A New History of Revolution and Empire by Sujit Sivasundaram, August 2020 Sujit Sivasundaram was born and educated in Sri Lanka (in ‘Sinhala medium’ until 1992) and came to Cambridge in 1994 to study engineering and then natural sciences and history and philosophy of science. In 2012 he was awarded a Philip Leverhulme Prize for… Read more »
The Disappearance of ‘Father Basketball’ in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
Jesuit Missionaries in Post-Colonial Conflict Zones by Bernardo E. Brown, Journal of South Asian Studies, November 15, 2015 Disappearance of ‘Father Basketball’ in Batticaloa 2015 Abstract In August 1990, Father Eugene John Hebert SJ disappeared while trying to reach his home in the Sri Lankan city of Batticaloa. Caught in the midst of the turmoil… Read more »
MP Gajen Ponnambalam’s Speech in Parliament on Defence Budget
by MP Gajen Ponnambalam, Sri Lankan Parliament, December 3, 2020 2021 வரவு செலவு திட்டத்தில் பாதுகாப்பு… – கஜேந்திரகுமாரின் நண்பர்கள் (facebook.com) https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=580756212763661 https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1316233665388400&id=100010053368465&sfnsn=mo
When Big Powers Clash, the UN’s Most Powerful Body Disappears
by Thalif Deen, Inter Press Service, New York, December 4, 2020 UNITED NATIONS, Dec 4 2020 (IPS) – At the height of the Cold War back in the 1960s, a Peruvian diplomat, Dr. Victor Andres Belaunde, characterized the United Nations as a politically wobbly institution that survives only at the will– and pleasure– of the five… Read more »
Rajapaksas Seek Sinhalese Supremacy in Sri Lanka
by Salman Rafi Sheikh, Asia Times, Hong Kong, December 3, 2020 Ruling clan is pushing new form of ethnic majoritarianism to marginalize and dominate historically restive Tamil minority With Sri Lanka’s Rajapaksa clan back in power, the island nation is by any measure firmly back on a path to elected authoritarianism. But the Rajapaksas aspire… Read more »
The Voice of Music – S P Balasubramanyam
by Anuradha Srinivasan, Chennai, December 6, 2020 Ezhunthu Vaa Baalu, the harmonium player called out to his friend, who was catching up on the cricket score on his radio backstage. The jovial young man took the mic with a smile and sang breezily as his friends on the harmonium and guitar wove in and out… Read more »
Waves: Tamil Musicians on Global Music Scene Dec. 12 4-5pm EST
ITJP & JDS: Dossier on Rear Admiral (Rtd.) Sarath Weerasekara
by Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka & International Truth & Justice Project, Europe & South Africa, November 2020 rear-admiral-sarath-weerasekera August 2020: State Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government Affairs November 2020: Appointed as Minister of Public Security1 (with control over the Police department, Civil Security department, Police Training College and the Multi-Purpose Development… Read more »
Amnesty: Deliver Justice, Truth and Reparation to Families of the Disappeared
by Amnesty International, London, November 27, 2020 Following the announcement of the release of a list of complaints and information received by the Office on Missing Persons regarding people who were disappeared during Sri Lanka’s internal conflicts, the country’s authorities must now deliver justice, truth and reparation to the families, Amnesty International said today. On 26 November… Read more »
Rajapaksa Lied to ‘Powerful Ambassador’
Over evacuation of Tamils in 2009 – Sri Lankan MP by Tamil Guardian, London, November 24, 2020 File photograph: Mahinda Rajapaksa meets with former US Ambassador Robert O’Blake A Sri Lankan parliamentarian revealed how Mahinda Rajapaksa lied to “an ambassador of the most powerful country” about the evacuation of trapped Tamil civilians in 2009, in… Read more »
A Tribute to 240 MaaVeerars (Great Heroes)
