2nd Vaddukkodai Resolution

by DMK’s Minister of Fisheries A. Radhakrisnan, August 9, 2021 Report on ‘2nd Vaddukoddai Resolution’ video conference held on 1-8-2021 with the participation of Tamil Leaders from Tamil Eelam (North and East of Sri Lanka) and Tamil Nadu, India. —— Second Vaddukkodai Resolution 1 August 2021 2nd Vaddukoddai Resolution video conference seeking India’s immediate and… Read more »

Robert Knox Was Held Captive in Kandy

For nineteen and a half years King Rajasinghe II held him in captivity in the Kandyan Kingdom from 1660 till he escaped through Vanni in 1679 by R Shanmugananthan, August 10, 2021 Robert Knox held captive in Kandy  

Indifference and Impunity Continue 15 years after Muttur Massacre

by Action Contre le Faim, France, August 4, 2021 Action Against Hunger honors the memory of humanitarian aid workers assassinated in Sri Lanka in 2006 and continues to demand justice for the murders of our staff. On August 4, 2006, 17 of our colleagues were executed in Muttur, Sri Lanka. These men and women –… Read more »

Is Foreign Policy Possible for Eelam Tamils?

by A. Jathindra யதீந்திரா, Samakalam, August 9, 2021 [translated by the author] There is talk of a need for a foreign policy for Eelam Tamils. To the extent that things are usually talked about in our environment, those things are not looked at deeply. That is, how can we make the things we present possible?… Read more »

US Continues to Vet Sri Lankan Soldiers

– But are war criminals being let in? by Tamil Guardian, London, August 2, 2021 The United States says that all Sri Lankan soldiers continue to be fully vetted for involvement in human rights abuses before being allowed to train in the country. Recent appointments however point to holes in the vetting process and raise… Read more »

Sea Cucumbers

Chinese sea cucumber farms back in operation in Kilinochchi by Dinasena Ratugamage, Sunday Island, Colombo, August 6, 2021 Two sea cucumber farms, managed by a Chinese company in Kilinochchi, recommenced its operations after fishermen’s associations in Jaffna and Kilinochchi said that they no longer opposed the farms. The operations of the two farms were stopped… Read more »

Oil and Gas Exploration in Mannar Basin Mapped

by Financial Times, Colombo, August 5, 2021 Energy Minister Udaya Gammampila in a gazette notification has published a map of blocks for joint exploration for oil and gas in the Mannar Basin. Titled ‘Hydrocarbon exploration block map of Sri Lanka,’ the map outlines the blocks for exploration licences, development licences and joint studies. The publication… Read more »

Sangam Global Program August 7

* Saturday, August 7, 2021 * 11:0am EDT (US & Canada) 4:00pm BST (UK) 8:30pm IST (India & Sri Lanka) * Live links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5X_6zoAG64 https://www.facebook.com/sangamglobal.live View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sangam Global (@sangam.global) More at www.Sangam.Global

Reading the Southern Mothers’ Front with Malathi de Alwis

30 years later The report of the Commission of Inquiry for the Western, Southern and Sabargamuwa Provinces (CoI-WSS), the most detailed of all the reports, described the violence of 1988-1991 as a systemic and orchestrated phenomenon, in which those in political power and the law were deeply complicit. It is also unequivocal in concluding that… Read more »

Sri Lanka Sliding Down a Dark and Slippery Slope

Daily Mirror editorial, Colombo, July 14, 2021 Somewhere after defeating separatist terrorism in 2009, Sri Lanka missed a glorious chance of turning a destructive era on its head. In the aftermath of the near 3-decade-long separatist war, instead of pursuing a cherished dream of reconcilliation, our political leaders acted like Don Quixote who went tilting… Read more »

Debt-hobbled Sri Lanka Risks Running Out of Options

by Tom Arnold, Marc Jones, Reuters, August 3, 2021 LONDON, Aug 3 (Reuters) – Sri Lanka paid a $1 billion bond last week, but the alarming state of its finances suggests it may have been just another step towards its first sovereign default. All the tell-tale crisis signs are there: bonds at nearly half their… Read more »

AI: Authorities Falter on Accountability in ‘Navy 11’ Case

by Amnesty International, London, August 4, 2021 The Sri Lankan Attorney General’s Department today decided not to proceed with charges against  Wasantha Karannagoda, a former Navy commander, over his alleged role in the abduction of 11 Tamil youth in 2008 and 2009. The Sri Lankan Navy is alleged to have been behind the forcible disappearance of… Read more »

Racial Prejudice Rears Its Head in Singapore

Imperfect harmony The city state is less racially harmonious than its government likes to think by The Economist, London, July 31, 2021 DAVE PARKASH and his girlfriend were strolling down the street one evening in June when an irate man accosted them. Tan Boon Lee accused Mr Parkash of “preying” on his girlfriend, whom Mr Tan,… Read more »

L&ST: Understanding Rule of Law, Human Security & Prevention of Terrorism in Sri Lanka

by Ermiza Tegal, Law & Society Trust, Colombo, February 2021 Understanding_Rule_of_Law_Human_Security_and_Prevention_of_Terrorism_in_Sri_Lanka_English 6. Conclusion This report aimed to respond to three main questions (1) what are the international legal standards in relation to arbitrary arrest and detention particularly in the context of countering terrorism? (2) what is Sri Lanka’s domestic legal framework in protecting the rights… Read more »

Atrocities Cast Shadow on Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 Response

by J.S. Tissainayagam, Stanley Center for Peace & Security, Iowa, USA, May 17, 2021 Ranjini,* a housewife, lives in Kilinochchi, a town in Sri Lanka’s Tamil-majority Northern Province. Earlier this year, the government began vaccinating the public against COVID-19. But this has made her fearful: she is not sure if she will be injected with… Read more »