The Mirage of Power Sharing by Sachithanandam Sathananthan,* November 10, 2004 sangam.org/articles/view2/637.html Conflict resolution and human rights “peaceniks” in Colombo are busy mouthing vacuous slogans about national “co-existence” and ethnic “harmony.” These Sinhala peaceniks are promoting the belief that Sinhala nationalism is capable of, and willing to, strike a compromise with Tamil nationalism. SPC and… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Politics
Think Madam President, Think
And Be Aware by Wakeley Paul, Esq., November 14, 2004 sangam.org/articles/view2/635.html The war in Iraq will be Bush’s undoing. The present relentless attack on Fallujah is no different to what the Americans did in Vietnam time and time again, or what the SL army faced in the NorthEast. In fighting insurgents, armies have no front… Read more »
No Peace Without Justice
by Arundhati Roy, November 4, 2004 Speech on accepting the 2004 Sydney Peace Prize sangam.org/articles/view2/648.html Sometimes there’s truth in old cliches. There can be no real peace without justice. And without resistance there will be no justice. Today, it is not merely justice itself, but the idea of justice that is under attack. The assault… Read more »
The Discipline of Honor
by P.J., October 31, 2004 sangam.org/articles/view2/629.html I became interested in the armed struggle of our people in the eighth grade. It all started with my friend telling me about a band called “Rage Against The Machine.” Rage Against The Machine fascinated me with the idea of revolution. I tried to learn about the issues they… Read more »
Power to the Minority
by Mafoot Simon, Straits Times, Singapore, October 29, 2004 sangam.org/articles/view2/627.html Dear Ehsan, It’s been many years since you migrated to the United States. Quite a long way from Jalan Ismail to Los Angeles, isn’t it? Your accountancy business doing OK? I’ve been following the presidential contest, and it strikes me that it truly is the… Read more »
Karuna: A Voice From The Past
by K. Mylvaganam, October 27, 2004 sangam.org/articles/view2/623.html Karuna’s is a name that is getting fast diminished from the political world. His biggest fear is that people are going to forget him very soon. He knows that he is becoming history, hence he is forced to do something to prove that he is alive and kicking. … Read more »
A Kerry Win: Implications for Sri Lanka
by Dayan Jayatilleka, [source not recorded], October 17, 2004 sangam.org/articles/view2/622.html The Sangam makes no endorsement in the American election campaign. This is an interesting article speculating on the implications of one outcome of the election. Jayatilleka is a voice crying in the wilderness for a a non-sectarian, pluralistic, federal state on the island. If that… Read more »
LTTE Rationale for Talks Based on the ISGA Alone
by Taraki (aka D.Sivaram), Daily Mirror, Colombo, Wednesday, October 23, 2004 sangam.org/articles/view2/625.html Why are the Tigers refusing to restart peace talks with the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) on any basis other than their Interim Self Governing Authority proposal? With each passing day, the opposition to the ISGA is gathering such irreversible momentum in the… Read more »
Will the New Karuna-led Alliance Pose a Serious Threat
to the LTTE? by A.R.M. Imtiyaz, Ph.D. [1], October 27, 2004 sangam.org/articles/view2/624.html The straightforward answer is ‘No.’ Why? Scholars of ethnic political conflict from Gurr to Howard clearly maintain some basic understanding of the dynamics of these struggles to answer the question. Accordingly, no ethno-political military group or alliance would enjoy the loyalty and political… Read more »
An Endless War with No Corners
by Wakeley Paul, October 21, 2004 sangam.org/articles/view2/615.html Is an endless war what President Kumaratunge has in store for the Sinhalese and for us Tamils? It would certainly appear so, unless someone from somewhere intervenes. The leader of the opposition has recently emphasized to the Indian authorities the urgent need to continue with the peace talks. … Read more »
Re: ‘An Indictment of the Sri Lankan Government’
by Saravan, October 20, 2004 The article ‘An Indictment of the Sri Lankan Government‘ is the first time, to my mind, where I have come across a comprehensive list of discrete actions on the part of the Sri Lankan state at causing genocide of Tamils. Unfortunately, these events have been reported from time to time,… Read more »
Let the Tamils Go 2
sangam.org/articles/view2/609.html Along with an article ( http://www.sangam.org/articles/view2/?uid=594 ) a few days ago by Mr. V. Navaratnam, the editor asked for a picture of Mr. Navaratnam. As usual, Sachi Sri Kantha comes through: Yesterday was Mr. Navaratnam’s 94th birthday. He was born on October 18, 1910. Regards, Sachi
The ISGA: an Exile’s View
by Neville Chinivasagam, October 18, 2004 sangam.org/articles/view2/607.html Every right-thinking Sri Lankan, domiciled or exiled, and regardless of whether Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, Moslem or Atheist, laments seeing the Peace Process faltering on the brink of wreckage led by Sri Lanka’s President Chandrika Kumaratunge. Her non-commitment to the Peace Process is a political sop to nations like… Read more »
The Game of Sound Bites
by B.J. Alexander, October 18, 2004 sangam.org/articles/view2/606.html The launching of a new liberation-oriented political party in Colombo by the hide-and-seek former Colonel is not at all a surprising stunt. This was expected of him. It has happened however, with astonishing speed. Without the aid of the governing elite such a recognition could not have occurred…. Read more »
Hindi-English Bhai-Bhai
The Hindu editorial, Chennai, October 14, 2004 sangam.org/articles/view2/603.html IT IS BY now accepted wisdom that the diversity of India is best represented by a government that is itself an alliance of divergent political, cultural, and linguistic currents. The advent of coalition governance has done much to bring together elements previously thought to be irreconcilably inimical…. Read more »
An Indictment of the Sri Lankan Government
by S. Makenthiran, B.A., FCCA sangam.org/articles/view2/599.html The Sinhalese-dominated Sri Lankan government stands indicted of genocide and other crimes against humanity against the minority Tamils who are some of the original inhabitants of the island. The following facts from the date of independence, prove beyond doubt the ethnic cleansing and efforts to eliminate the Tamil presence… Read more »
PICAR Sri Lanka Problem-Solving Project
by Donna Hicks and William Weisberg, US Institute for Peace, Washington, DC, date unclear sangam.org/articles/view2/598.html Has anything changed in the past 10 years or are we right back where we started? Note iPostn particular points boldfaced below — Editor Since 1994, Harvard University’s Program on International Conflict Analysis and Resolution (PICAR) has been working to… Read more »
Why We Needn’t Feel Insulted
By that insult Eelam Tamils should realise their potential and continue to work as a cohesive and united people to achieve their goals. No need to worry about our size! — Editor Janadas Devan, Straits Times, Singapore, October 10, 2004 sangam.org/articles/view2/597.html JEAN-JACQUES Rousseau in his Essay On The Origin Of Language cited this parable to illustrate the… Read more »
THE ISGA PROPOSALS: THE COURSE TO TAKE
In the face of government intransigence by S. Muthu Cumaraswamy sangam.org/articles/view2/596.html The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have advanced the proposals regarding the creation of an Interim Self Governing Authority for the NorthEast of the island of Sri Lanka so that an effective administration could be set up in that area. The aim is… Read more »
Fear of the Demand for One Country, Two States
And equal individual opportunity By Professor Alvappillai Veluppillai, The Journal of Buddhist Ethics, Volume 10 2003 ISSN 1076-9005 sangam.org/articles/view2/595.html Introduction In my view a common thread running through the history of the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict in the post-independence period is the Buddhist fear of the Tamil demand for sharing as one nation, two states,… Read more »