by N. Malathy, ‘Economic & Political Weekly,’ Mumbai, April 1, 2017 EPW-Shadow Prisons by N. Malathy April 2017 These Tamil Eelam refugees are categorised into three types—non-camp refugees, open camp refugees, and “special camp” refugees. Non-camp refugees are people with sufficient resources to live on their own in rented places. They have received little attention… Read more »
Sri Lanka Hands a Major Port to China
Sri Lanka, Struggling With Debt, Hands a Major Port to China by Kai Schultz, ‘The New York Times,’ December 12, 2017 NEW DELHI — Struggling to pay its debt to Chinese firms, the nation of Sri Lanka formally handed over the strategic port of Hambantota to China on a 99-year lease last week, in a… Read more »
Burying History
by Sanjana Hattotuwa,’ ‘The Island, Colombo, November 18, 2017 Over four years ago, I wrote an article on mass graves in Sri Lanka that could be seen using Google Earth imagery, serving as a solitary, virtual witness to what happened on the ground. The article focused in and around Nandikadal – the sliver of land… Read more »
On History Writing by Uncle Sam’s Gumshoes
by Sachi Sri Kantha, December 11, 2017 This is a rejoinder to Amit Barua’s commentary in The Hindu daily (Feb. 5, 2017), with the caption “JR: I was Forced into a Deal with India”. In my view, Barua has cherry-picked some items from the so-called declassified CIA documents. The items recorded by Barua are as… Read more »
Sri Lanka Doesn’t Need More American Bear Hugs
Washington’s current approach actually discourages reform. by Taylor Dibbert, ‘The Diplomat,’ Washington, DC, December 6, 2017 The U.S. and Sri Lanka recently held their second Partnership Dialogue. The first took place in Washington, D.C. last year. This one was held in Colombo. The meeting didn’t seem to feature any big surprises – which means that… Read more »
BTF and USTPAC Commemorate International Human Rights Day
by British Tamils Forum & US Tamil Political Action Council, December 10, 2017 For immediate release BTF and USTPAC Commemorate International Human Rights Day – 2017 On this day in 1948 the United Nations adopted a universal set of human rights values that apply to all of us. The British Tamils Forum (BTF) and the… Read more »
The Controversy of Wilpattu
Are administrative authorities in slumber while nature is at stake? Controversially, the deforestation accusations are aimed at State agencies and the issue is further ethno-politicized due to the accusations made at Muslim communities engaging in forest clearing and illegal land settlement, particularly aimed at the Minister of Trade and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen’s alleged patronage for… Read more »
JR: I was Forced into a Deal with India
Jayewardene told U.S. envoy by Amit Baruah, ‘The Hindu,’ Chennai, February 5, 2017 Former Sri Lanka President claimed his troops refused to take Jaffna, reveal declassified papers Sri Lanka was forced into making a deal with India as its own armed forces had twice refused to “take Jaffna”, then President J.R. Jayewardene has been quoted… Read more »
Sri Lanka Keeps Accountability & Justice at Bay
In the UPR sessions in Geneva By Thambu Kanagasabai, LLM [Lond.], December 3, 2017 Sri Lanka has scored yet another diplomatic success at the UN Human Rights Council UPR Sessions in Geneva which conducted the Universal Periodic Review for Sri Lanka on November 15, 2017. “Universal Periodic Review [UPR] is a unique process which involves a… Read more »
A Hollow Attempt to Re-write History and Deny Justice
Lord Naseby’s ‘revelations’ by Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace & Justice, London, December 5, 2017 In October, a member of the House of Lords took to their feet in Parliament to argue that the UK Government, and other members of the international community, should abandon their long-standing and hard-fought push for accountability in Sri Lanka. Over half… Read more »
Ten Tamil Fools – Revisited
