthami Thillainathan The plan for a surreptitious meeting had been in the works for weeks. On the morning of November 7, Mariyasuresh Eswari got in touch with a… Read more »