On International Women’s Day by Usha Sriskandarajah, March 10, 2019 As the world marks International Women’s Day, my thoughts are with Tamil women back in the homeland. Tamil women and girls in the island of Sri Lanka once known as Ceylon have been fighting against oppression, against marginalization, against violence, against the relentless persecution of… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Diaspora
Time to Deliver Justice
For War Victims in Sri Lanka UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL’S MARCH 2019 SESSIONS By: Thambu Kanagasabai – LLM [Lond.] Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. The 40th Sessions of Human Rights Council is scheduled to be held in Geneva from February 22nd to March 22, 2019. This Session assumes greater importance… Read more »
Resolution of US Massachusetts House of Representatives
Resolution of US Massachusetts House of Representatives Calling for the Restoration of the Separate Sovereign State of Tamil Eelam 18 June 1981 [see also Proclamation of Eelam Day by Edward J.King, Governor of Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 16 May 1979 Human Rights for Tamils in Sri Lanka – US Congress Resolution – Hon. Mario Baggio of… Read more »
Diasporas as a Force in Foreign Affairs
The case of Tamils in Britain and Canada by Matthew Godwin, London School of Economics, August 17, 2018 A number of factors impact whether or not diasporas influence host country foreign policy, writes Matthew Godwin. He looks at two major decisions facing Canada and the UK toward Sri Lanka, and explains how pressure from the Tamil… Read more »
SL Crisis Deepens Uncertainty for Tamil Refugees in TN
by Mayilvaganan ‘Times of India,’ Delhi, November 15, 2018 CHENNAI: It is a political paradox. In the power struggle among three Sinhala leaders, the Sri Lankan Tamils — not just those in the island nation but also on other side of Gulf of Mannar — appear to be victims. Confined to the 100-odd refugee camps,… Read more »
Tamil Women’s Day
Honoring Strength & Resistance in the Face of Oppression by PEARL, Washington, DC, October 10, 2018 PEARL_Press_Release_Women_s_Day_2018 On Tamil Women’s Day, PEARL remembers the women who participated in the Tamil struggle for rights and self-determination, and honors the ongoing fight against oppression. October 10, 1987 marked the death of 2nd Lt. Malathy, the first LTTE… Read more »
The Failed Promise of Reconciliation in Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan governments have proven unwilling to acknowledge, let alone address, the root cause of conflict on the island. by Mario Arulthas, ‘The Diplomat,’ Tokyo, October 11, 2018 In the run-up to his recent address at the UN General Assembly, Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena struck a defiant note, blatantly rejecting commitments made to the… Read more »
M.I.A.’s Critique of Wokeness
by Spencer Kornhaber, ‘The Atlantic,’ New York, October 5, 2018 CINEREACH M.I.A. wants to talk foreign policy. I called up the 43-year-old pop star Maya Arulpragasam last Friday to talk about Matangi/Maya/M.I.A., Stephen Loveridge’s fascinating documentary about her life. But she immediately brought up the latest news about her birth nation, Sri Lanka, which her family of ethnic… Read more »
Mamma M.I.A.: Influence of an Icon
Comedian Jack Rooke profiles his idol, Sri Lankan-British rapper M.I.A. by BBC Radio 4, October 9, 2018 https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/play/m0000np5 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0000np5
Believing Women, and the Gaslighting of M.I.A.
by Mallika Rao, ‘Vulture,’ New York, October 2, 2018 The big revelation of the documentary titled MAYA / MATANGI / MIA, which hit U.S. theaters last weekend, is how it vindicates the singer at its heart. At The Guardian, Laura Snapes draws a connection between Christine Blasey Ford and Maya Arulpragasam — nom de guerre, M.I.A. — two… Read more »
Film Review of “Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.”
My personal take on this documentary film. by Lorenzo Fiorito, ‘Tamil Culture,’ September 21, 2018 The London autumn evening is winding down. After dinner, my sweetheart and I sit together on the sofa in front of the TV, and patch in the laptop video feed. I click on the link to an advance viewing of… Read more »
TG: Veering Backwards
‘Tamil Guardian’ editorial, September 28, 2018 At the end of the UN Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) 39th session, there can be no more illusions as to whether Sri Lanka will deliver for the Tamils. Although the government queued up its customary showpiece to coincide with this session – this time a revamped counter terrorism bill – all evidence points to… Read more »
Plight of Civilians Living under Army of Occupation
An alien, hostile military by Kumarathasan Rasingam, September 24, 2018 Contrary to promises made in Geneva that in the name of peace and reconciliation the Sri Lanka government would dismantle High Security Zones, close army cantonments and return lands seized from the people, the Northern and the Eastern Provinces, considered the Tamil homeland, continue to… Read more »
Daunting Challenges Facing New UN High Commissioner
For Human Rights By: Thambu Kanagasabai, September 23, 2018 The unanimous approval of 66 year old MICHELLE BACHELET by the United Nations to take charge of the Human Rights Council from September 01, 2018 confirms her unquestionable eligibility and credentials to run this prestigious office which was set up in 1993 to uphold and protect… Read more »
TGTE Urges UNGA to Create an Int’l Independent Mechanism
to Bolster Sri Lankan Int’l Crimes Investigation RESPONSE TO SRI LANKAN PRESIDENT’S REQUEST TO THE UN TO APPROVE HIS “PLAYBOOK FOR IMPUNITY” UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK, USA, September 27, 2018 /EINPresswire.com/ — The Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) released today its response (Link below) to Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s September 25th speech before… Read more »
The Phenomenon of Disappearances in Sri Lanka
by M.C.M. Iqbal, Asian Human Rights Commission, Hong Kong, July 2018 THE-PHENOMENON-OF-DISAPPEARANCES-IN-SRI-LANKA.pdf (humanrights.asia) 1.Introduction Since independence, emergency powers have been repeatedly invoked in Sri Lanka. Although the stated objective of imposing emergency rule is the maintenance of law and order, emergency powers have often enabled the police and the security forces to act with scant… Read more »
M.I.A. Documentary
by MATANGI / MAYA /M.I.A., July 19, 2018 Cinereach has released the trailer for the film today. You can watch here. https://www.miadocumentary.com/ Drawn from a cache of personal video recordings from the past 22 years, director Steve Loveridge’s Sundance award winning MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A. is a startlingly personal profile of the critically acclaimed artist, chronicling her… Read more »
Political Confrontation will not Solve Humanitarian Issues
by Ananth Palakidnar, Ceylon Today, Colombo, July 15, 2018 Chairperson of the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) Rev Fr. S.J. Emmanuel in a candid interview with Ceylon Today spelt out the shortcomings affecting the people in the North and East. He said as far as strengthening peace and reconciliation, apart from depending on politicians all right-thinking… Read more »
Progressive Hinduism and a New Movement Against Poverty
by Nooreen Reza, Kajal Magazine, New York, June 26, 2018 Fifty years ago this month, a movement for economic justice built upon racial solidarity was brought to a halt in the US national capital of Washington DC. That movement was the Poor People’s Campaign, created by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in December 1967. In… Read more »
Justification for a Referendum
For the Tamils of Sri Lanka by Thambu Kanagasabai, July 8, 2018 The current situation affecting the Sri Lanka’s Tamils fairly and justifiably need a referendum to decide their own fate to guarantee their existence in Sri Lanka, if they were to avoid their gradual extinction in a country where they being the original inhabitants… Read more »