by Amitava Kumar, The New Yorker, December 12, 2019 Earlier this year, at a literary festival in Jaipur, I met the Tamil writer Perumal Murugan. I had just finished reading his book “Poonachi,” which will be published in the U.S. this month as “The Story of a Goat.” (The translation is by N. Kalyan Raman.)… Read more »
Will Tamils Overcome Politics of Fear to Find New Leadership?
by JS Tissainayagam, Asian Correspondent, UK, November 24, 2019 THE overwhelming turnout by Tamil voters in North and East Sri Lanka to vote for Sajith Premadasa at the presidential election epitomised the admonition they had heard for over five years: “Don’t rock the political boat lest the Rajapaksas return to power.” Hence, the politics of… Read more »
Sri Lanka’s Tamils Need Genocide Recognition and Innovative Justice Mechanisms
Emerging Voices by Anjali Manivannan, OpinioJuris, Geneva, August, 15, 2019 [Anji Manivannan is the Legal Director at People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) and a Senior Programs Officer at the World Federalist Movement – Institute for Global Policy (WFM-IGP).] Introduction May 18th marked the tenth anniversary of the end of the 26-year-long armed conflict between… Read more »
A Graphic Novel that Documents the Horrors of Vanni in Sri Lanka
A decade after the Sri Lankan civil war, a former UN worker revisits the lives of those he left behind on the island through a graphic novel by Amrita Dutta, The Indian Express, November 17, 2019 Drawn on Horror: The spirit of straight-up reportage animates Vanni, rather than complex storytelling. Right top: Benjamin Dix; below:… Read more »
The Rajapaksas Will Ruin Sri Lanka’s Economy
Virulent ethnic nationalism and hateful rhetoric toward minorities might win votes, but it will lead the country to economic ruin. by Amita Arudpragasam, Foreign Policy, Washington, DC, November 27, 2019 On Nov. 18, Gotabaya Rajapaksa took his oath as Sri Lanka’s seventh executive president, at the sacred Buddhist temple Ruwanwelisaya in Anuradhapura. Three days later, his brother,… Read more »
The Fate of Sri Lanka’s Tamil National Anthem
What the past (and future) of the Tamil version of the national anthem tells us about minority rights in Sri Lanka. by Dishani Senaratne, ‘The Diplomat,’ Washington, DC, November 22, 2019 Gotabaya Rajapaksa, former defense secretary and brother of ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa, emerged victorious in Sri Lanka’s presidential election last Sunday. Gotabaya was largely backed… Read more »
US Press Statements on Sri Lanka Elections
On Sri Lanka’s Elections: Press Statement by Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State November 18, 2019 The United States congratulates the people of Sri Lanka on their democratic election and stands ready to work with Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the new President of Sri Lanka. We call on President Rajapaksa to uphold Sri Lanka’s commitments to… Read more »
Reading List on Civil War and Political Violence
by Prof. Paul Staniland, November 2019 StanilandReadingsCivilWar11-18-19.pdf https://thepearsoninstitute.org/faculty/paul-staniland
Deep Divisions Confront Sri Lanka’s New President
by Amy Kazmin, Financial Times, London, November 19, 2019 The ancient Buddhist stupa where Gotabaya Rajapaksa was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s president on Monday is rich in symbolism: the structure was built by the first Sinhalese king to unify the island under his rule after the defeat of a Tamil dynasty. But Mr Rajapaksa’s choice of… Read more »
What’s Behind a Flurry of Legal Bids to Prosecute Myanmar for Genocide?
‘The net is tightening around the Myanmar military and civilian leadership.’ by Emmanuel Stoakes, The New Humanitarian (formerly IRIN News), UN, November 21, 2019 CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand A burst of legal action across the globe this month has provided fresh impetus for efforts to examine atrocity crimes allegedly committed by Myanmar against its Rohingya minority…. Read more »
Victory of Rajapaksa- What It Means to Tamil Polity?
Paper No. 6515 by Prof. Ramu Manivannan, South Asia Analysis Group, Delhi, November 24, 2019 http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/node/2540 The victory of Gotabaya Rajapaksa was much anticipated in the recently held 16th November presidential elections in Sri Lanka given the course of national politics after the evaporation of false euphoria over… Read more »
Remembering Aiyamperumal Maruthakasi (1920-1989)
The Ace Lyricist by Sachi Sri Kantha, November 27, 2019 November 29 marks the thirtieth death anniversary of ace Tamil movie lyricist Aiyamperumal Maruthakasi. His birth centenary comes in February next year. I plan to translate Maruthakasi’s lyrics into English next year. As such, this remembrance piece, will be a brief one, with only three… Read more »
Sri Lankan Critics Fear a Crackdown Is Underway, and Some Flee
A Swiss Embassy employee was abducted and asked about asylum applications and investigators were banned from leaving just days after Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected. by Maria Abi-Habib & Sameer Yasir, The New York Times, November 27, 2019 Fears of a potential crackdown on critics of the newly returned Rajapaksa political dynasty in Sri Lanka are… Read more »
‘We Needed a Modi After the Easter Attacks’
by Kapil Komireddi, The New York Times opinion page, November 25, 2019 COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka was among the first democracies to defy the tide of populism. In January 2015, when India was seven months into Narendra Modi’s sectarian reign and the United States was two years from falling to Donald Trump, voters in this… Read more »
In Sri Lanka’s Ethnocracy, Tamils Will Always Lose
by Brannavy Jeyasundaram, Jacobin, Brooklyn, USA, November 25, 2019 Gotabaya Rajapaksa was the architect of Sri Lanka’s genocide against Tamils in 2009. He was also just elected president of the country. It’s the culmination of a decade of impunity following the end of the Sri Lankan civil war that has enabled genocidaires to be feted… Read more »
The Struggle for Democracy in Sri Lanka
by Rohini Helmsman, Jacobin, Brooklyn, USA, November 24, 2019 In the push and pull between authoritarianism and democracy in Sri Lanka, the former has won out more often than not. But the fact that the country is not a full-blown dictatorship today is a testament to a spirit of resistance that can’t be snuffed out…. Read more »
Gotabaya Rajapaksa Wins Sri Lanka Presidential Election
Mr. Rajapaksa, a former defense chief and brother of an ex-president, vowed to bring stability to a country still reeling from attacks on Easter Sunday. by Dharisha Bastians and Kai Schultz, The New York Times, November 17, 2019 COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared victory on Sunday in Sri Lanka’s presidential election, signaling the return… Read more »
Buddhist Nationalists Claim Victory in Sri Lankan Election
by The Associated Press, November 17, 2019 KANDY, Sri Lanka — In this mountain city that was for centuries home to Sri Lanka’s kings and in recent years has been riven by religious violence, Buddhist nationalists are rejoicing the election of the country’s newest leader. They hope he ushers in another golden era for the… Read more »
A Dreaded Return
Tamil Guardian editorial, London, November 18, 2019 In the wake of Sri Lanka’s presidential elections this weekend, fear has gripped the North-East. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the man who engineered the massacres of tens of thousands of Tamils a decade ago, is back in power. This time, he occupies the highest office in the land. The result,… Read more »
Reject Engagement with Genocidaire Gotabaya
by TamilNet, November 18, 2019 Newly sworn-in SL President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has denounced the existence of Eezham Tamils as a nation in the North and the East of the island. The wartime genocidaire Defense Secretary wants Tamils to become ‘Sri Lankans’ capitulating to the Sinhala Mahawansa doctrine, which possesses the requisite intent for Tamil genocide…. Read more »