by Taraki; Daily Mirror, Colombo, originally published February 4, 2004 Sri Lanka is not a sovereign state. Firstly it does not enjoy sovereignty over its external affairs. Secondly, it cannot exercise its sovereignty over the full extent of territory over which it claims a sovereign right. Thirdly, a section of the people in whom, according to… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Politics
Britain Puts UN Child Soldier Plan on Hold
by Reuters; London, February 1, 2004 UNITED NATIONS: Britain, angered that Northern Ireland appears on a UN list of countries where youths are recruited as soldiers in “armed conflicts,” has put on hold UN plans to crack down on the use of child warriors, diplomats said on Wednesday. Britain has asked Olara Otunnu, the UN special… Read more »
Thinakural Cartoon
by Thinakural, Colombo, January 30, 2004 First Man: Why are you in such a hurry to make a defense pact with India? Second Man: When the international community is seeking to find a just solution for the minorities, the only country that can help us to sabotage this is India! Originally published February 1, 2004
An Ayodhya in the Making in Lanka
by Dr. Jayadeva Uyangoda; Daily Mirror, Colombo, January 30, 2004 PA and the UNF are not taking adequate political action to counter politics of militant Sinhalese nationalism One of the most disturbing developments occurred during the past few weeks has been the acceleration of attacks on Catholic and Christian churches as well as places of worship…. Read more »
Lessons to be Learnt from the LTTE
by Rajkumar Sivapatham; TamilCanadian, January 30, 2004 Lessons to be learnt from LTTE by Tamils For years, the Tamils (no matter whether they are from India, Sri Lanka or any other part of the world) have been longing for a leadership that make them proud. There has not been any such organisation which made an impact… Read more »
A Reply to ‘India’s Interest in a JVP Sri Lanka’
by Arvalan; originally published January 28, 2004 “Falling in love is awfully simple. Falling out of love is simply awful” This is a response to “India’s interest in a JVP Sri Lanka” contributed by Thileelar in the Sangam website on the 22nd January 2004. With all due respect to him, I find Mr. Thileelar’s article contains… Read more »
Parity of Military Status
by Taraki; Daily Mirror, Colombo, January 28, 2004 The LTTE will negotiate only with parity of military status Mr. Anton Balasingham says that the India Sri Lanka Defence Co-operation Agreement (DCA) will “upset the balance of forces to the disadvantage of the LTTE”. The Tigers have accused Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe of trying to tilt the… Read more »
Judge Voids Part of Anti-Terror Act
by Eric Lichtblau, New York Times, January 26, 2004 Citing Free Speech, Judge Voids Part of Antiterror Act WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 — For the first time, a federal judge has struck down part of the sweeping antiterrorism law known as the USA Patriot Act, joining other courts that have challenged integral parts of the Bush… Read more »
Caste in Transition
by V. G. Julie Rajan; Hinduism Today, Hawaii, April/May/June 2003 issue http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/2003/4-6/30-35_caste.shtml Caste in Transition Education, economics and protest drive changes and reform to India’s ancient societal divisions Caste is not a pleasant topic for Hindus, and in the international arena today, it has elicited a shame upon the Hindu religion. I have written this article… Read more »
India’s Interest in a JVP Sri Lanka
by Thileelar; originally published January 22, 2004 While there have been many articles written about the military importance of Srilanka to India, many have overlooked the role of Srilanka in India’s long term economic vision. It is obvious that India has been aspiring to be an economic powerhouse and seeks to organize the south Asian countries… Read more »
An Indian Takeover of Sri Lanka?
by Wakeley Paul; originally published January 22, 2004 While both the LTTE and the Sri Lankan President are claiming friendship with the Indian government, it is obvious that the Indian government is playing up to the President rather than the LTTE. The Indian government has declined the invitation to be part of the aid donor group… Read more »
New Alliance Set to Precipitate War
by Taraki; Daily Mirror, Colombo, January 21, 2004 The JVP-SLFP memorandum of understanding is a sure formula for precipitating another war with the LTTE. President Chandrika and her external backers might be able to cleverly postpone the war but they cannot stop it if the United People’s Freedom Alliance were to stick to the policies enunciated… Read more »
Still Time Left to Revive Peace
by Rajkumar Sivapatham (UK); TamilCanadian, published January 20, 2004 Sri Lankan Peace – There is still some time left to revive In view of the events that are happening fast in Sri Lanka, it is important to assess them and have a clear understanding of the situation. I am sure the Sri Lankan Tamils inside and… Read more »
Tamilchelvan’s Statement to Intl Officials & Organizations
by LTTE Peace Secretariat; Kilinochchi, 19 January 2004 “It gives us immense pleasure indeed to receive you all on behalf of our people and the national leader. You all are striving hard to bring about peace in this island and carryout a noble humanitarian service to people in distress with commitment. In the current political crisis,… Read more »
The Case for Direct Economic Assistance to the NorthEast
by Ana Pararajasingam; published January 18, 2004 [The writer is an Australian based Management Consultant, who, between March 2003 and June 2003 this year, was in Sri Lanka working with the LTTE’s Planning & Development Unit and the World Bank, UN agencies and the Asian Development Bank, to assess the needs of the war torn Northeast…. Read more »
Think, India, Think
by Sebsan; Melbourne’s 3CR Tamil Voice, December 22, 2003. The Tamil version is published in www.tamilnaatham.com Sri Lanka is going through political turmoil caused by a constitutional crisis, whilst the Indian political arena is also tensed at the moment. The ruling BJP has achieved unexpected victories in the recently held state elections. At the same… Read more »
Fait Accompli!?
by M. Nadarajah; originally published January 16, 2004 The several Governments that have been in power in Ceylon, renamed Sri Lanka, of whichever colour or hue, and whether capitalist-oriented or socialist-oriented, have had one common objective and that has been to make it a Sinhala Buddhist country, irrespective of the fact that nearly 26% of the… Read more »
Indo-Lanka Defence Cooperation
by Taraki; Daily Mirror, January 13, 2004 Indo-Lanka Defence Cooperation Agreement: A matter of routine The proposed India-Sri Lanka Defence Co-operation Agreement is being considered with some concern by the Tamil press and politicians. The Tigers remain silent. Instead, we heard their advisor Balasingham urging the Indian government to take on a ‘more positive role’ in… Read more »
Terms & Conditions
Tamil Guardian editorial, London, January 14, 2004 If the consequences for Sri Lanka’s peoples didn’t threaten to be so tragic, the dynamics of the constitutional crisis gripping Colombo would be farcical. President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s dramatic announcement Tuesday that she intends to remain in office till 2006 – a full year longer than expected – would… Read more »
Professor Nagl’s War
by Peter Maass; The New York Times, January 11, 2004 Maj. John Nagl approaches war pragmatically and philosophically, as a soldier and a scholar. He graduated close to the top of his West Point class in 1988 and was selected as a Rhodes scholar. He studied international relations at Oxford for two years, then returned to… Read more »