by Wakeley Paul; originally published February 5, 2004 WHAT’S NEXT ? WAR OR RECOGNITION OF REALITIES ON THE GROUND The question that confronts everyone, Tamils, Sinhalese and the international community is, how long are the Sinhalese parties in parliament intending to maintain the current stalemate? While nothing happens, who suffers more than the Sinhalese people? The… Read more »
Open Letter to US Secretary of State
by Appuacci; originally published February 5, 2004 Dear Mr. Secretary, Today is February 4, 2004; the day Britain handed over the reins of government to the people of Sri Lanka (the former Ceylon). Lord Soulbury, in a Foreword to the book A Divided Nation by B. H. Farmer, showed his bitter disappointment at the direction Ceylon took during… Read more »
Barriers to Equality of Educational Opportunity in Sri Lanka
by Meera Pathmarajah; originally published February 5, 2004 Meera Pathmarajah is a graduate student at Harvard University Graduate School of Education, pursuing a Master of Education Degree in International Education Policy. This paper was written for her final project in a class titled ‘Education Policy Analysis and Research in Developing Countries’, taught by Professor Fernando Reimers…. Read more »
Batticaloa Summer Camp Seeks Volunteers
by Meera Pathmarajah; originally published February 5, 2004 We are currently recruiting volunteers to staff the 2004 VISIONS leadership camp, which will take place from July 14th-August 1st at the St. Johns Girls Home in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka. Volunteers must provide their own air-fare to Sri Lanka. Food and lodging will be provided free for volunteers… Read more »
Pirapaharan, Chapter 29: The Indian Interest
by T. Sabaratnam; originally published February 4, 2004 29. The Indian Interest Trincomalee Problem The interest RAW officials showed in the Trincomalee harbour helped Pirapaharan to figure out the puzzle. He knew that New Delhi was concerned about its security and had an aspiration to become the regional power. Its interest in the Sri Lankan… Read more »
Is She Truly Sovereign?
by Taraki; Daily Mirror, Colombo, originally published February 4, 2004 Sri Lanka is not a sovereign state. Firstly it does not enjoy sovereignty over its external affairs. Secondly, it cannot exercise its sovereignty over the full extent of territory over which it claims a sovereign right. Thirdly, a section of the people in whom, according to… Read more »
P. Ramanathan
by Unknown; published February 4, 2004 Tamil man who might have changed the fate of the tamils but failed The path to Independence With the surrender of the Kandyan kingdom to the British in 1815, Sri Lanka lost her independence. The last king, Sri Wickrema Rajasinghe was deposed and the Kandyan kingdom was vested in the sovereign… Read more »
Sri Lanka Scene: India to Delay Signing
by T. Sabaratnam; originally published February 3, 2004 Weekly Review 2 February 2004 India to delay signing the Defence Agreement India has decided to delay the signing of the Indo-Sri Lanka Defence Agreement, Colombo-based Indian diplomats said. This information was conveyed to President Chandrika Kumaratunga by Indian High Commissioner Nirupam Sen during the one and… Read more »
Help US Asylum Seekers: 4 Things You Can Do
by Human Rights First; published February 3, 2004 Dear Friends, Do you know hundreds of Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seekers are detained in INS (DHS) detention centers around the country, and some of them for two years? Do you ever wonder what it would be like to go through the asylum seeking process? Do you have… Read more »
Britain Puts UN Child Soldier Plan on Hold
by Reuters; London, February 1, 2004 UNITED NATIONS: Britain, angered that Northern Ireland appears on a UN list of countries where youths are recruited as soldiers in “armed conflicts,” has put on hold UN plans to crack down on the use of child warriors, diplomats said on Wednesday. Britain has asked Olara Otunnu, the UN special… Read more »
Thinakural Cartoon
by Thinakural, Colombo, January 30, 2004 First Man: Why are you in such a hurry to make a defense pact with India? Second Man: When the international community is seeking to find a just solution for the minorities, the only country that can help us to sabotage this is India! Originally published February 1, 2004
An Ayodhya in the Making in Lanka
by Dr. Jayadeva Uyangoda; Daily Mirror, Colombo, January 30, 2004 PA and the UNF are not taking adequate political action to counter politics of militant Sinhalese nationalism One of the most disturbing developments occurred during the past few weeks has been the acceleration of attacks on Catholic and Christian churches as well as places of worship…. Read more »
Lessons to be Learnt from the LTTE
by Rajkumar Sivapatham; TamilCanadian, January 30, 2004 Lessons to be learnt from LTTE by Tamils For years, the Tamils (no matter whether they are from India, Sri Lanka or any other part of the world) have been longing for a leadership that make them proud. There has not been any such organisation which made an impact… Read more »
Primary Trauma Course in Jaffna Teaching Hospital
by Dr. C. Ambalavanar; originally published January 29, 2004 Trauma is one of the major causes for emergency admissions at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital. Over the past two decades much of this was due to war-related injuries. However over the past two years, with the reopening of the A-9, road accidents have become a major cause… Read more »
Pirapaharan, Chapter 28: RAW Meets Pirapaharan
by T. Sabaratnam; originally published January 28, 2004 28. RAW Meets Pirapaharan Pondy Bazaar Shootout With unbridled power concentrated in his hands, President Jayewardene set out to stifle the fledgling Tamil militancy. But the tools he used- state terrorism and weakening of the moderate leadership- were counterproductive. Police and army atrocities, in the process of… Read more »
A Reply to ‘India’s Interest in a JVP Sri Lanka’
by Arvalan; originally published January 28, 2004 “Falling in love is awfully simple. Falling out of love is simply awful” This is a response to “India’s interest in a JVP Sri Lanka” contributed by Thileelar in the Sangam website on the 22nd January 2004. With all due respect to him, I find Mr. Thileelar’s article contains… Read more »
Parity of Military Status
by Taraki; Daily Mirror, Colombo, January 28, 2004 The LTTE will negotiate only with parity of military status Mr. Anton Balasingham says that the India Sri Lanka Defence Co-operation Agreement (DCA) will “upset the balance of forces to the disadvantage of the LTTE”. The Tigers have accused Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe of trying to tilt the… Read more »
Sri Lanka Scene: The World Figures Out
by T. Sabaratnam; originally published January 27, 2004 Weekly Review The World Figures Out Japanese peace envoy Yasushi Akashi’s succinct comment “why should they suffer” and his indication that a new mechanism “will be established” to expedite delivery of some of the aid pledged by the international community to the reconstruction and rehabilitation of war damaged… Read more »
Judge Voids Part of Anti-Terror Act
by Eric Lichtblau, New York Times, January 26, 2004 Citing Free Speech, Judge Voids Part of Antiterror Act WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 — For the first time, a federal judge has struck down part of the sweeping antiterrorism law known as the USA Patriot Act, joining other courts that have challenged integral parts of the Bush… Read more »
‘The Destructors’
by Sachi Sri Kantha, originally published January 27, 2004 Front Note by Sachi Sri Kantha Graham Greene (1904-1991) was one of the 20th century’s most versatile story tellers in English literature. This year marks the centenary of his birth, as well as the 50th anniversary of his short story ‘The Destructors.’ When I read this short… Read more »