Writer, actor and director Lawrence Valin says that in Little Jaffna he wanted to ‘show new role models’ by Angelique Chrisafis, The Guardian, UK, May 4, 2025 It has been hailed as one of the most innovative and surprising French gangster films this year: a suspense movie that tears through Paris’s Tamil neighbourhood. The police… Read more »
Little Jaffna – A Tale of Dual Identity
Little Jaffna – A Tale of Dual Identity by Krishna Selvaseelan, Tamil Guardian, London, November 11, 2024 See also an interview with the director. Lawrence Valin’s ‘Little Jaffna,’ a feature-length debut based on his short film, delivers a compelling story about identity. Set in France, the film follows Michael, a Tamil-French police officer, assigned to… Read more »
What is India’s Long-Awaited Caste Census?
and why has it sparked outcry from Modi’s followers? by Alisha Rahaman Sarkar, The Independent, London, May 2, 2025 The Indian government will collect caste details in its next population census in a policy U-turn that could have sweeping socioeconomic and political ramifications. Information minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on Wednesday that the census would count the populations… Read more »
May 31-June 4 1981: Five Days Of State Terror In Jaffna
by Santasilan Kadirgamar , Colombo Telegraph, February 3, 2013 Santasilan Kadirgamar Two years after the end of the war in Lanka*, without a political solution in sight, it may be appropriate to look back at events that occurred 30 years ago. 31 May to 4 June 2011 marks the 30th anniversary of days of violence… Read more »
15 Years of Politically Informed Subnational Governance Reform in Sri Lanka (2005-2020)
Ride the Wind but Know the Tide by Gopa Thampi and Nicola Nixon, TWP Community of Practice, University of Birmingham & Asia Foundation, April 2025 TWP-CoP-TAF-Story-of-change.pdf 1. Introduction This case study provides an example of Thinking and Working Politically (TWP) in practice, by unpacking The Asia Foundation’s efforts to support reform of Sri Lanka’s subnational… Read more »
Why Are Journalists’ Murder Investigations Being Avoided?
Media Freedom In Sri Lanka by Amirthanayagam Nixon, Colombo Telegraph, May3, 2024 It is an obvious fact that investigations into the killing of journalists and threats to the media are not being conducted against the backdrop of non-resolution of political rights issues of Tamils and cover-up of corruption and abuse of power by political leaders…. Read more »
MGR Remembered – Part 81
A Major Stumble in the Jan 1980 Lok Sabha Election by Sachi Sri Kantha, May 1, 2025 Regarding the contents in Part 80, I received the thoughts R. Kannan on March 4th. These were as follows: “As usual, this a brilliant compendium of events from primary and secondary sources, showing your vast grasp of reading… Read more »
What’s Legally Allowed in War
How U.S. military lawyers see Israel’s invasion of Gaza—and the public’s reaction to it—as a dress rehearsal for a potential conflict with a foreign power like China. by Colin Jones, The New Yorker, April 25, 2025 This past July, Geoffrey Corn, a law professor at Texas Tech and a former judge advocate general in the… Read more »
Nixon’s Cold-War Call On Colombo
by Vinod Moonesinghe, Roar Media, October 22, 2021 On 27 November 1953, after a month touring 15 Asian countries, US Vice President Richard M Nixon, accompanied by his wife Pat, arrived at Ratmalana Airport on a three-day visit to Sri Lanka, then known officially as “Ceylon”. It was the first visit by a US holder of… Read more »
Open Letter to Sri Lankan President Anura K. Dissanayake
Since 1948 SL Heads of State have ‘relayed’ on the Ethnic conflict! by S. V. Kirubaharan, General Secretary, TCHR – Tamil Centre for Human Rights, France, May 7, 2025 William Shakespeare: “Defer no time, delays have dangerous ends”. Dear Mr President: First of all, our congratulations to you and the NPP – National People’s Power… Read more »
PM Harini: Govt Committed to Ensuring Justice for Enforced Disappearances
by Adaderana, Colombo, April 10, 2025 Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that the government is committed to ensuring justice for the victims affected by the injustices related to enforced disappearances. The Prime Minister made these remarks on Wednesday (09) in Parliament while responding to a question raised by Member of Parliament Shanakiyan Rasamanickam, the… Read more »
Understanding Modern Sri Lanka — Interview with Journalist Mark Salter
A Crisis of Governance and the Fluidity of Ethnic Identity by Pitasanna Shanmugathas, University of Windsor Faculty of Law, Canada, Jurist.org. April 25, 2025 Edited by: Alanah Vargas | JURIST Staff, US Mark Salter, a journalist, analyst, and writer with over 25 years of professional experience in democratization, governance, and post-conflict peacebuilding, speaks to JURIST’s Senior… Read more »
Prof. Gananath Obeyesekere (1930-2025)
An Appreciation by Sachi Sri Kantha, April 15, 2025 The death of Prof. Gananath Obeyesekere on March 25th, at the age of 95 in Colombo saddened me. Though his physical frame has departed, what he has left behind in his published books and research papers in journals do remain, to offer guidance to various research… Read more »
Richard Armitage Obituary
Richard Armitage has notoriety among Tamils for arming one side – the Sri Lankan government – which fatally destabilized the 2002 ceasefire between the LTTE & the government. – ED Richard L. Armitage, 79, Dies; State Department Official in a Turbulent Era While serving as Colin Powell’s deputy during the Iraq war, he found himself… Read more »
H.LD(on) Mahindapala (1931?-2024)
A Requiem to an anti-Tamil Polemicist by Sachi Sri Kantha, March 26, 2025 H.L.D. Mahindapala was summoned to meet his Maker on January 30, 2024. He was 93, when he died. After his passing in Colombo, I had read quite a few of his obituary elegies in the digital media. All of these had either… Read more »
Notes on Reaching 70 Not Out – Part 7
My Magnum Opus – An Einstein Dictionary (1996) by Sachi Sri Kantha Between 1977 and 2015, I had authored/translated a total of nine books in Tamil (2 books) and English (7 books). In preparation of each book with diligence, I experienced delightful as well as nerve-wracking moments towards its completion. Here I describe the efforts… Read more »
Selective Justice is Not Justice
Tamil Guardian editorial, London, March 16, 2025 Selective justice is not justice Mar 16, 2025 The aftermath of former Sri Lankan president’s Ranil Wickremesinghe disastrous Al Jazeera interview continued to reverberate across the island this week, after Colombo announced the tabling of the Batalanda Commission Report in Parliament. For decades, the report, which details the use of… Read more »
Ranil Wickremesinghe is Sri Lanka
Malaravan, Tamil Guardian, London, March 13, 2025 The ‘Sly Fox’ who compares himself to the Buddha and who deflects when questioned on accountability, war crimes and corruption. The recent head-to-head interview on Al Jazeera with Mehdi Hassan has brought Ranil Wickremesinghe back into the spotlight. The former Sri Lankan president was described as ‘childish’ and ‘callous’… Read more »
What is the Batalanda Report?
by Tamil Guardian, London, March 11, 2025 Following a disastrous interview with Al Jazeera’s Mehdi Hasan by former Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Batalanda report and his role in facilitating torture has come into the spotlight. We take a look at the report and at Wickremesinghe’s alleged role. What is the Batalanda Report? Established… Read more »
Al Jazeera: Who is to Blame for Sri Lanka’s Crises?
by Head to Head, Al Jazeera, London, March 6, 2025 When Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country in 2022 – amidst mass protests and an economic crisis– parliament elected veteran politician and six-time Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. As President, Wickremesinghe negotiated the country’s biggest bail-out, but his critics say he is part of… Read more »