By T. Sabaratnam, 2003 Volume 1, Introduction, Part 2 Original Chapter 1 Why didn’t he hit back? “Why didn’t he hit back,” was Pirapaharan’s reaction when he heard from his father, Thiruvenkadam Velupillai, about the burning of the Panadura Pillayar Kovil priest. His father, an admirer of the Federal Party Leader Samuel James Velupillai Chelvanayakam, had… Read more »
The Anti-Tamil Gal Oya Riots of 1956
by Prof. Stanley J. Tambiah, posted in Thuppahi’s Blog, February 2, 2017 My own first hand and indelible experience of ethnic riots happened in June 1956, when as a twenty-seven-year-old social scientist, recently returned from graduate studies in the United States, I took a team of thirty three students (twenty-six Sinhalese and seven Tamils) to conduct… Read more »
Pirapaharan: Vol.1, Intro., Part 2
by T. Sabaratnam, 2003 Volume 1, Introduction, Part 1 Original Vol.1, Intro, Part 2 The Language Tamil youths had been radicalized by the late 1960s. Language is a matter that touches the heart of every Tamil. They are proud of the antiquity and richness of their language, and linguistic nationalism is part of the psyche of every… Read more »
T. Sabaratnam: Pirapaharan, Vol. 1, Introduction
From the Editor Mr. T. Sabaratnam wrote a history of V. Pirapaharan from 2003-2005 that was posted on the Sangam website. This history is of the period BEFORE the war began and its early stages. The history dwells on the root causes and the background of those involved. As most of this material is not… Read more »
Reform Resistance in Sri Lankan Politics
by Prof. Jayadeva Uyangoda, ‘Groundviews,’ March 27, 2018 One serious political question that emerges from Sri Lanka’s current political impasse is the following: why has a reformist democratic regime, with domestic popular support as well as international backing, begun to run out of its political energies, and political options, so early and is facing disintegration… Read more »
Colombo Unleashes Dangerous Scheme
Colombo unleashes dangerous scheme of demographic genocide choking North-East by TamilNet, March 21, 2018 The Mahaweli Authority of the occupying State of genocidal Sri Lanka has schemed a new plan to destroy the territorial integrity of the traditional homeland of Eezham Tamils by changing the demography of 13 km long narrow coastal stretch from the… Read more »
Buddhism, Politics, and Violence
If You Meet the Buddha on the Road by Michael Jerryson, Oxford University Press, May 2, 2018 It is said that the famous ninth century Chinese Buddhist monk Linji Yixuan told his disciples, “If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him.” The deliberately confounding statement is meant to shock people out of complacent… Read more »
Buddhist Extremists and Muslim Minorities
Religious Conflict in Contemporary Sri Lanka Edited by John Holt, Hargrave Press, October 31, 2016 Proposes an alternative view of Muslims where, unlike in the Middle East, they are the victims of majoritarian politics Discusses events that invert the common stereotypes of Buddhists as pacifists and Muslims as violent jihadists 254 Pages | 5 illus. 6-1/8… Read more »
MGR Remembered – Part 43
Karunanidhi’s Script by Sachi Sri Kantha, March 29, 2018 Part 42 Movie Focus on Attention to the Handicapped Movies per se, when they originated silently, were primarily 100% visual treats. Nevertheless, when silent movies morphed into ‘Talkies’ with the incorporation of the sound element (with dialogues and songs), it became apparent that even visually-handicapped could… Read more »
ATC, BTF & USTPAC Endorse UNHRC’s Call for Clear Timeline for Action on Sri Lanka’s Transitional Justice Commitments
2018-03-26 USTPAC_ATC_BTF Press Release UNHRC37 For immediate release: GENEVA, March 26, 2018: As the 37th session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) ends in Geneva, the US Tamil Political Action Council (USTPAC), British Tamils Forum (BTF), and Australian Tamil Congress (ATC) would like to thank Deputy High Commissioner Kate Gilmore for emphasizing the importance… Read more »
ICET Thanks HC for Urging States to Exercise Universal Jurisdiction
