Anthropology scholar by TamilNet, Norway, September 21, 2024 The JVP has recently lent itself to US efforts to consolidate the unitary state and realise its long-held ambition to capture state power in Colombo. In this regard, they have also engaged with a range of actors, from the IMF, Washington, and New Delhi, as well as… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Politics
The Genesis of the Sri Lankan Unitary State
and the Call for Eelam Tamil Self-Determination by Sahithyan Thilipkumar, December 2023 Master Thesis at University of Zurich’s Faculty of Law Master_Thesis_Sahithyan_Thilipkumar_ZORA 6. Conclusion Contemporary discussions on the conflict in Sri Lanka often start with the country’s independence or the beginning of the war. My thesis examined how the basis of the conflict was laid… Read more »
Why Did Tamils & Muslims 0f the North & East Reject JVP-Led Alliance?
by Imtiyaz Razak, Colombo Telegraph, September 30, 2024 Introduction Sri Lanka’s recently concluded 9th presidential elections culminated in a notable victory for the Marxist JVP, led by Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who secured the presidency after a second ballot count. The election results underscore a significant electoral divide: while a majority of Southern Sinhala-Buddhists rallied behind… Read more »
USIP: Sri Lanka’s New President
Faces Daunting Challenges and High Hopes by United States Institute of Peace, Washington, DC, October 1, 2024 KEY TAKEAWAYS Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s election is the culmination of Sri Lanka’s 2022 protests against the status quo. Addressing Sri Lanka’s economic and financial challenges will be Dissanayake’s most difficult task. He will have to carefully balance relations… Read more »
HRW: UN Rights Council Should Extend Crucial Mandate
International Monitoring, Investigations Critical Amid Ongoing Violations, Impunity by Human Rights Watch, New York, October 2, 2024 (Geneva) – The United Nations Human Rights Council should adopt a resolution on Sri Lanka to enable continued UN monitoring, reporting, and evidence collection of rights violations for future prosecutions, Human Rights Watch said today. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who was elected on September 21, 2024,… Read more »
What Bangladesh Can Do to Get Back Laundered Wealth
by Tasneem Raihan, The Daily Star, Bangladesh, October 1, 2024 Over the past 15 years, people from various sectors—including politicians, businesspeople, bureaucrats, and police officials—have reportedly laundered over $100 billion abroad. This figure is likely underestimated, but even if it’s close to the actual amount, the implications are staggering. To put this into context, $100 billion is… Read more »
Letter to the President: A Clarion Call for Fairness
by Roy Ratnavel, Canada, October 1, 2024 Ratnavel letter to new Pres. Dissanayake Oct 1 2024 October 1, 2024. His Excellency Anura Kumara Dissanayake President Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Dear Mr. President, Please accept my warmest congratulations on your election victory. As you embark upon your new responsibilities as the ninth Executive President of… Read more »
What Sri Lanka’s Election Means for India
Another political shake-up in New Delhi’s neighborhood shouldn’t have a major impact on bilateral ties. by Sumit Ganguly, Foreign Policy, Washington, DC, September 24, 2024 The economy was undoubtedly the central issue in Sri Lanka’s presidential election on Sept. 21—unlike in past votes, when ethnic divides between the Sinhala Buddhist majority and the Tamil minority… Read more »
Meet Sri Lanka’s Next President
by Michael Kugelman, Foreign Policy’s South Asia Brief, Washington, DC. September 25, 2024 Presidential candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake leaves a polling station after casting his ballot in Sri Lanka’s presidential election in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Sept. 21.Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP via Getty Images Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s victory in Sri Lanka’s presidential election on Saturday granted the… Read more »
Dissanayake’s Push for Sri Lanka Economic Change
Leaves IMF deal, debt rework in limbo by Uditha Jayasinghe, Sudipto Ganguly and Libby George, Reuters, London, September 24, 2024 Summary Balancing pro-poor policies with IMF deal is new president’s biggest challenge IMF says to work with him, discuss timing of third review Leader has expressed willingness to renegotiate IMF terms COLOMBO/LONDON, Sept 24 (Reuters)… Read more »
Who Ruined Sri Lanka?
