by Thambu Kanagasabai, LLM [Lond.] Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, January 11, 2020 There is no denying of the fact that Tamils in Sri Lanka have been at the receiving end since 1949, when power was transferred to the majority Sinhala Government. Successive Sinhala Governments continued and still continue the marginalisation… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Diaspora
Media under Fire
Tamil Guardian editorial, London, January 6, 2020 Several weeks into Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s presidency, journalists on the island are coming under increasing threat. Whilst the island has always been a dangerous place for the press, and for Tamil journalists in particular, over the last month there has been a worrying rise in intimidation, harassment and even… Read more »
High Time to Act on Sri Lanka
By United Nations & international community by Thambu Kanagasabai, LLM [Lond]. Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has been in the limelight of UN and International Community for the last thirty years and more intensively during and after the genocidal war launched against the Tamil civilians and Liberation Tigers of… Read more »
Thirteenth Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution
This article is generally agreed to be the best discussion of the weakness of the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution, instituted after the 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord to provide the ‘devolution’ the Tamils have requested to allow them to manage some of their own affairs within Sri Lanka. by Nadesan Satyendra, ‘TamilNation.org,’ March 1988,… Read more »
Speech by Nadesan Satyendra at Thimpu Talks 1985
posted by Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), February 12, 2012 Satyendra was the TELO representative at the Thimbu Talks We recognise that the Tamil national struggle is not taking place in some Himalayan stratosphere… At the outset, we would like to emphasise something which all of us amongst the Tamil delegation present here today, recognise… Read more »
Will the New President of Sri Lanka Guide the Country on the Correct Path?
by Kumarathasan Rasingam – Secretary, The Tamil Canadian Elders for Human Rights Org., December 16, 2019 The Singapore success is attributed to their leader LEE KUAN YEW developing a society where each race appreciate and respect that of others, encouraged to preserve its unique culture and traditions, let alone that of the majority. It’s fostering… Read more »
Sri Lanka Fast Becoming a Failed State
by Thambu Kanagasabai – LLM [Lond] Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, December 9, 2019 A Failed state is one which is failing to function properly regarding its responsibilities, including an inability to interact with other states as a full member of the international community. Ethnic conflicts and tension, violation of human… Read more »
Sri Lanka’s Tamils Need Genocide Recognition and Innovative Justice Mechanisms
Emerging Voices by Anjali Manivannan, OpinioJuris, Geneva, August, 15, 2019 [Anji Manivannan is the Legal Director at People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) and a Senior Programs Officer at the World Federalist Movement – Institute for Global Policy (WFM-IGP).] Introduction May 18th marked the tenth anniversary of the end of the 26-year-long armed conflict between… Read more »
A Dreaded Return
Tamil Guardian editorial, London, November 18, 2019 In the wake of Sri Lanka’s presidential elections this weekend, fear has gripped the North-East. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the man who engineered the massacres of tens of thousands of Tamils a decade ago, is back in power. This time, he occupies the highest office in the land. The result,… Read more »
Reject Engagement with Genocidaire Gotabaya
by TamilNet, November 18, 2019 Newly sworn-in SL President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has denounced the existence of Eezham Tamils as a nation in the North and the East of the island. The wartime genocidaire Defense Secretary wants Tamils to become ‘Sri Lankans’ capitulating to the Sinhala Mahawansa doctrine, which possesses the requisite intent for Tamil genocide…. Read more »
The Lesser Evil?
by Viruben Nandakumar, Tamil Guardian, London, November 11, 2019 In the lead up to the Sri Lankan Presidential election 16 November, both Sinhala and Tamil political commentators have quipped that this election is a clear cut choice between “two evils” and have insisted on drawing parallels to the 2015 and 2005 elections. These commentators have… Read more »
Still No Choice
Tamil Guardian editorial, London, November 4, 2019 Artwork by Keera Ratnam. As Sri Lanka gears up for a presidential election in just a few weeks time, Tamils on the island find themselves faced with a familiar decision. Almost five years after an election that was hailed as the dawn of a new era for Sri… Read more »
The Internal and International Dimensions of Sri Lanka’s Presidential Elections
A Gotabaya Rajapaksa presidency will have serious repercussions for both Sri Lanka’s internal governance as well as its international partnerships. by Ana Pararajasingham, ‘The Diplomat,’ Washington, DC, October 23, 2019 On November 16, Sri Lankans will go to the polls to elect their next president. Although more than 30 candidates have nominated themselves, the contest… Read more »
Sinhalization of the North-East: Kokkilai
by People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL), October 16, 2019 Sinhalization of the North-East: Kokkilai – People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (pearlaction.org) The south-east of the Mullaithivu District has been a target for state-sponsored Sinhala settlements for decades. As with Pulmoaddai, the Kokkilai region of Mullaithivu lies on the strategically important… Read more »
Sinhalization of the North-East: Pulmoaddai
by People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL), September, 2019 Sinhalization of the North-East: Pulmoaddai – People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (pearlaction.org) Pulmoaddai is a majority Tamil-speaking, Muslim town in the Trincomalee District. The town, part of the Kuchchaveli Divisional Secretariat, is located on the border to the Mullaithivu District, occupying the… Read more »
Presidential Election 2019
Its relevance and worthiness for Tamils By: Thambu Kanagasabai, LLM [Lond.] Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka The seventh Presidential election is due to be held on November 16, 2019. The presidential system was introduced by Late J. R. Jayawardena in 1978 with the passing of a new constitution. An executive style… Read more »
Sri Lanka’s Implementation of UNHRC Res. 40/1
Sri Lanka’s Defiance & Delaying Tactics in Implementing UNHRC Resolution 40/1 by Kumarathasan Rasingam, Secretary, Tamil Canadian Elders for Human Rights Org. Tamils in Sri Lanka have undergone grave injustice: Pogroms, Torture, War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity, Forced Disappearances and Genocide. Tamil mothers in Sri Lanka fight daily to learn what happened to their missing… Read more »
Sri Lanka’s Tamils Need Genocide Recognition
And Innovative Justice Mechanisms by Anji Manivannan, ‘Opinion Juris’ Emerging Voices, New York, August 15, 2019 [Anji Manivannan is the Legal Director at People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) and a Senior Programs Officer at the World Federalist Movement – Institute for Global Policy (WFM-IGP).] Introduction May 18th marked the tenth anniversary of the end… Read more »
Elections & Urgent Need for Unity
THE FORTHCOMING PRESIDENTAL, PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS: THE URGENT NEED FOR THE UNITY OF ALL TAMIL POLITICAL PARTIES AT THIS CRITICAL TIME FOR TAMILS. By: Kumarathasan Rasingam, Secretary, Tamil Canadian Elders for Human Rights Org., August 23, 2019 As far as Tamils are concerned the forthcoming elections [Presidential and Parliamentary] is not going to solve any of… Read more »
ATC, CTC, BTF & USTAG: Sri Lanka’s Disappeared Must Have Justice
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 30, 2019 Sri Lanka’s Disappeared Must Have Justice FINAL Sri Lanka’s Disappeared Must Have Justice Australian Tamil Congress (ATC), British Tamils Forum (BTF), Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) and US Tamil Action Group (USTAG) once again on the International Day of the Disappeared draw attention to the large number of enforced disappearances… Read more »