Posts Categorized: Politics

Atrocities Cast Shadow on Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 Response

by J.S. Tissainayagam, Stanley Center for Peace & Security, Iowa, USA, May 17, 2021 Ranjini,* a housewife, lives in Kilinochchi, a town in Sri Lanka’s Tamil-majority Northern Province. Earlier this year, the government began vaccinating the public against COVID-19. But this has made her fearful: she is not sure if she will be injected with… Read more »

TG: Echoes of the Past

by Tamil Guardian, London, July 23, 2021 This year marks 38 years since Black July: the anti-Tamil pogrom where thousands of Tamils were killed by brutal state-supported Sinhala mobs. It was a week of violence that saw Tamils murdered, tortured and displaced. It remains a premeditated and meticulously coordinated act of genocide. The remnants of… Read more »

Sri Lanka’s Rajapaksa Dynasty is Not as Secure as It Appears

by Banyan, The Economist, London, July 17, 2021 The family that runs everything is running out of cash Since winning the presidency in a landslide nearly two years ago, Gotabaya Rajapaksa has worried not that he has too many relatives in government, but that he has too few. One of the 72-year-old’s elder brothers, Mahinda, himself… Read more »

Sri Lanka’s Falling Economy & Failing Good Governance

by Thambu Kanagasabai,  LLM [London] Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 21, 2021 President Gotabaya acclaimed as un uncrowned king of Sri Lanka after defeating the Liberation of Tigers in the genocidal war with the assistance of 22 countries particularly from India, Pakistan and China as confirmed by his brother Mahinda… Read more »

The Myth of Security and the Prevention of Terrorism Act

False Promises by Ambika Satkunanathan, ‘Groundviews,’ Colombo, July 14, 2021 For decades human rights activists have highlighted the draconian nature of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), which promises safety and security, yet in practice makes each citizen vulnerable to being arbitrarily arrested, detained, tortured and even convicted of an offence the person did not… Read more »

In Sri Lanka, the Government Looks Increasingly Like a Family Firm

Three brothers of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa now hold top posts in his government. Two of his nephews have official positions, too. by Muib Mashal, The New York Times, July 11, 2021 The first attempt by a Rajapaksa to return to power in Sri Lanka was brief. In 2018, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was sworn in as… Read more »

One Island, Two Nations

by Kumarathasan Rasingam, July 9, 2021 Sri Lanka formerly known as CEYLON is an island country in South Asia.  Sri Lanka was historically comprised of two distinctive nations; the country’s history has been written or represented as if it were one nation. However, the two nations, namely Sinhalese and Tamils, have existed in Sri Lanka… Read more »

Report of the Consultation Task Force, Nov. 2016

by Consultation Task Force, Sri Lanka, November 17, 2016 CTF-Final-Report-Volume-I-Nov-16 As the Secretariat for Coordinating Reconciliation Mechanisms no longer has a website and our link to this report of the Consultation Task Force at Consultation Task Force Final Report – Ilankai Tamil Sangam no longer works, we are posting the PDF here. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A…. Read more »

US Congress Resolution 413

Option for Sri Lanka to choose confrontation or conciliation by Thambu Kanagasabai,  LLM [London], Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, June 23, 2021 The recently tabled US House Resolution 413 in the US Congress led by Rep. Deborah Ross breathes fresh air, confidence and hopes for the Tamils, particularly the victimized Tamils… Read more »

Bharatanatyam in Sri Lankan Sinhalese Films & in Sri Lanka

by Cinema Nrityagharana blog, June 24, 2014 While on a zealous search to see what kinds of dance could be found in the cinema of Sri Lanka, India’s island neighbor to the south, I was completely perplexed when I stumbled onto this Bharatanatyam-based dance in the 1965 Sinhala film Hathara Maha Nidhanaya: Starts :1:07 https://youtu.be/6RcYIYKk1AE My… Read more »

UN Human Rights Council 47

Core Group statement on Sri Lanka by UK Mission to UN, Geneva, Switzerland, June 22, 2021 The Human Rights Council takes place in Geneva. This statement is on behalf of Canada, Germany, North Macedonia, Malawi, Montenegro and the UK, the Core Group on Sri Lanka. Council resolution 46/1 called upon the Sri Lankan Government to… Read more »

‘Jagame Thandhiram’ Movie Review #2

by Natalia Winkleman, The New York Times, June 21, 2021 ‘Jagame Thandhiram’ Review: Scheme, Slaughter, Repeat An intrepid gangster maneuvers between rival crime lords in the glossy drama “Jagame Thandhiram.” The movie (on Netflix) follows Suruli (Dhanush), whose merciless killing sprees earn him an invitation to serve under a wealthy British megalomaniac. Seduced by a… Read more »

‘Jagame Thandhiram’ Movie Review

Guns, warfare, a pressing issue and a ricochet bullet by Srivatsan S, The Hindu, Chennai, India, June 18, 2021 Karthik Subbaraj’s latest wants to have a bit of everything: a drama with an ultra-cool gangster (Dhanush) at the centre, a serious political film dealing with a global issue, and a stylishly-shot bubblegum film with a… Read more »

Power, Performance, and Ethnicity in Sri Lanka

When Time Won’t Tell by Ahalya Satkunaratnam and Venuri Perera, Dance Studies Association, Wisconsin, USA, 2019 | Volume XXXIX On October 26, 2018, there was a constitutional coup in Sri Lanka whent he Executive President, Maithripala Sirisena, attempted to appoint the former President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, as his Prime Minister,thus ousting the current Prime Minister, Ranil… Read more »

The Vaddukoddai Resolution of the Tamil Nation of Sri Lanka

An Appraisal on the Legal Dimensions of the Resolution by Dr. Sandrasegaram Paramalingam, May 21, 2021 ‘‘India’s approach was based on two fundamental considerations: One was the support to the ‘Tamils of Sri Lanka’ for equality, justice, dignity and peace. The other was ensuring unity, stability and the territorial integrity of ‘Sri Lanka’.” “We have… Read more »

HRW: Reject ‘Political Victimization’ Findings

Government Seeks to Absolve Allies for Abuses, Prosecute Officials Pursuing Justice by Human Rights Watch, April 30, 2021 (New York) – Sri Lanka’s parliament should reject a resolution to exonerate officials implicated in human rights abuses and to prosecute police and prosecutors investigating them, Human Rights Watch said today. Adopting the resolution, brought before parliament on… Read more »

Sri Lankan Tamil Refugees in India

Conceptual Framework of Repatriation Success by Miriam George, Anita Vaillancourt, and s. Irudaya Rajan, Refuge, Vol. 36, No.3, 2016 Sri Lankan Refugees in India Repatriation Success 2016 Abstract Repatriation to Sri Lanka has become a primary challenge to Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in Indian refugee camps, and a matter of significant public discussion in India… Read more »

Sri Lanka’s Muslims Face Backlash

Two Years After Easter Attacks Sri Lankan government ramps up restrictions on minority community. by Jumaina Siddiqui, Melissa Nosell, US Institute for Peace, Washington, DC, April 29, 2021 Two years after the Easter Sunday attacks that left 269 dead and injured more than 500, Sri Lanka’s Christian community is still waiting for justice while its… Read more »