by Sachi Sri Kantha, November 25, 2017 Twelve years ago, I wrote a commentary entitled ‘Scholarship on Fools – Inspiration from Orrin Klapp and poet Kannadasan’. In it, I also provided the electronic version of the classic paper of Orrin Klapp (1915-1997), entitled, ‘The Fool as a Social Type’ [American Journal of Sociology, September 1949,… Read more »
Making and Unmaking Nations
War, Leadership, and Genocide in Modern Africa by Scott Straus, Cornell University Press, 2015 “In the end, he concludes, whether interethnic strife results in genocide depends almost entirely on national leadership.” “…Strauss views threat by itself as an insufficient explanation, as elites have multiple options for responding to grave and immediate threats and because these… Read more »
Resistance and Resilience
Tamil Guardian editorial, November 27, 2017 Today on Maaveerar Naal Tamils around the world gather in memory of those who died fighting Sri Lankan state oppression. Emboldened by the thousands that gathered at destroyed LTTE resting homes (Thuyilum Illams) last year, preparations this year have been on the largest scale since the end of the armed… Read more »
Selective Memory
Erasure & memorialisation in Sri Lanka’s North by Centre for Policy Analysis, Colombo, November 23, 2017 Viewable on picture rich Sway at https://sway.com/tErHAnhIQWtGz43d Prehistory; the kings of old and all the tanks, temples and kingdoms to their name; Dutch, Portuguese, British colonization; the struggles for freedom; Independence; the achievements of the first Presidents and Prime Ministers… Read more »
Early Inhabitants and the Rulers of the Island
By P. Sivakumar, November 8, 2017 During the early historic period (6th century BC to 3rd century AD), Lanka/ilankai (as first mentioned in the Ramayana) was a part of South India separated by a shallow sea and was only a walking distance before the sea levels rose. Even today, one of the ancient bridges that… Read more »
Sri Lanka’s Proposed Constitution Comes Under Attack
International interest, not international laws, will deliver autonomy to Sri Lanka’s Tamils. by Ana Pararajasingham, ‘The Diplomat,’ Washington, DC, November 7, 2017 The interim report on Sri Lanka’s proposed constitution released on September 21 has come under a spate of attacks. On October 24, a retired Sri Lankan army officer, Major General Kamal Gunaratne, insisted that those seeking to… Read more »
An Ineffective & Fragmented Political Opposition
By: Thambu Kanagasabai LLM [Lond.], November 6, 2017 Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo President, Tamil Canadian Elders for Human Rights Organization. In the last Parliamentary and Presidential elections in 2015, majority of Tamils and Muslims voted for the ‘good governance’ promised by the UNP leader Ranil Wickremasinghe and SLFP led by Maithiripala Sirisena… Read more »
Dozens of Men Say Sri Lankan Forces Raped and Tortured Them
by Paisley Dodd, Associated Press, NY, November 9, 2017 (published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, NY Post, The Guardian and many others.) Video on report at https://www.apnews.com/ced017bd441f46ba838aaedf6ff5dbe2 LONDON (AP) — One of the men tortured in Sri Lanka said he was held for 21 days in a small dank room where he was… Read more »
PEARL Condemns Ongoing Torture & Sexual Violence in Sri Lanka
Urges U.S. Government to Re-Consider its Partnership with Sri Lanka (Washington DC, November 9, 2017) People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) condemns the Sri Lankan government for the torture of over 60 Tamils who have now sought refuge in Europe. The International Truth and Justice Project has gathered testimonies from these Tamil men,… Read more »
Joint Press Release on Peacekeeping Conference in Canada
by 10 Tamil diaspora organization, November 8, 2017 The video of the press conference is uploaded to Youtube and may be viewed here: https://youtu.be/qBNm2MBIsv4 Demanding accountability for international crimes committed by Sri Lankan Armed Forces attending 2017 UN Peacekeeping Defense Ministerial Conference in Vancouver PRESS RELEASE peacekeeping conference – Ottawa, ON – Nov 8 2017 For Immediate Release November… Read more »