The True Cost of Your Trip to Sri Lanka

by 47Roots, London?, August 12, 2019 Here’s what you should consider before you plan your next trip to Sri Lanka. Places to avoid: Sri Lanka Campaign: https://www.srilankacampaign.org/ethi… Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research (ACPR) – Interactive Map https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/vie… Sources: Tamil Guardian: www.tamilguardian.com @tamilguardian People for Equality and Relief in Lanka https://pearlaction.org/ @PEARLAlert ‘Our land Our Life’… Read more »

Remembering Black July, 36 Years On

by People for Equality and Relief in Lanka, August 12, 2019 This year marked 36 years since the 1983 riots or Black July pogroms. Armed with voter registration lists, government-sponsored anti-Tamil pogroms killed at least 3,000 Tamil civilians, destroyed 5,000 shops, 8,000 homes, and displaced 150,000 Tamils. It also prompted the first large exodus of… Read more »

2019 Periyar International-American Humanist Association Conference in DC Sept 21/22

by Periyar International-America, August 2019 https://www.pi-aha2019.com/ நமது கடமை !   தந்தை பெரியார் அவர்கள் தொண்டால் பயன் பெற்றோர் பலர் ! அவரது மனித நேயத்தைப் பாராட்டியோர் பலர் ! அதைத் தொடர நன்கொடை அளிக்க விரும்புவோர்  PLEASE DONATE :   https://www.paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/3378979     தொகை பெரிதல்ல, எண்ணந்தான் முக்கியம் . நன்றி ! பெரியார் பன்னாட்டமைப்பு ,அமெரிக்கா . 501 (c) (3) Non profit   PLEASE ATTEND… Read more »

Sri Lanka’s Market

An Investment Gem Hidden In Too Much Pessimism by Rainer Michael Preiss, ‘Forbes,’ New York, August 7, 2019 Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe speaks at the 30th anniversary of the Colombo Stock Exchange ceremony in Colombo on December 2, 2015 . ISHARA S.KODIKARA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES Legendary billionaire investor George Soros famously observed that “the most… Read more »

A Sin-eater’s (Lakshman Kadirgamar) Story

by Sachi Sri Kantha, August 10, 2019 Book Review: ‘The Cake that was Baked at Home – Lakshman Kadirgamar, Snapshotsof the Man’s Life and Times by his Daughter’, by Ajita Kadirgamar, Vijitha Yapa Publications, Colombo, 2nd ed., 2016, 522 pages. Fourteen years had passed since Lakshman Kadirgamar (1932-2005) was assassinated on August 12th. Though the… Read more »

Rethinking Post-War Diaspora Advocacy for Accountability

Transitional Justice in Sri Lanka by Mytili Bala, ‘International Human Rights Law Journal,’ 2015 Transitional_Justice_in_Sri_Lanka_Rethinking 2015 Abstract Sri Lanka’s 26-year civil war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam came to a bloody end in May 2009, amidst allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity on both sides. Since then, Tamils in the diaspora, long accused of funding the war, have become vocal proponents for war crimes… Read more »

Amnesty: Justice for the Trinco 5

by Amnesty International, London, August 9, 2019 AI Justice for Trinco 5 ASA3708622019ENGLISH Amnesty International welcomes the decision of the Attorney General of Sri Lanka to recommence investigations into the killing of five Tamil students – known as the ‘Trinco 5’ – allegedly by the Sri Lankan security forces in Trincomalee on 2 January 2006…. Read more »

‘Losing Santhia’

by Chris Slee, ‘Green Left Weekly,’ Melbourne, Australia, August 1, 2019 Serialization of story Ben Hillier’s presentation at book launch Eighty people attended the launch of Ben Hillier’s new book Losing Santhia, which was organised by the Tamil Refugee Council on July 27. Santhia was a Tamil refugee from Sri Lanka who had been a member… Read more »

