Why Britain Fails to Hold War Criminals to Account

Amal Clooney and Rupert Skilbeck on why Britain fails to hold war criminals to account Three reforms are needed to make its international justice efforts more robust, say the lawyers by The Economist, October 19, 2021 In the year and a half since Russia invaded Ukraine, Britain has repeatedly condemned Vladimir Putin’s illegal act of… Read more »

Roots of Ethnic Contestation in the Eastern Province

As in the past, the contestation is over title to the land by PK Balachandran, Daily Mirror, Colombo, October 10, 2023 Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province is again becoming a contested region between ethnic groups. This time round it is more between the Tamils and Sinhalese, with the Muslims in the periphery. . This is because of… Read more »

Deeper Sufferings

Many Tamil writers from Jaffna peninsula have written both prose & poetry. But their readings have largely remained within smaller groups. Artists from Sri Lanka have also spoken through their creations by T.M. Krishna, The Telegraph Online, Calcutta, India, September 29, 2023 In 2011, when I travelled in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka, I… Read more »

Notes on Reaching 70 Not Out – Part 2

Andy Rooney’s influence on my letter writing by Sachi Sri Kantha, October 9, 2023 I consider Andy Rooney (1919 – 2011), one of my favorite humorists, as a teacher in English writing for me. Twelve years had passed since his death on Nov 4, 2011. Rooney warned prophetically in one of his columns in early… Read more »

ICJ: Parliamentary Privilege Used to Undermine Independence of the Judiciary

Sri Lanka by International Commission of Jurists, Geneva, August 30, 2023 The ICJ today expressed concern about attacks on the independence of the judiciary in Sri Lanka under cover of parliamentary privilege. On 22 August 2023, Sarath Weeresekera, a former Minister and a Member of Parliament belonging to the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, the country’s ruling political… Read more »

Reconstructing the Population History of the Sinhalese

The major ethnic group in Śrī Laṅkā by Prajjval Pratap Singh, 6 Sachin Kumar 6  Nagarjuna Pasupuleti, Niraj Rai, Gyaneshwer Chaubey 7 R. Ranasinghe Show all authors Show footnotes Open Access Published:August 31, 2023 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.107797 Download .pdf (.15 MB) Highlights • Higher West Eurasian genetic component in Śrī Laṅkā than South India • A strong gene flow beyond the boundary of… Read more »

Tamil Coin Issued by King Ellalan during the Anuradhapura Era

by Prof. Paramu Pushparatnam, Ezhuna Online, September 6, 2023 [translated from the original Tamil by Google Translate with improvements by S-J] As far as Sri Lanka is concerned, the ancient history of the Tamils is still shrouded in Mahavamsa darkness, but recent archaeological studies in various parts of Sri Lanka have revealed the biographical information… Read more »

RAW: Canada, India & Sri Lanka

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pulls down the pants of RAW rascals by Sachi Sri Kantha, September 27, 2023 As a long term observer of the sins of India’s gumshoes, I’d say ‘three cheers’ for Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau for pulling down the pants of RAW rascals on September 18th. He claimed ‘Agents of the… Read more »

Partheeban alias Thileepan’s Death-Fast Weaponised Non-violence

by DBS Jeyaraj, Financial Times, Colombo, September 27, 2023 Rasiah Partheeban alias Thileepan engaged in a fast unto death protest on 15 September 1987. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) stalwart died after 12 days of fasting on 26 September without even drinking water. Thileepan’s 36th death anniversary was on 26 September 2023. This… Read more »

IS the TNPF Throwing Rocks at a Wasp Nest?

by A Nillanthan, September 24, 2023 [Translated from the original Tamil by Google Translate with corrections by the Editor. Further corrections welcome.] A vehicle of the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) was attacked in Trincomalee. The vehicle carrying Thileepan’s picture had first passed that way last year, but the vehicle was not targeted at that… Read more »

History of Tamils in Sri Lanka

by Laxshen in Reddit’s Eelam thread, late August, 2023 The Kingdom of Jaffna by S. Pathmanathan, Colombo, 1978 on Noolaham Primary sources for History of the Sri Lankan Tamils by Dr. Murugar Gunasingham, Sydney, 2005 on Noolaham Sri Lanka: The National Question and the Tamil Liberation Struggle by Satchi Ponnambalam, UK, 1983 on Noolaham The… Read more »

Congress Wants to Hold Sri Lanka’s Feet to the Fire on Human Rights

by Anusha Rathi & Jack Detsch, Foreign Policy, Washington, DC, September 21, 2023 Congress is calling on the Biden administration to formally hold Sri Lanka responsible for its human rights abuses and violation of international humanitarian law, including decades of torture, military abuse, and other “horrific crimes” carried out against the country’s minority Tamil population…. Read more »

Purse-seiners, Trawlers, and the Epic Fight over Fishing in Tamil Nadu

A ban on purse-seine fishing in Tamil Nadu has threatened thousands of fishers’ livelihoods – and they are refusing to give up without a fight by Jeff Joseph, Himal magazine, Colombo, September 7, 2023 “There were young people with degrees taking to purse seines because of the pay,” Karthi P said. “It was easy work.”… Read more »

40th Anniversary of Black July 1983

Notes on the White Anglo Saxon Protestant (WASP) Editorials by Sachi Sri Kantha, September 2023 Preamble and Inference Though digital writing has many merits, one of its demerits (i.e., disappearance of past published records into the digital black hole, within few years) is a pain in the neck for me. Originally, I compiled this collection… Read more »

US Congress Letter re Justice in Sri Lanka

NEWS: Congresswoman Summer Lee and Congressman Bill Johnson Lead Bipartisan Group of Colleagues Urging State Department to Take Action Towards Justice and Accountability for Sri Lanka’s International Crimes – Summer Lee (house.gov)    

Joint NGO Statement re Sri Lanka Truth Commission

by Amnesty International, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Franciscans International, Front Line Defenders. Human Rights Watch, International Commission of Jurists, International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) International Working Group on Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Campaign, September 4, 2023 Joint Statement re Sri Lanka Truth Commission Sept. 2023 Sri Lanka’s Flawed Plans for… Read more »

ICES: Mass Grave Sites in Sri Lanka

History and Legal Framework by Sophia Bisping, International Centre for Ethnic Studies, 2023 ICES Mass Grave Sites in Sri Lanka 2023 Between 1992 and 2022, at least 32 mass grave sites were uncovered in Sri Lanka. Of the few investigations conducted, none were successful in fully identifying victims, establishing stable narratives of events preceding each… Read more »

India Urges Sri Lanka to Keep Its Promises

Citing ‘inadequate progress’ on rights front by Meera Srinivasan, The Hindu, Chennai, September 13, 2023 India on Tuesday said the progress made by Sri Lanka, on its commitment to fulfill the Tamils’ aspirations, was “inadequate” and urged the island nation to “work meaningfully” to keep its promises. “We have taken note of reaffirmation by the… Read more »

UNHRC’s 54th Session

UN Human Rights Council, Geneva, September 11 to October 13, 2023 . Written Report on ‘Situation in Sri Lanka’ by High Commissioner for Human Rights – UNHCHR Situation of human rights in Sri Lanka Report, Advanced unedited . 1st Meeting |UN Web TV Sri Lanka begins at 2hrs.44min.   2nd Meeting | UN Web TV Interactive Dialogue… Read more »