[We do not usually post such very political pieces — written in the inimitable South Asian take-no-quarter style — but since the next parliamentary election will be so crucial, we hope this article will at minimum start the dialogue. We will be encouraging the author to provide our readers next his ideas for what is… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Politics
Don’t Whitewash the Sri Lankan State’s Many Crimes
by Taylor Dibbert, Modern Diplomacy, Europe, June 12, 2020 A recent article in these pages examines the Sri Lankan government’s battle against the Tamil Tigers, the activities of the Tamil diaspora and more. Unfortunately, the article whitewashes the Sri Lankan military’s horrendous wartime abuses. One cannot fully understand or appreciate modern-day Sri Lanka and the… 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, June 11, 2020 [On 22 May 1972, the first native Constitution of Sri Lanka was adopted and enacted by the Constituent Assembly. It proclaimed Ceylon as Republic of Sri Lanka. Though this Constitution survived only for six and a half years, the… Read more »
Looming Dictatorship in Sri Lanka
by Thambu Kanagasabai, June 11, 2020 Alarm bells are ringing and heard from various quarters about the direction of Sri Lanka being piloted by the military machine of Rajapakahe’s clan led by the military mindset President Gotabaya Rajapakshe who has a penchant to in tolerate criticism and opposition from any source and not hesitating to… Read more »
A Knee on the Neck of the Next Parliament
By Dayan Jayatilleke, Lanka Guardian, Colombo, June 11, 2020 http://www.ft.lk/columns/A-knee-on-the-neck-of-the-next-Parliament/4-701439 For the first time in our post-independence political history, we have a leader who does not regard it as necessary to appoint a Task Force that reflects to any extent, the composite reality of the area or citizenry concerned. It is a leadership that ignores… Read more »
What’s Wrong with the TNA?
by Mario Arulthas, Financial Times Colombo, June 5, 2020 A few weeks ago, Tamil news cycles were dominated by coverage of an interview given by the Tamil National Alliance Spokesperson M.A. Sumanthiran to a Sinhala media site. During the course of the interview, he made several comments which created controversy and outrage amongst… Read more »
TG Editorial: Mask Off
Tamil Guardian editorial, London, June 1, 2020 Even before they returned to power in Sri Lanka last year, the Rajapaksas never sought to cloak their brash espousal of Sinhala Buddhist chauvinism. As defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa ran a ruthless offensive that massacred tens of thousands of Tamils, which his brother Mahinda oversaw as president, with… Read more »
PTF on Archaeology in the Eastern Province has no Muslims or Tamils
Why the Presidential Task Force on archaeology in the Eastern Province has no Muslims or Tamils By P.K. Balachandran/Daily Express, NewsIn Asia, Colombo, June 5, 2020 Colouring a narrative to advance an ethno-religious political agenda Colombo: The Presidential Task Force for Archaeological Heritage Management in the Eastern Province, which was gazetted on 2 June, has… Read more »
ITJP: Alleged Torturer Heads Sri Lankan CID
by International Truth & Justice Project Sri Lanka, South Africa, May 26, 2020 https://www.itjpsl.com/assets/press/English-26-May-2020-Alwis-press-release.pdf Press Release Johannesburg: International assistance to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Sri Lankan police must be urgently reviewed now that a well known alleged torturer has been put in charge. Senior Superintendant of Police Adambarage Ruwan Prasanna Jayak De… Read more »
ITJP: No Vetting for Sri Lanka’s New Major Generals
by International Truth & Justice Project Sri Lanka, South Africa, May 22, 2020 https://www.itjpsl.com/assets/press/English-press-release-22-May-2020.pdf Press Release Johannesburg: On the eleventh anniversary of the end of the war in Sri Lanka, the President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, intentionally promoted officers[1] to the rank of Major General who should have been vetted and screened out of any official position,… Read more »
ITJP: The President’s Inner Circle
by International Truth & Justice Project Sri Lanka, South Africa, May 5, 2020 https://itjpsl.com/reports/gotabayas-inner-circle Press Release Johannesburg: President Gotabaya Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka has appointed an alarming collection of alleged perpetrators of war crimes and bureaucrats previously accused of corruption to his new government, said the International Truth and Justice Project. The legal research organisation… Read more »
Keenie Meenie: A ‘Deniable’ Arm of Whitehall?
by Channa Wickremesekera, Groundviews, Colombo, May 19, 2020 Book Review – Phil Miller, Keenie Meenie: The British Mercenaries Who got away with War Crimes, (Pluto Press, 2020) Eleven years ago, in May 2009, the Sri Lankan security forces decisively defeated the military forces of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE). The LTTE’s leadership and… Read more »
The Dark Face of COVID-19 in Sri Lanka
by Thambu Kanagasabai – LLM [London] Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, May 8, 2020 The pandemic Covid-19 which originated in Wuhan province, China sometime in December 2019 made its cruel impact as a globally deadly disease in January 2020 and was declared as a pandemic on March 11, 2020. It then… Read more »
Still Searching for Stephen Sunthararaj
by Tamil Guardian, London, May 7, 2020 On this day 11 years ago, Stephen Sunthararaj, an activist who had exposed the trafficking of Tamil children into international prostitution rings, was abducted and forcibly disappeared in Colombo by armed men in military uniforms. Sunthararaj, was the Project Manager of the Centre for Human Rights and Development… Read more »
Dharmaretnam Sivaram: ‘Appa died doing what he loved most’
By Vaishnavi Sivaram, Vaitheki Sivaram & Andrew Seralaathan Dharmaretnam, Journalists for a Democracy in Sri Lanka, April 29, 2020 This year marks the 15th anniversary of our father’s death and to this day, no one has been convicted for his murder. We are not surprised by this and neither is our family looking for justice. The Sri… Read more »
Mr. Sri Pathe Thillaiampalam
April 21, 2020 Dear Sangam members, With deepest regrets, we inform you that Mr. Sri Thillaiampalam of Boston, MA passed away today peacefully due to natural causes. He was a founding member of the Eelam Tamil Association (ETA) in the late seventies, which pushed the passage of a resolution urging the US President and Congress to… Read more »
Sri Lanka’s Dismal Political Achievements
by Thambu Kanagasabai, LLM [London] Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, April 23, 2020 The Sri Lankan Government is claiming credit as the first country in the world to have successfully controlled the Corvid-19 virus spreading world-wide. However, it is to be noted that this claim is premature and has to be… Read more »
ITJP: Sri Lanka’s Militarisation of COVID-19 Response
by International Truth and Justice Project, South Africa, April 8, 2020 ITJPSL.COM ITJPSL /A_T/ GMAIL /D_O_T/ COM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: YASMIN SOOKA English ITJP_COVID-19 press release (Merged) copy PRESS RELEASE: Sri Lanka’s Militarisation of COVID-19 Response Accompanying Infographic Johanesburg: The lack of civilian oversight over Sri Lanka’s militarised COVID-19 response raises some very serious human rights… Read more »
Justice for War Victims, Covid-19 & the Presidential Pardon
to a convicted criminal by Kumarathasan Rasingam – Secretary – The Tamil Canadian Elders for Human Rights Org., April 9, 2020 President Gotabaya’s pardon of a convicted criminal to let him loose to prowl free on the streets is only a licence and encouragement for him and other similar minded criminals to embark on a… Read more »
Sinhalization of the North-East: Seruwila-Verugal
by People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL), March 12, 2020 Sinhalization of the North-East: Seruwila – Verugal – People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (pearlaction.org) PEARL is launching the 3rd installment of its “Sinhalization of the North-East” series, this time focusing on Seruwila-Verugal. This series examines the scope and impact of the… Read more »