by Ana Pararajasingham, September 23, 2004 sangam.org/articles/view2/562.html According to Satchithananthan Sathananthan (“International community sharpens its knives against Tamils“ published in sangam. org-), the primary aim of the international community is ‘to undercut the Tamils’ political support for the LTTE and emasculate the military power of the Tamil national movement’. In support of this argument he cites several… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Diaspora
ISGA: Legitimate, Practical & with Precedence
by Arvalan, September 23, 2004 sangam.org/articles/view2/561.html On October 31, 2003 the LTTE, on behalf of the Tamil people, announced their proposal for an Interim Self-Governing Administration (ISGA) of the Northeast of the island called Sri Lanka. This proposed ISGA is a significant step toward a peaceful resolution of the decades-long conflict between the Tamil and… Read more »
Peace in Sri Lanka: Power Sharing
Peace in Sri Lanka – Some Thoughts Part III – Power Sharing by R. Cholan, September 22, 2004 sangam.org/articles/view2/558.html In Part II, I had shown how the federal constitutions in the three examples confer the powers to regional governments by default. Powers of the central governments are defined, and those of the regional governments are… Read more »
Peace in Sri Lanka: Fear of Secession
Peace in Sri Lanka – Some Thoughts Part II – Fear of Secession by R. Cholan, September 21, 2004 sangam.org/articles/view2/557.html The Sinhala opposition to the ISGA proposal is not a new phenomenon. The views being expressed currently about the ISGA are exactly the same as what has been said about ‘federalism’ for the last fifty… Read more »
Peace in Sri Lanka: Equality
Peace in Sri Lanka – Some Thoughts Part I – Equality. by R. Cholan, September 20, 2004 sangam.org/articles/view2/556.html No one expected the peace talks in Sri Lanka to progress without a hitch. But, the manner in which the process has stalled, without a single concrete step beyond the December 2002 Oslo accord, and with a… Read more »
Children’s Computer Centre Opens in Kilinochchi
The Tamil Information Technology Association opened a Children’s Computer Centre in Kilinochchi on September 12. The press release about the event can be viewed at www.sangam.org/articles/view2/KidsCentreOpening_9_04.pdf
Working in Post-war Northern Sri Lanka
Below are pictures taken by Dr. Shiamala Suntharalingam during her time volunteering as a doctor in the Vanni last year. You can read about her experiences at http://www.sangam.org/articles/view2/index.php?uid=530 [Now at Working in Post-conflict Northern Sri Lanka – Ilankai Tamil Sangam] … Read more »
Pongu Tamil in Toronto Sept. 25
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Working in Post-conflict Northern Sri Lanka
by Dr. Shiamala Suntharalingam MB BS, BSc (Hons), DFFP, DRCOG, MRCGP May to November 2003 20 years of war has taken its toll on all aspects of society in Sri Lanka, but the NorthEast of the island has been most affected. Homes destroyed, farmland mined, schools, temples, churches & hospitals have been damaged in varying… Read more »
I Got Trapped in the Secret ‘No Fly List’ of the Transportation Security Administration
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 »
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 »