by Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America Thamizhar Thiruvizhaa – July 2, 3, 4, and 5, 2004 Taking place at Morgan State University’s Carl J. Murphy Fine Arts Center. 2201 Argonne Drive, Baltimore, MD 21251. Presented by… Star Entertainment: “King of Comedy” Mr. Vivek; “Virumaandi” Fame Ms. Abhirami. Light Music Concert: Cine Playback Singer… Read more »
A Funny Old World
by Rajkumar Sivapatham, Harrow, UK. As the JVP and SLFP find out how difficult it is to be in government and to find a peaceful solution to the civil war, events are moving elsewhere. The promises and charges that UFPA has laid against the UNF government have returned to haunt the PA and the JVP… Read more »
Selected Writings by Gunasegaram
Mr. S.J. Gunasegaram was born in Chundikuli on the Jaffna Peninsula in 1901 and passed away in Kopay in 1964 after a life of writing prolifically on a wide variety of subjects, both in English and Tamil. Few scholars have had the skills, the urge, the courage, and the dedication that Gunasegaram had for research… Read more »
Don’t Know, Should Care
by Jeffrey D. Sachs, New York Times, June 5, 2004. Our ability to understand what exists before and after wars in low-income countries is nearly nonexistent. George Tenet’s resignation this week came after failures of American intelligence in the Iraq war as well as in the lead-up to the Sept. 11 attacks. But the government’s… Read more »
Ethnic Crisis: Wishful Thinking in the South
By: Amrit Muttukumaru, TamilCanadian.com, June 5, 2004 The southern polity has largely toyed with the Tamil National Question. The only possible exceptions could be the 1957 Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakam Pact and the August 1995 Devolution Proposals initiated by Prime Minister Bandaranaike and his daughter Chandrika Kumaratunga respectively, where there was a reasonable attempt to address the issue…. Read more »
The Children’s Homes of Tamil Eelam
by Rob Bloom, June 5, 2004 They were a focal point during my visit to Tamil Eelam, Sri Lanka and, as described in this article, I found the visits to be very fulfilling yet disconcerting at the same time.Prakash Rajasundram, our hosts, and I visited three Illams: they are named Kurukulam, Senth-Cholai, and Kantharuban Arevuchcholai.In… Read more »
Pirapaharan 2, Chapter 5: The Second Massacre
by T. Sabaratnam; published June 4, 2004 (Volume 2) 5. The Second Massacre The prison massacre on Monday, July 25, 1983 that killed 35 of their colleagues made the 28 prisoners in C3 feel insecure. They felt that they would be the next target. Three of them – Panagoda Maheswaran, Paranthan Rajan and Douglas Devananda –… Read more »
Hope in the Face of Adversity
published June 3, 2004 HOPE IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY: The role of education in rebuilding Sri Lanka Sunday, June 6th, 2004 at 12 noon Location : Bedford City Hall, Bedford, MA Contact : S. Yoganathan, (781)721-0935 Please join us for a presentation by global educators striving to make a difference… Speakers: Meera Pathmarajah A… Read more »
Karuna Facing Defector’s Dilemma
by Sachi Sri Kantha; published June 3, 2004 There are two books adjacently placed in my study, since their titles share an affinity. The first is ‘The Oldest Profession – A History of Prostitution’ (1993 print) of an English translation of a German language original by Lujo Bassermann. The second is, ‘The Second Oldest Profession – Spies… Read more »
Oh, What a Tangled Web
by Wakeley Paul; published June 2, 2004 Oh what a tangled web we weave When first we practice to deceive The President hopes to glide along by nurturing opposing factions with the incredible hope of making better strangers of them all. How easy it is for any of them to pull the plug on this hopeless… Read more »
Sri Lanka Scene: Killings Unite Tamils
by T. Sabaratnam; published June 2, 2004 Weekly Review Killings Unites Tamils; India’s Policy Changes The foul Murder Iyathurai Nadesan is dead. The cause he espoused, Tamil Nationalism, has received fresh vigour. The entire northeast ground to a halt in unity today (Wednesday); not merely to mourn the death of a 49 year-old Tamil journalist who… Read more »
Invitation from Thamiz Kulam Pathipalayam
published June 1, 2004 Anbudaiyeer Vanakkam Attached is an invitation to the release function of the book Thodarum Thavippu written by Poonguzhali. A note on the book: This book illustrates the real-life struggle of a mother to save her son from the death penalty. Perarivalan was arrested in the Rajiv Gandhi assasination case in 1991 at the… Read more »
Hypocrisy Today
by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn; published June 1, 2004 [translated from the original Russian into English, by Stephan Solzhenitsyn; source: Daily Yomiuri, August 7, 1997.] Front Note by Sachi Sri Kantha If sycophancy is an art of civilizations boasting 2,500 year-old heritage (India, China and Sri Lanka), its closest kin – hypocrisy – is the ornament of civilizations [British,… Read more »
To Be Democratic and Rich
by Janadas Devan; Straits Times, Singapore, published June 1, 2004 To be democratic and rich – or just rich first IS THERE an inevitable or necessary connection between liberal economics and liberal politics? Many American intellectuals think there is. Give people a chance to compete in free markets, and they will want political freedoms commensurate with… Read more »
Pirapaharan 2, Chapter 4: Massacre of Prisoners
by T. Sabaratnam; published May 31, 2004 (Volume 2) 4. Massacre of Prisoners The Talk In the last chapter, I referred to the information that my friend in the Jathika Seva Sangamaya (JSS) gave me about the final solution. I also said that at that time I did not realize the actual meaning of that phrase…. Read more »
Will Sri Lanka Become Another Cyprus?
by Victor Rajakulendran; published May 27, 2004 Intensive efforts are being made in Sri Lanka by the International Community (IC) to restart the stalled Norwegian facilitated peace process between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan government. Through this peace process, the IC is trying to prevent the island of Sri Lanka… Read more »
Red Herring
by V. Gunaratnam; published May 26, 2004 It is too early to be speculating on where the peace process is heading, but we cannot forever be engaged in political invective, and not go further afield to look at other plausible causes which have forced Sri Lanka to come down from its high-horse in search of a… Read more »
Are They Trying to Take Us for a Ride?
by Rajkumar Sivapatham; published May 26, 2004 The USA and India have recently made statements on the Tamil issue which need some careful examination. The USA’s Ms. Rocca made a statement asking the LTTE to lay down their arms. There have been different reports on exactly what she has said. However, at the outset, she wanted… Read more »
American Gulag
Not so many Sri Lankans are entering the American immigration detention system as a few years ago, but those who are still there need visits and assistance when they are released. -Ed. American Gulag: Inside U.S. Immigration Prisons You can also order on-line from the publisher — and read chapter 7, “The Art of Jailing”… Read more »
Malacca Straits
by P.S. Suryanarayana;The Hindu, Chennai, April 6, 2004 Marines and Malacca Straits P.S. SURYANARAYANA in Singapore The U.S. proposal to intervene in the Strait of Malacca in order to prevent any traffic of cargo relating to weapons of mass destruction raises the hackles of some littoral states. STRATEGIC game plans are the basic stuff of the… Read more »