by V. G. Julie Rajan; Hinduism Today, Hawaii, April/May/June 2003 issue http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/2003/4-6/30-35_caste.shtml Caste in Transition Education, economics and protest drive changes and reform to India’s ancient societal divisions Caste is not a pleasant topic for Hindus, and in the international arena today, it has elicited a shame upon the Hindu religion. I have written this article… Read more »
India’s Interest in a JVP Sri Lanka
by Thileelar; originally published January 22, 2004 While there have been many articles written about the military importance of Srilanka to India, many have overlooked the role of Srilanka in India’s long term economic vision. It is obvious that India has been aspiring to be an economic powerhouse and seeks to organize the south Asian countries… Read more »
An Indian Takeover of Sri Lanka?
by Wakeley Paul; originally published January 22, 2004 While both the LTTE and the Sri Lankan President are claiming friendship with the Indian government, it is obvious that the Indian government is playing up to the President rather than the LTTE. The Indian government has declined the invitation to be part of the aid donor group… Read more »
Sri Lanka Scene: Sinhala Chauvinism on the War Path
by T. Sabaratnam; published January 21, 2004 Weekly Review Sri Lanka Scene Sinhala Chauvinism on the War Path I delayed this week’s column to enable me to comment on Monday’s Kilinochchi meeting of representatives of donor countries and international aid agencies and Tuesday’s signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP)… Read more »
Tolstoy & Pirabhakaran Parallels
by Sachi Sri Kantha; published January 21, 2004 Tolstoy’s War and Peace thoughts and Pirabhakaran Parallels Front Note by Sachi Sri Kantha Recently, I located an interesting essay by environmental scientist David Ehrenfeld (Rutger’s University) which appeared in the Conservation Biology journal in 2000. Ehrenfeld had served as the first editor of this journal from 1986 to 1993. In this… Read more »
New Alliance Set to Precipitate War
by Taraki; Daily Mirror, Colombo, January 21, 2004 The JVP-SLFP memorandum of understanding is a sure formula for precipitating another war with the LTTE. President Chandrika and her external backers might be able to cleverly postpone the war but they cannot stop it if the United People’s Freedom Alliance were to stick to the policies enunciated… Read more »
Still Time Left to Revive Peace
by Rajkumar Sivapatham (UK); TamilCanadian, published January 20, 2004 Sri Lankan Peace – There is still some time left to revive In view of the events that are happening fast in Sri Lanka, it is important to assess them and have a clear understanding of the situation. I am sure the Sri Lankan Tamils inside and… Read more »
Tamilchelvan’s Statement to Intl Officials & Organizations
by LTTE Peace Secretariat; Kilinochchi, 19 January 2004 “It gives us immense pleasure indeed to receive you all on behalf of our people and the national leader. You all are striving hard to bring about peace in this island and carryout a noble humanitarian service to people in distress with commitment. In the current political crisis,… Read more »
The Case for Direct Economic Assistance to the NorthEast
by Ana Pararajasingam; published January 18, 2004 [The writer is an Australian based Management Consultant, who, between March 2003 and June 2003 this year, was in Sri Lanka working with the LTTE’s Planning & Development Unit and the World Bank, UN agencies and the Asian Development Bank, to assess the needs of the war torn Northeast…. Read more »
Tribute to MGR
by Sachi Sri Kantha; published January 18, 2004 Man from Maruthur and Malai Naadu (Mountain State): a Birthday Tribute to legendary MGR [Front Note: This is a revised and extended version of my tribute, which first appeared in the Tamil Nation (London), January 15, 1992, under my pen name C.P.Goliard. I have a reason to present this. In the internet literature, the… Read more »
‘Chasing Freedom’ on Court TV Monday
A COURT TV ORIGINAL MOVIE ‘CHASING FREEDOM’ STARRING JULIETTE LEWIS Monday, January 19, 2004 9:00 pm EST/PST Court TV Check your local cable listings for Court TV station Chasing Freedom will repeat on Jan. 24 at 9 pm, Jan. 27 at 10 pm and Feb. 22 at 10 pm Tune in to the premiere of… Read more »
Think, India, Think
by Sebsan; Melbourne’s 3CR Tamil Voice, December 22, 2003. The Tamil version is published in www.tamilnaatham.com Sri Lanka is going through political turmoil caused by a constitutional crisis, whilst the Indian political arena is also tensed at the moment. The ruling BJP has achieved unexpected victories in the recently held state elections. At the same… Read more »
Fait Accompli!?
by M. Nadarajah; originally published January 16, 2004 The several Governments that have been in power in Ceylon, renamed Sri Lanka, of whichever colour or hue, and whether capitalist-oriented or socialist-oriented, have had one common objective and that has been to make it a Sinhala Buddhist country, irrespective of the fact that nearly 26% of the… Read more »
Pirapaharan, Chapter 26: The First Attack on the Army
by T. Sabaratnam; published January 16, 2004 Chapter 26: The First Attack on the Army Seelan’s Saga When the news of the attack on the army by a group of LTTE cadres led by Seelan reached the Jaffna University Campus its vice chancellor Prof. K. Kailasapathy remarked: “They have crossed the border.” Before that, Tamil militant… Read more »
Indo-Lanka Defence Cooperation
by Taraki; Daily Mirror, January 13, 2004 Indo-Lanka Defence Cooperation Agreement: A matter of routine The proposed India-Sri Lanka Defence Co-operation Agreement is being considered with some concern by the Tamil press and politicians. The Tigers remain silent. Instead, we heard their advisor Balasingham urging the Indian government to take on a ‘more positive role’ in… Read more »
Terms & Conditions
Tamil Guardian editorial, London, January 14, 2004 If the consequences for Sri Lanka’s peoples didn’t threaten to be so tragic, the dynamics of the constitutional crisis gripping Colombo would be farcical. President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s dramatic announcement Tuesday that she intends to remain in office till 2006 – a full year longer than expected – would… Read more »
Sri Lanka Scene: Political Chess Goes On
by T. Sabaratnam; originally published January 12, 2004 Weekly Review Sri Lanka Scene Political Chess Goes On This year’s first cabinet meeting was held on Wednesday in the cabinet room. President Chandrika Kumaratunga did not attend it. Under the constitution, she is the head of the cabinet. She presides over its meetings. She has not attended… Read more »
Professor Nagl’s War
by Peter Maass; The New York Times, January 11, 2004 Maj. John Nagl approaches war pragmatically and philosophically, as a soldier and a scholar. He graduated close to the top of his West Point class in 1988 and was selected as a Rhodes scholar. He studied international relations at Oxford for two years, then returned to… Read more »
Review of ‘Tamils in Independent Ceylon’
by R .Shanmugananthan ; Circle Digest, Sunday, January 11 2004, Volume 2001 : Number 3321 TAMILS IN INDEPENDENT CEYLON BY: SUPPIRAMANIAM MAKENTHIRAN Makenthiran.PDF (sangam.org) Mr. Suppiramaniam Makenthiran has addressed the long felt need for an account of the recent history of Eelam Tamils in English, by publishing his book Tamils of Independent Ceylon. It covers the political… Read more »
Global Myths and Realities
by Wakeley Paul; originally published January 11, 2004 GLOBAL MYTHS AND REALITIES AMERICA¹S APPROACHPresident Bush, on his recent visit to London made a rather presumptuous statement at the Royal Banqueting Hall of Whitehall Palace when he said. “Your nation and mine in the past have been willing to tolerate oppression for the sake of stability……Now we… Read more »