by Sachi Sri Kantha, September 1, 2004 I neither have the charisma of a Kennedy nor the celebrity status of Massachusetts’ senior Senator Edward ‘Teddy’ Kennedy. However, for the past 25 years, I have subscribed to the liberal democratic ideals for which the youngest males of the Kennedy clan (John F., Robert and Edward) have… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Diaspora
Diaspora Circulation and Transnationalism
As Agents for Change in the Post-Conflict Zones of Sri Lanka R. Cheran of the Dept. of Sociology and Refugee Studies of York University, Toronto has written a paper entitled “Diaspora Circulation and Transnationalism as Agents for Change in the Post Conflict Zones of Sri Lanka” which does exactly what sociology is supposed to: observe… Read more »
Is the XIII Amendment the Roadblock to Peace?
Sinhalese Myths and Fallacies Challenged by Wakeley Paul, Esq., September 1, 2004 Several recent articles reveal once more the cherished myths under which the Sinhala press continues to delude itself. These Sinhalese myths need to be punctured once and for all, since they are founded on three fundamental misconceptions. 1. That Sinhalese supremacy is the… Read more »
Pathirana Group helps Tamil Students in 1983 Pogrom
Dear Editor, I am reading The Pirapaharan Biography very keenly. Please convey the attached message to Sabaratnam. Thanks Bala M. ———————————————————————————————————— Dear Mr. Sabaratnam, Thank you for writing Tamils’ History. As you have mentioned in your introduction I feel you are writing this biography without any bias. I also think you are the right person to write… Read more »
Letter to RSF on Nimalarajan’s Killer
Australasian Federation of Tamil Associations, Inc. P O Box 215 Enfield NSW 2136 Email: tamand /A_T/ ozemail.com /D_O_T/ au 24 August 2004 International Secretariat : Reporters sans frontières 5, rue Geoffroy-Marie 75009 Paris – France Dear Sir, We are alarmed and dismayed that the main suspect in the murder of the journalist and BBC correspondent… Read more »
Thoughts on the Creation of a Federal State
Some Concrete Thoughts on the Creation of a Federal State by Wakeley Paul, August 21, 2004 The ISGA sets out the interim structures for an ultimate Federal Constitution. This must first be given the chance to work in order to determine what further restructuring is necessary. Both main ethnic groups must acknowledge that the whole… Read more »
Sri Lankan Attack on Norway’s Peace Effort
by Brian Senewiratne, MA (Camb),MD(Lond),FRCP(Lond),FRACP(Lond), Consultant Physician, Brisbane, Australia , August 16, 2004 A group calling itself “The World Alliance for Peace in Sri Lanka” is meeting on 20 August 2004 in Oslo to attack the Norwegian peace initiative in Sri Lanka. The behind-the-scenes hand of the Sri Lankan Government is clearly visible. If the flyer is anything… Read more »
What is All This Fuss About?
by M. Nadarajan, August 19, 2004 Rudyard Kipling wrote “East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet.” A modern day poet would be tempted to write a Tamil is a Tamil and a Sinhalese is a Sinhalese and never the twain shall meet (except perhaps on a battlefield). The goings on… Read more »
WAPS’ Activities Expose Sri Lankan Government’s Duplicity
Vis-à-vis the peace process by Dr. Victor Rajakulendran, Sydney, Australia, August 18, 2004 After the Sri Lankan Security Forces (SLSF) experienced major setbacks in their efforts to crush the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)in the ‘War for Peace’ strategy of President Chandrika Kumaratunge, both the President and the LTTE realised that the 20-year long conflict… Read more »
Third Batch of TSVP Interns
Press Communiqué FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 14, 2004 Mississauga, ON Third Batch of Interns Deployed ——————————- Mississauga, Aug. 14, 2004 – The Student Volunteer Program (TSVP) is a Toronto-based sustainable development organisation that participates in rehabilitation and redevelopment activities in various developing countries. It serves as a forum for students, and recent graduates to discover,… Read more »
Kelsen’s ‘Theory of Necessity’
To amend the constitution with a simple majority By Wakeley Paul, Esq., August 14, 2004 If, in a democratic setting, the element of ‘necessity’ warrants the change of a constitution with a simple Parliamentary majority, then constitutions with the usual requirement of a 2/3 majority to amend or replace them become meaningless. Any party with… Read more »
A Jarring Summer
by Anjali Siva, August 14, 2004 This past summer I went to Sri Lanka, for the first time in ten years. But what affected me was going to Thamil Eelam, for the first time ever. I spent three weeks in this war-torn and impoverished area, marveling at the spirit of the Thamil people. During my… Read more »
It is a Matter of Trust
By M. Nadarajan, August 11, 2004 So much of mistrust exists between the Sinhalese and Tamil nations that the LTTE had to ask for the government’s position in writing. It is said, “Once bitten twice shy.” If you are bitten many times, you have to watch every step of the way. Trust is something that has to… Read more »
Conversations & Comparisons
RECOLLECTIONS: Conversations & Comparisons – reading between the lines by Revd. BJA, UK “Now tell me” queried a senior Church official, “if the peace process were to be derailed who gets to be blamed, the Sinlease or the Tameel Tigers?” You actually mean, I emphasised, who is not to be blamed. The response to that I continued, is summed up in… Read more »
Sangam Press Release
Date: August 9, 2004 Title: Statements attributed to the Sangam on the John Kerry Presidential Campaign are not factual. Press Release Sangam ITS August 2004
Chavakachcheri Computer Training Center
Chavakachcheri gets a Free Computer Training Center as TITA and SKTATT of London once again join hands A third joint Free Computer Training Center by TITA and SKTATT (London Sri Kanaga Thurkai Amman Temple Trust), will be opened on, Sunday, the 08th of Aug 2004, in Chavakachcheri in the Jaffna district, following their joint center… Read more »
Some Thoughts on Ethnic Reconciliation in Sri Lanka
by M. Thiru, September 8, 2004 In the 1930’s though there were political differences between the Sinhalese and Tamil leaders, but there was no state terrorism on Tamils. There were no atrocities by the armed forces, no riots, no looting or arsons, no rape, no shelling or bombing of Tamil areas, Tamils were not displaced… Read more »
Black July – An Exodus to the Homeland
by Anonymous, July 26, 2004 People rush to their homes for security when they are threatened. As is obvious, their homeland is the land where their home is located. Their homeland, or country, nourishes them, providing for their economic and cultural sustenance. Is it that simple, or do we need a legal and anthropological analysis? Multiple workshops… Read more »
Black July – Prison Massacres
THE WELIKADE PRISON MASSACRES OF 1983 by S.A. David, President of the Gandhiyam Movement, July 25, 2004 An Eye-Witness The Sri Lanka government rounded up hundreds of Tamil Activists resisting the government attempt to establish a mono-ethnic-mono-religious [Sinhala-Buddhist] state in Sri Lanka. Most of them were engaged in non-violent programs to provide alternate opportunities to… Read more »
Black July – Revisited
STATE TERROR BLACK JULY OF 1983 REVISITED By Ana Pararajasingham, July 23, 2004 In late July 1983, Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital literally burst into flames as angry mobs of Sinhalese went on a rampage burning, looting and terrorising the occupants of Tamil homes in an orgy of violence unparalleled in the Island’s history. The Government… Read more »