Attacks Evidence Sri Lanka Post-War but Not Post-Conflict Country

Ten years on from civil war, Sri Lanka has failed to reconcile religions and communities by Thamil Venthan Ananthavinayagan, ‘Irish Times,’ April 21, 2019 Sri Lanka’s past is one that is blood-soaked with violent chapters. On Sunday, another bloody chapter was added to the island’s history. A country of 21 million people, Sri Lanka shares many similarities… Read more »

For Christians in Sri Lanka, Violence is at Once Old and New

by Emily Tamkin, Washington Post, April 22, 2019 No group or individual has asserted responsibility for the attacks on churches and hotels that killed more than 290 people and injured more than 450 in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday. But the suicide bombings on the holiest day of the Christian calendar, when churches see their highest attendance… Read more »

Sri Lanka: The Untold Story, Chapter 10

Lord Soulbury and his soulless report  by K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore Chapter 1 Chapter 9 On August 6, 1945, the American B-29 bomber named Enola Gay, piloted by Paul W Tibbets, dropped the “Little Boy” – a uranium atom bomb, on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, where more than 140,000 civilians died. Three… Read more »

Sri Lanka: The Untold Story, Chapter 9

British Concordance and concoctions  By K.T.Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore, September 29, 2001 Chapter 1 Chapter 8 It became apparent that the British government had adopted a different agenda and new designs regarding the future of Ceylon to that which some people in the country desired. State Council member D S Senanayake was one of these,… Read more »

Sri Lanka: The Untold Story, Chapter 8

Pan Sinhalese board of ministers – A Sinhalese ploy  By K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore Chapter 1 Chapter 7 The first State Council, which came into existence on July 7, 1931, was scheduled to be dissolved on June 23, 1935, but its life was extended until December 7 of that year. This was done… Read more »

Sri Lankans Accuse Him of Wartime Atrocities

California May Decide. by Mike Ives and Dharisha Bastians, The New York Times, April 19, 2019 In the decade since Sri Lanka’s civil war ended, a former wartime defense chief has successfully dodged accusations of crimes against humanity. He may soon run for president. But the accusations, which are supported by United Nations inquiries, recently caught up… Read more »

Sri Lanka: The Untold Story, Chapter 7

State Councils – elections and boycotts  by K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore, September 22, 2001 Chapter 1 Chapter 6 In 1930, a delimitation commission was appointed to demarcate the boundaries of the 50 electorates for the proposed State Council. The Tamils agitated for seven seats to be allocated in the Northern province. The Commission,… Read more »

Sri Lanka: The Untold Story, Chapter 6

Donoughmore – Tamils no more  By K T Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore Chapter 1 Chapter 5 In 1927, the British government sent a Special Commission to Ceylon, consisting of the Earl of Donoughmore, Sir Mathew Nathan, Sir Geoffrey Butler and Sir Drummond Shiels, with the following terms of reference: “To visit Ceylon and report on… Read more »

UNHRC Resolution 40/1

And the pathetic plight of the victims of the war in Sri Lanka by Kumarathasan Rasingam, April 16, 2019 The UNHRC Resolution 40/1 was passed without voting giving another two years to Sri Lanka delay the implementation of UNHRC Resolution 30/1. In fact, Tamils are fully aware that Sri Lanka is finding ways and means… Read more »

Sri Lanka: The Untold Story, Chapter 5

Political polarization on communal lines  by K.T.Rajasingham, ‘Asian Times,’ Singapore,  September 8, 2001 Chapter 1 Chapter 4 The Legislative Council was dissolved in August 1924 and elections for a new reformed council were held. According to the Order-in-Council, a candidate had to be over 25 years of age, be a British subject, able to read… Read more »

Sri Lanka: The Untold Story, Chapter 4

The Ceylon National Congress and its intrigues  This history series by K T Rajasingham is no longer available on the Asia Times website, so the links provided at https://www.sangam.org/ANALYSIS/AsiaTimes.htm are no longer active.  As time permits, we will be re-posting this series, along with that by T. Sabaratnam, which has some chapters missing.  Sachi Sri Kantha’s biographical series… Read more »

Sri Lanka: The Untold Story, Chapter 3

Muslim riots and communal rumblings  This history series by K T Rajasingham is no longer available on the Asia Times website, so the links provided at https://www.sangam.org/ANALYSIS/AsiaTimes.htm are no longer active.  As time permits, we will be re-posting this series, along with that by T. Sabaratnam, which has some chapters missing.  Sachi Sri Kantha’s biographical series is available… Read more »

Sampanthan Insists on Implementing UNHRC Resolution, Adopting New Constitution

As top priorities for Lanka by ‘The Island,’ Colombo, April 8, 2019 Former Opposition Leader Rajavarothiam Sampanthan told Parliament, on Budget 2019 voting day, last Friday, that implementing of the UNHRC resolution and the adoption of a new constitution are two issues of utmost importance to the country today. Sampanthan’s statement: Before I commence my… Read more »

Channel 4: Sri Lanka – the Search for Justice 10 Years On

Dear Friend, We are pleased to share with you a powerful new short film, from the makers of the award-winning ‘No Fire Zone’ documentary, which re-visits the final stages of Sri Lanka’s civil war and considers the ongoing need for justice a decade on. The film, which the Sri Lanka Campaign helped to screen at a recent meeting… Read more »

Alternative Avenues

Tamil Guardian editorial, March 24, 2019 For almost a decade, Tamil victims have looked to the UN Human Rights Council in their pursuit of justice. However, after years of resolutions followed by an extension, alongside lack of any progress on accountability, events at Geneva this week brought another deep disappointment. A day after the Sri Lankan government… Read more »

State Response to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam as an Illicit Power Structure

by Thomas A. Marks and Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Tej Pratap Singh Brar, PRISM, National Defense University, Washington, DC, May 24, 2016 CHAP_9 Sri Lanka https://cco.ndu.edu/Publications/Publication-View/Article/780214/chapter-9-sri-lanka-state-response-to-the-liberation-tigers-of-tamil-eelam-as-a/ … Lessons in an Era of Illicit Power Structures It is challenging, after the short breathing space of five years, to draw lessons from this most vexing case of an… Read more »

Brother of Sri Lanka Ex-president Sued over Alleged Torture and Killings

Gotabaya Rajapaksa was defence secretary in last years of war against Tamil Tigers by Michael Safi, The Guardian, UK, April 9, 2019 The brother of the former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa is being sued in a US court over alleged extrajudicial killing and torture, by the same lawyers who successfully brought a civil suit… Read more »

Col. Karuna of Pre-March 2004 Period: Where are You Now?

by Sachi Sri Kantha, April 6, 2019 Calling the then Col. Karuna (of the LTTE, pre 2004 period) – aka Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan. Where are you now? Do you remember an almost 800 word puff piece written by a BBC correspondent, in March 2004 that received world-wide currency. [See below, for a transcript of this report… Read more »

The Geopolitics of Sri Lanka’s Transitional Justice

Western countries are less interested in pressuring Sri Lanka now that Rajapaksa is no longer in charge. by Ana Pararajasingham, ‘The Diplomat,’ Tokyo, April 03, 2019 On March 21, at the 40th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Sri Lanka was granted another two-year extension to implement Resolution 30/1, “Promoting reconciliation, accountability… Read more »