by Sachi Sri Kantha, November 25, 2020 The 240 MaaVeerar (Great Heroes), to whom I pay tribute have been already recognized in the Sooriya Puthalvargal (November 2003) booklet, published as a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam memorial souvenir. Previously on June 23, 2004, I contributed a review of this souvenir. In it, I had listed… Read more »
Glimpses of Nagas & Tamil in Eastern Sri Lanka
Compiled by Eng. Dr. K. Vigneswaran, Nov. 2020 Glimpses of Nagas & Tamil in Eastern Sri Lanka Cover Page Glimpses of Nagas & Tamil in Eastern Sri Lanka From the Compiler — “…Yet, the Government has appointed a Task Force for the management of archaeological remains in the Eastern Province, dominated by former military officials…. Read more »
PTA: Terrorising Sri Lanka for 42 Years
Socio-economic and psychological impact on families of PTA detainees following the Easter Sunday Attacks by Marisa de Silva, Law & Society Trust, Colombo, November 2020 PTA_Terrorising-Sri-Lanka-for-42-years-English “When I was in prison, I met and spoke with other Tamil PTA prisoners, some who had been there for 10 years, with their files not even taken up… Read more »
Autobiography of Kamala Devi Harris
A book review by Sachi Sri Kantha, November 17, 2020 Kamala Harris – The Truths We Hold – An American Journey, Penguin Press, New York, 2019, 318 pp. The back cover blurb for this book states, “An engaging read that provides insights into the influences of [Harris’s] life – most of all, her mother Shyamala… Read more »
TG: Righting Wrongs
Tamil Guardian editorial, London, November 13, 2020 13 November 2020 The prospect of a Biden-Harris administration at the White House has brought both hope and trepidation around the world. In Sri Lanka, some in Colombo’s polity are nervous. Amongst the Tamils, there is both wariness and tempered optimism about what the new administration may bring…. Read more »
Padma Lakshmi: VP-Elect Kamala Harris Moved Me to Tears
Imagine how wide the ripples of impact can be when a woman of color is vice president. By Padma Lakshmi, The New York Times, Nov.13, 2020 Ms. Lakshmi is the host and executive producer of “Taste the Nation” and “Top Chef.” I was on a hike in Garrison, N.Y., when I heard the news of Kamala… Read more »
‘Funny Boy’ and the Indian Tamil Gaze on Ilankai Tamils
by Sharanya Manivannan, Medium, November 15, 2020 I had first known that there was a film adaptation of Shyam Selvadurai’s iconic novel Funny Boy when I had heard about closed screenings of it in Colombo sometime in mid-2020. The story is a bildungsroman about a queer, upper-class Tamil teenager, culminating in the Black July riots of 1983 that… Read more »
Pirapaharan: Vol.1, Chap. 37 Heroic Death of Seelan
by T. Sabaratnam; published April 15, 2004 Volume 1, Chapter 36 Original index of series Dear Readers, With this Chapter I am concluding the first of this 3-volume series. Pirapaharan has entered the scene. From the Thirunelveli ambush Pirapaharan asserts his superiority and gives a new direction to the struggle. At this stage I seek your… Read more »
Pirapaharan: Vol.1, Chap. 36 Breaking Heads
by T. Sabaratnam, April 7, 2004 Volume 1, Chapter 35 Original index of series Unguarded Remark David Selbourne was a British journalist who worked for the Manchester Guardian freelanced for many other journals. He had been at Oxford University with Lalith Athulathmudali. He visited Sri Lanka in June 1982 and was introduced to President Jayewardene, Gamini… Read more »
Pirapaharan: Vol.1, Chap. 35 Tamil Blood Boils
by T. Sabaratnam, March 31, 2004 Volume 1, Chapter 34 Original index of series Eyewitness Account I was in Trincomalee on 27 November 1982 with Daily News presidential reporter Norton Weerasinghe and photographer Sena Vithanagama to cover the foundation-laying function of the Mitsui Cement Factory the next morning. We met Trincomalee Member of Parliament Rajavarothayam Sampanthan at… Read more »