HRW: No Progress in Prosecuting Aid Worker Massacre

Reinvigorate Commitment to Justice for Civil War Atrocities by Human Rights Watch, New York, August 1, 2019 (New York) – Sri Lankan authorities have failed to bring to justice those responsible for the execution-style killing of 17 aid workers 13 years ago, Human Right Watch said today. On August 4, 2006, alleged Sri Lankan security forces murdered local staff… Read more »

Slaughter of Tamil Prisoners inside High Security Jail

& Genocide of Tamils in July 1983 By: Kumarathasan Rasingam – Secretary, Tamil Canadian Elders for Human Rights Org. Post independence Sri Lanka brought in several official dispositions that gave preference to the Sinhalese majority. The Sinhala Only Act introduced by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) government of S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike in… Read more »

Black July

Confirming Sri Lanka’s Agenda to Create a Sinhala-Buddhist State by Thambu Kanagasabai, LLM[Lond.]Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, August 1, 2019, July 1983 is dubbed as BLACK JULY for the Tamils who experienced the island wide wholesale massacres, burning of Tamils, destruction of Temples and properties including lootings. It was not a… Read more »

Sri Lanka Growth Diagnostic Analysis

by Harvard U’s Center for International Development, January 2018 https://srilanka.growthlab.cid.harvard.edu/publications/sri-lanka-growth-diagnostic https://growthlab.cid.harvard.edu/files/growthlab/files/growth_diagnostic_for_sri_lanka_1.pdf Abstract: Throughout 2016, CID conducted a growth diagnostic analysis for Sri Lanka in collaboration with the Government of Sri Lanka, led by the Prime Minister’s Policy Development Office (PDO), and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). This presentation report aggregates collaborative quantitative and qualitative analysis… Read more »

MGR Remembered – Part 53

Anna’s Death and Aftermath by Sachi Sri Kantha, July 30, 2019 Part 52 On June 10th, MGR biographer Kannan sent me the following thoughts, after reading Part 52 of this series. “Thank you for Part 52 which I read in one breath. Yes. It could certainly form a subject of research. I don’t remember seeing… Read more »

US Millennium Challenge Corporation

by US Millennium Challenge Corporation, July 2019. Pictures from US Amb. Teplitz’s Twitter feed, July 30, 2019 The land project will initially focus on districts in the Central, North-Western, North-Central and Eastern Provinces. Highlights of MCC Compact Scorecard FY19 More info, including 2017 Constraints Analysis  

SL Governor Dodges Ki’linochchi DCC Meeting

Colombo’s military and departments confronted by TamilNet, July 29, 2019 …SLA was having only seven acres of lands… …CSD was refusing to release the 310 acres of lands at the Civic Centre Village and 105 acres at Marutha-nakar… The so-called Civil Security Division (CSD) and the occupying SL Army, which come under the SL Defence… Read more »

UN SR Clément Nyaletsossi Voule Press Conference

Video courtesy Sunday Times, Colombo, July 26, 2019 End of Mission Statement United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, Mr. Clément Nyaletsossi Voulé, on his visit to Sri Lanka (18-26 July 2019) https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24818&LangID=E Colombo, Sri Lanka, 26 July 2019 Introduction Today I end my official visit to Sri… Read more »

Sri Lanka: The Untold Story, Chapter 32

Limbo between war and peace by K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore, 2002 Chapter 1 Chapter 31 The year 1985 was to be an excruciating one. The ethnic crisis worsened as the Tamil militants and the government security forces laid stress on military options, with terror, violence and destruction becoming the order of the day…. Read more »

Sri Lanka: The Untold Story, Chapter 31

Indira Gandhi – a casualty of terror  By K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore, 2002 Chapter 1 Chapter 30 In January 1984, the leadership of the Tamil United Liberation Front called for a unity conference in Madras, Tamil Nadu, in India. The invitations were signed by A Amirthalingham, the Secretary General of TULF, and sent… Read more »

Sri Lanka: The Untold Story, Chapter 30

Whirlpool of violence  By K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore, 2002 Chapter 1 Chapter 29 The July 1983 holocaust opened the floodgates for Tamil youths looking to join various Tamil militant organizations. Until 1983, the Tamil militants had not received any proper training. The LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) managed to have a couple… Read more »