by Sachi Sri Kantha, September 8, 2004 In early 1999, I read a humorous syndicated commentary by Gary Borders (then the editor and publisher of the Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel, Texas). It was so thought-provoking for its humor and simplicity, that I put it away safely in my file of notable collections for reference. My last month’s… Read more »
Working in Post-conflict Northern Sri Lanka
by Dr. Shiamala Suntharalingam MB BS, BSc (Hons), DFFP, DRCOG, MRCGP May to November 2003 20 years of war has taken its toll on all aspects of society in Sri Lanka, but the NorthEast of the island has been most affected. Homes destroyed, farmland mined, schools, temples, churches & hospitals have been damaged in varying… Read more »
A Global War: Many Fronts, Little Unity
Terror is not an enemy, but a method, used in different ways by different movements…But it is also a label that has been seized on by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel and, in various shades, by leaders from Italy to Pakistan to set their own agendas. It… Read more »
Countering Terror
by Rajeev Dhavan, The Hindu, Chennai, September 3, 2004 Where counter-terrorism violates human rights, it produces state terrorism directed against a nation’s own people. Both collectively and individually, nations across the world are obsessed with policies of counter-terrorism. This obsession is subversive of peace and good governance in ways that are beginning to dwarf the… Read more »
Pirapaharan 2, Chapter 14: JR’s Three Track Policy
by T. Sabaratnam, September 3, 2004 (Volume 2) Building a Military Machine President Jayewardene, his fans and critics readily admit, was a grandmaster in political chess. He schemed three moves ahead when his opponent planned only two. He played the same game with Indira Gandhi. He countered her double track policy with three. Jayewardene’s three tracks… Read more »
Self-Righteous Democracies
by Phar Kim Beng, Straits Times, September 2, 2004 Mr. Bill Clinton made the promotion of democracy the centrepiece of his foreign policy when he was president of the United States. President George W. Bush, especially after Sept 11, did the same, looking to democracy as a means of reforming Arab/Muslim societies and awakening them… Read more »
Sri Lanka Scene: JVP’s Assault on Tamil Nationalism
Weekly Review by T. Sabaratnam, 1 September 2004 This morning the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) launched its campaign to split the east from the north and thus deny the Tamils their homeland. They have named their campaign in Tamil Kilakkin Uthayam, meaning, “Awakening East.” The inaugural seminar of the new movement was held at Kalmunai Town… Read more »
I Got Trapped in the Secret ‘No Fly List’ of the Transportation Security Administration
by Sachi Sri Kantha, September 1, 2004 I neither have the charisma of a Kennedy nor the celebrity status of Massachusetts’ senior Senator Edward ‘Teddy’ Kennedy. However, for the past 25 years, I have subscribed to the liberal democratic ideals for which the youngest males of the Kennedy clan (John F., Robert and Edward) have… Read more »
Diaspora Circulation and Transnationalism
As Agents for Change in the Post-Conflict Zones of Sri Lanka R. Cheran of the Dept. of Sociology and Refugee Studies of York University, Toronto has written a paper entitled “Diaspora Circulation and Transnationalism as Agents for Change in the Post Conflict Zones of Sri Lanka” which does exactly what sociology is supposed to: observe… Read more »
Collective Rights and the ISGA
by Dr. Kumar Rupesinghe, LTTE Peace Secretariat, September 1, 2004 In looking at peace and development we need to recognize that peace is not the absence of war. In a wider perspective of peace we have to look at several dimensions of violence. The Ceasefire Agreement ensures an absence of direct violence between the two… Read more »
Is the XIII Amendment the Roadblock to Peace?
Sinhalese Myths and Fallacies Challenged by Wakeley Paul, Esq., September 1, 2004 Several recent articles reveal once more the cherished myths under which the Sinhala press continues to delude itself. These Sinhalese myths need to be punctured once and for all, since they are founded on three fundamental misconceptions. 1. That Sinhalese supremacy is the… Read more »
Tamils Alone in Hostile World
Tamils Should Realise They Stand Alone in a Hostile World An Editorial from Northeastern Monthly Every few months or so, accusations of human rights violations are flung at the LTTE by various local and international actors whose concern for human suffering knows no bounds when it gives them an opportunity to cause the Tiger rebels discomfiture…. Read more »
Won’t the Sri Lankan Leadership Reform?
Centre for Peace and Human Rights Culture Director Rev.Fr. A.I. Bernard has underlined an urgent and necessary remedy for the ailment Sri Lanka is undergoing on account of the ethnic conflict that grips the island state. On behalf of the Jaffna-based Centre Rev.Fr. A.I. Bernard says, in a letter addressed to the Sri Lanka’s Peace… Read more »
Good Government: You Can Put a Value to It
By Janadas Devan, Straits Times, Singapore, August 2004 WHY did Singapore succeed and so many other post-colonial states didn’t? The answer to that question often takes the form of a litany: Singapore got the fundamentals right – political stability, meritocracy, an incorruptible administration. It instituted the rule of law, ensuring the sanctity of contracts and… Read more »
Pathirana Group helps Tamil Students in 1983 Pogrom
Dear Editor, I am reading The Pirapaharan Biography very keenly. Please convey the attached message to Sabaratnam. Thanks Bala M. ———————————————————————————————————— Dear Mr. Sabaratnam, Thank you for writing Tamils’ History. As you have mentioned in your introduction I feel you are writing this biography without any bias. I also think you are the right person to write… Read more »
Pirapaharan 2, Chapter 13: The Love Story
By: T. Sabaratnam, (Volume 2) Adele’s Influence The third and fourth matters on which Pirapaharan’s attention was focused during the closing months of 1983 were interestingly intertwined. They involved the theoretical issue of the role of women in the freedom struggle and Pirapaharan’s personal life. The general issue of women’s emancipation and the freedom struggle was… Read more »
Sri Lanka Scene: Ceasefire Under Severe Strain
Weekly Review Sri Lanka Scene 25 August 2004 Ceasefir Under Severe Strain by: T. Sabaratnam
ISGA Bashing: Much Ado About Nothing
by Taraki (aka D. Sivaram), The Daily Mirror, Colombo, August 25, 2004 “Myself when young did eagerly frequent Doctor and Saint, and heard great argument About it and about: but evermore Came out by the same door as in I went” – Omar Khayyam (Rubaiyat. Edward Fitzgerald translation) Reams have been written against the Interim… Read more »
Letter to RSF on Nimalarajan’s Killer
Australasian Federation of Tamil Associations, Inc. P O Box 215 Enfield NSW 2136 Email: tamand /A_T/ ozemail.com /D_O_T/ au 24 August 2004 International Secretariat : Reporters sans frontières 5, rue Geoffroy-Marie 75009 Paris – France Dear Sir, We are alarmed and dismayed that the main suspect in the murder of the journalist and BBC correspondent… Read more »
Review of ‘The Road from Elephant Pass’
Nihal de Silva’s novel The Road From Elephant Pass follows Sri Lankan Army Captain Wasantha Ratnayake and ‘defecting’ woman LTTE cadre Kamala Velaithan on their journey from Elephant Pass to Colombo. When Ratnayake’s assignment to detain, protect, and transfer a Tiger informant turns haywire because the Tigers launch their 2000 attack on Elephant Pass, Ratnayake and Velaithan… Read more »