Statement by Tamil Civil Society Condemning Violence against Muslim Community

Courtesy Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research, Jaffna, March 6, 2018 We strongly condemn the violence being unleashed against the Muslim people in Kandy this week and in Amparai earlier last week. Initial reports from Amparai and Kandy make clear that the police by inaction were complicit in the violence.  We, as Tamil civil society organizations who work in… Read more »

It’s the Tamil Economy, Stupid

by J.T. Janani, Tamil Guardian, October 29 – November 12, 2008 [originally posted December 1, 2008 at http://www.sangam.org/2008/12/Tamil_Economy.php?uid=3174] A 2 part series looking at the economic drivers behind the Sri Lankan state’s genocide of the Tamils ‘The Economist’ of August 6th 2003 summarised the genocide of Black July 1983 thus: “Two weeks ago Tamils owned 80% of the… Read more »

The State of Jobs in Post-conflict Areas of Sri Lanka

by David Locke Newhouse & An Rudra Silwal, World Bank, Washington, DC, February 26, 2018 Policy Research working paper; no. WPS 8355 World Bank WPS8355 State of Jobs in Post Conflict Areas ABSTRACT Although Sri Lanka has made significant progress in social and economic development over the past decade, the Northern and Eastern provinces that… Read more »

Sri Lanka’s Political Crisis a Threat to Reconciliation

Danger government will backtrack on commitments to Tamils after opposition SLPP sweeps most seats in local elections by Quintus Colombage & Niranjani Roland, ‘UCA News,’ Bangkok, March 1, 2018 In Sri Lanka is disturbing the economy and threatening the reconciliation processnearly a decade after the island nation ended a bloody 25-year civil war, political analysts said… Read more »

Why Civil Wars Are Lasting Longer

Although the norm of negotiation has not died, countervailing norms have emerged around non-negotiation with terrorists, militarily defeating terrorist organizations, and prioritizing stabilization over democratization, even if that means bolstering authoritarian rule. Across today’s battlefields—in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, Mali, Myanmar, the Philippines, South Sudan, and Yemen—external actors are… Read more »

ATC, BTF, USTPAC Welcome UN Human Rights Commissioner’s Report on Sri Lanka and Call for International Action

20180302 ATC_BTF_USTPAC_On_OHCHR Report GENEVA, March 2, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The United States Tamil Political Action Council (USTPAC), the British Tamils Forum (BTF) and the Australian Tamil Congress (ATC) welcome the report by High Commissioner Zeid to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) as the current Council session commenced on the progress made by Sri Lanka in implementing the HRC resolutions it… Read more »

Annadurai, the Champion of the Eelam Tamil Liberation

by  M.K. Eelaventhan, February 3, 2018 Critical estimate of Anna’s contribution to Tamil and the Tamils. Annadurai’s 50th Death Anniversary fell on February 3, 2018                       Mr. C.N. Annadurai, the beloved disciple of Periyar, owes a lot to Periyar who shaped his multifarious career.  If is not for Periyar, Annadurai may not have attained this unique position…. Read more »

Bremen Tribunal Prosecutor Contextualises the Bellinzona Court case

by ‘HumanRights.de,’ Bremen, Germany, February 23, 2018 Dr. Andy Higginbottom was the prosecutor for the Bremen session of the People’s Tribunal on Sri Lanka in 2013. Last week, he, together with two of the judges at the Bremen Tribunal, Dr. Denis Halliday and Dr. Maung Zarni responded to the Bellinzona case at our press conference… Read more »

Sri Lanka: 2017 Review

by Kithmina Hewage, ‘South Asian Voices,’ Stimson Center, Washington, January 5, 2018  The current coalition government of Sri Lanka was elected in 2015 with a mandate to implement broad political and economic reforms. Unfortunately the young government struggled to provide a uniting vision of reform to its coalition partners, which slowed the reform process considerably. Even though… Read more »

How is the World Ruled?

by Branko Milanovic on his blog, February 17, 2018 It is Saturday evening and snowing in New York. I have nowhere to go, I do have things to do (my book!) but my memories take over. Like for example, the simple question of how is the world ruled. I think that lots of misunderstanding among people in… Read more »

HRW: Key Elements for HRC 37 Statements on Sri Lanka

by Human Rights Watch, January 15, 2018 HRW Sri Lanka HRC37 letter We write to seek your support in ensuring that the upcoming consideration of Sri Lanka’s progress towards implementation of its commitments under UN Human Rights Council (HRC) resolution 30/1 accurately and substantively reflects the situation within the country, including both progress to date… Read more »

UN High Commissioner’s Report on Sri Lanka 2018

by High Commissioner for Human Rights, Geneva, January 25, 2018 OHCHR Report on Sri Lanka 25 Jan 2018 Human Rights Council Thirty-seventh session 26 February–23 March 2018 Agenda item 2 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General Promoting reconciliation,… Read more »

MP Sampanthan’s Speech on Local Elections

by MP Sampanthan in Parliament, February 19, 2018 Excerpt: Local election results by district – http://lgelections2018.dailymirror.lk/election/localauthorities/TM/10 ——————————– MP Sampanthan’s Speech on the interim report of the Steering committee of the Constitutional Assembly on 1st November 2017

Rome Declaration

from ‘ICET,’ February 8, 2018 Rome Declaration in Italian & English – Rome_Declaration-english-italy-2018 Rome Declaration – 5 February 2018 1. The seven decades long genocide being committed by successive governments of Sri Lanka should be investigated by an international independent body outside the scope of Sri Lankan government-controlled judiciary. 2. Those tens of thousands who are still missing… Read more »

Securitisation and its Discontents

The End of Sri Lanka’s Long Postwar? by Jonathan Spencer, ‘Contemporary South Asia,’ UK, Volume 24, July 5, 2016 Securitization and its discontents the end of Sri Lanka s long post war Abstract In the 5 years after the 2009 defeat of the secessionist insurgency by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the Sri Lankan… Read more »

Ancient Tamil King Elala (aka Elara)

by Sachi Sri Kantha, February 14, 2018 Objective The impetus for this commentary was provided by a ‘Note’ in a 2003 paper written by Buddhist monk Mahinda Deegalle, on violence and Theravada Buddhism. The ‘Note’ appended to this paper was, “When I delivered an early version of this paper at the St. Petersburg consultation, Wesley… Read more »

TG: Fault Line

‘Tamil Guardian’ editorial, London, February 12, 2017 Election results by ethnicity Feb 2018 PDF Sri Lanka’s unity government suffered an electoral blow at local government polls this weekend, just three years after its surprise victory. The Sinhala people renewed their support for the former war-time president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, who asked voters to use the polls as… Read more »

PEARL: Remembering the Kumarapuram Massacre

by People for Relief and Equality in Lanka, Washington, DC, February 11, 2018 22 years ago today, in a small Tamil village in the North-East of Sri Lanka, a group of soldiers murdered 26 people, left 24 others injured, and gang-raped a 15-year-old girl. Twenty years after the Kumarapuram massacre, on July 27, 2016, an… Read more »

UN Committee Tells Sri Lanka to Transfer Military Run Schools

by ‘Colombo Gazette,’ February 8, 2018 A United Nations (UN) committee has urged Sri Lanka to ensure that all schools currently run by the military are transferred back under the Ministry of Education. The recommendation was made by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in its findings on Sri Lanka released today…. Read more »