March 27, 2018 The International Council of Eelam Tamils (ICET) welcomes the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights for urging UN member states to exercise universal jurisdiction to foster accountability by Sri Lanka The UNHRC session started on February 26, 2018, with the High Commissioner delivering a scathing interim report on the intransigence of Sri… Read more »
US Statement on OHCHR Report on Sri Lanka
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/human-rights-council-37-joint-statement-on-sri-lanka by UK Mission to the UN, Geneva, March 21, 2018 This joint statement was delivered at the 37th Session of the Human Rights Council on behalf of Macedonia, Montenegro, the United States & the United Kingdom the during the UN High Commissioner’s report on Sri Lanka, held on 21 March 2018. This statement is on… Read more »
Deputy HC Statement on OHCHR Report on Sri Lanka
by Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Kate Gilmore, March 21, 2018 http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=22875&LangID=E Moving now to our written update on progress in promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka (A/HRC/37/23) between March 2017 and January 2018. We welcome the Government’s constructive engagement with OHCHR and the human rights mechanisms, including its cooperation with visits of this… Read more »
SLCPJ: Updated Scorecard on GoSL’s progress
by Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace & Justice, London, March 7, 2018 A narrowing window: our updated scorecard on the government of Sri Lanka’s progress on justice and reconciliation Today we release an update to our ‘Keep the Promise’ campaign, monitoring the government’s pledges to bring about a meaningful process of justice and reconciliation. Those… Read more »
VR: Res. 30/1 Implementation Monitor #3
UNHRC Resolution 30/1 Implementation Monitor: Statistical & Analytical Review No. 3 by Verite Research, Colombo, February 26, 2018 This is Verité Research’s latest study on the Sri Lankan government’s commitments on reconciliation and accountability. The ongoing UNHRC Session began on 26 February 2018, and will include a discussion on Sri Lanka’s progress in this regard. This report… Read more »
Sri Lanka Bans Cluster Munitions
The transparency now required of Sri Lanka as a state party to these treaties could help to formally answer questions about past cluster munition and land mine use. ITJP Universal Jurisdiction Combatting Impunity in Sri Lanka March 15 2018 by Mary Wareham, Human Rights Watch, New York, March 14, 2018 Sri Lanka has become the 103rd country to join… Read more »
Anti-Muslim Riots Signal a New Social Fissure
by ‘The Economist,’ London, March 8, 2018 Sinhalese nationalists may be looking for an enemy COLOMBO: THE trigger was supposedly a road-rage incident, said to have involved members of Sri Lanka’s Muslim minority, near the popular tourist destination of Kandy. A lorry driver from the country’s biggest ethnic group, the Sinhalese, ended up dead. Angry… Read more »
King Elala (Elara) – Dutugemunu Conflict
A Review of Recent Thinking by Sachi Sri Kantha, March 3, 2018 In my previous commentary on King Elala, I had provided the thoughts of few 19th and 20th century chroniclers of Ceylon. Here I continue to review the recent thinking of Sri Lanka’s five contemporary historians (two Tamils and three Sinhalese, one among them… Read more »
Sri Lanka Imposes Emergency to Quell Communal Riots
by Times of India, March 6, 2018 HIGHLIGHTS Sri Lanka on Tuesday declared a nationwide state of emergency to quell anti-Muslim riots that have killed at least two people and damaged dozens of mosques and homes in the central district of Kandy. Here’s what led the Maithripala Sirisena government to take the extreme measure: *… Read more »
US Embassy Statement
by US Embassy, Colombo, March 6, 2018 March 6, 2018 – COLOMBO: Rule of law, human rights, and equality are essential for peaceful coexistence. It is important that the Government of Sri Lanka act quickly against perpetrators of sectarian violence, protect religious minorities and their places of worship, and conclude the State of Emergency swiftly, while… Read more »