When some pattern of behaviour seems inexplicable, the real reason is often history. by Gynne Dyer, The Hamilton Spectator, Canada, September 28, 2024 Gwynne Dyer’s new book is “Intervention Earth: Life-Saving Ideas from the World’s Climate Engineers.” Last year’s book, “The Shortest History of War,” is also still available. It’s hard to know who ruined… Read more »
Manifesto of the Tamil Candidate
Political Anguish of the Tamils . By S.V. Kirubaharan, Tamil Centre for Human Rights, France, September 13, 2024 . (So far, this manifesto has been published only in Tamil. Therefore, if there are any errors in the English terminology used, these must be excused.) . For over a year, the Tamil people have been united… Read more »
Last Chance for Lanka
As the island nation gears up for national polls on September 21 by India Today, New Delhi, September 2024 The presidential polls would give Sri Lanka another chance to make their fortunes with Sajith Premadasa and Ranil Wickremesinghe among the dozen other leaders in the fray for the polls. Video – https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/last-chance-for-lanka-as-the-island-nation-gears-up-for-presidential-polls-on-september-21/vi-AA1pM2wp?ocid=socialshare&cvid=dd3931ff002b40d799101966076a07e9&ei=24 Article – Last… Read more »
Ambassador Who Had Lankan Politics in His Blood
by K.M. de Silva, Sunday Times, Colombo, October 5, 2008 The death occurred on August 30 this year of W. Howard Wriggins, US Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives from 1977 to 1979 and well-known scholar who specialised on Sri Lanka and the region during his years at Columbia University whose South Asian Institute… Read more »
Sri Lanka Nears Critical Election
by Michael Kugelman, Foreign Policy’s South Asia Brief, Washington, DC, September 11, 2024 Sri Lanka is gearing up for a presidential election on Sept. 21. The Sri Lankan presidency is a powerful post, not a ceremonial one. The race is essentially between three leaders: current President Ranil Wickremesinghe; Sajith Premadasa, a former Wickremesinghe ally who… Read more »
UNHRC: 57th Session
September 9, morning: 1st Meeting – 57th Regular Session of Human Rights Council | UN Web TV ITEM 1: Opening of session ITEM 2: Oral update by the High Commissioner for Human Rights ITEM 2: ID on report of Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar ITEM 2: ID on OHCHR report on Sri Lanka September 9, afternoon:2nd… Read more »
WikiLeaks: EPDP Sold Jaffna Children
Girls To Prostitution Rings And Boys To Slavery by Colombo Telegraph, September 13, 2013 “The children are sold into slavery, usually boys to work camps and girls to prostitution rings, through EPDP’s networks in India and Malaysia. Sunthararaj maintains that children are often smuggled out of the country with the help of a corrupt Customs and Immigration… Read more »
Post-War Sri Lanka: Exploring the Path Not Taken
by Rohini Hensman, Dialectical Anthropology 39, pp. 273-293, April 16, 2015 Introduction Almost immediately after Independence, the government of Sri Lanka enacted legislation depriving Hill-country Tamils of their citizenship and franchise; subsequent governments enacted laws and carried out policies discriminating against and persecuting all Tamil-speaking citizens, with the avowed intention of making Sri Lanka a… Read more »
Response to Indian Foreign Minister’s Remarks by US Tamils
by Tamil Diaspora News, September 1, 2024 The BJP once acknowledged the Tamil genocide, yet now urges support for those responsible. Voting for a Tamil candidate is far from a waste—just as Tamils in Tamil Nadu chose to support their own instead of the BJP. When minorities vote for their own candidates, it is a… Read more »
Is the IMF Setting Sri Lanka Up for a 2nd Car Crash?
by Theo Maret and Brad Setser, FinancialTimes, London, September 5, 20024 Theo Maret is a research analyst at Global Sovereign Advisory and writes a sovereign debt newsletter. Brad Setser is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a former Treasury Department official. Sri Lanka is bankrupt and restructuring its debts. But there’s a high… Read more »