by Wakeley Paul; originally published January 11, 2004 GLOBAL MYTHS AND REALITIES AMERICA¹S APPROACHPresident Bush, on his recent visit to London made a rather presumptuous statement at the Royal Banqueting Hall of Whitehall Palace when he said. “Your nation and mine in the past have been willing to tolerate oppression for the sake of stability……Now we… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Politics
Review of ‘Elusive Mind’
by Shan Ranjit; from Circle Digest, Tuesday, December 30 2003, Volume 2001 : Number 3311 INSIDE AN ELUSIVE MIND ; BOOK REVIEW OLD WINE IN A NEW BOTTLE The latest book by Narayan Swamy (henceforth referred to as NS) on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and its chief, Vellupillai Pirabakaran is a disappointment. I would… Read more »
Fiscal Federalism
by Taraki; Daily Mirror, Colombo, January 7, 2004 Lankan leaders providing political building blocks for the LTTE? Money and resources are at the bottom of almost all problems and conflicts of humanity. The conflict in Sri Lanka too can be explained from this perspective. The LTTE negotiators did not understand the nature of this fundamental problem… Read more »
Kumar’s Calling to Tamil Intellectuals
by Father S.J. Emmanuel; originally published January 5, 2004 Kumar’s calling to Tamil Intellectuals and Professionals On the 4th anniversary of the death of our beloved Kumar Ponnambalam, when the Tamils in and out of Sri Lanka, salute him as a Great Man – Maamanithar –, as a courageous Prophet, who stood up and spoke out in defence… Read more »
Re-evaluating Concepts of Sovereignty
by Ana Pararajasingam; South Asia Analysis Group paper No. 879, January 1, 2004 India’s former Prime Minister, Nehru and Sri Lanka’s former Prime Minister Bandaranaike shared a common Westernised background and an education at Oxford and Cambridge respectively- England’s oldest and prestigious universities. But, the similarities ended right there. By heeding the sentiments that led to… Read more »
US Presidential election 2004
Received from a Sangam member: I encourage Sangam members to get involved in the US 2004 presidential elections. I think now is a good time throw our support behind a candidate and engage our community to get involved locally around US. The relationships we build now with local supporters and party officials can help us… Read more »
Indonesia’s Secret War
by New York Times editorial; January 3, 2004 Do the tactics of Indonesia in Aceh sound quite familiar to Sri Lankan Tamils? In fact, where did the Indonesians learn from? We wonder why the Times is concerned about these tactics in Aceh, but had no concern for the NorthEast. Must have something to do with oil…!… Read more »
Aiding the Devil
by Saravanan Suresh Kumar, Bangalore; published January 3, 2004 By providing military aid to Sri Lanka, India is weakening further the current troubled peace process. We still seem to have not realized that the Sri Lankan problem is not one that can be solved militarily. We are creating new problems and not solving the existing one…. Read more »
ISGA Proposals and Precedence
by Arvalan; originally published December 28, 2003 On October 31, 2003 the LTTE, on behalf of the Tamil people, announced their proposal for an Interim Self-Governing Administration (ISGA) of the Northeast of the island called Sri Lanka. This proposed ISGA is a significant step toward a peaceful resolution of the decades-long conflict between the Tamil and… Read more »
Federal Solutions Amidst Chaos
by Dr. Robert C. Oberst; Daily Mirror, Colombo, December 19, 2003 Federal solutions amidst government chaos in Lanka Over the last 20 years, neither side in the Sri Lankan civil war has shown a willingness to negotiate the conflict with the other side. Until Norwegian mediation, there were few direct meetings between the two sides and… Read more »
Good Cop, Bad Cop
by R. Cholan; originally published December 19, 2003 Good Cop… Bad Cop… The drama being played in Sri Lanka reminds me of a tactic employed by Police Departments all over the world, during interrogation of crime suspects. Usually, at these interrogations, there are two Policemen present. One acts ‘kindly’ towards the suspect and the other acts… Read more »
Asian Balance & the Subcontinent
by C. Raja Mohan; The Hindu, December 18, 2003 Note from the person who kindly brought this article to our attention: Singapore journalist/academic Cherian George (born and bred Singaporean keralite)wrote an article a few years back titled “Replacing British Empire [in India] with an East Asian Empire.” In my view it can happen with the help… Read more »
Bloody Past – The ‘Disappeared’ Remain a Fundamental Issue
by Tamil Guardian editorial; originally published December 18, 2003 Bloody Past -The ‘disappeared’ remain a fundamental issue Though guns in Sri Lanka’s protracted ethnic conflict have been silent for over two years, the legacy of many bloody years remains. Last Wednesday the issue of ‘disappearances’ was highlighted yet again when a human rights organisation held a… Read more »
The Sri Lankan Scene: Peace Talks on Hold
by T. Sabaratnam; originally published December 15, 2003 Weekly Review The Sri Lankan Scene Peace Talks on Hold Hit Wicket I will begin this column, as I did last week, with cricket, not with Muttiah Muraleetharan capturing eight wickets in the second test with England, but with the phenomenal ‘hit wicket’ performance of Sri Lanka Cricket… Read more »
Status of Healthcare in the Vanni
by a Sangam member; originally published December 14, 2003 Many of my friends and colleagues have traveled to NorthEast of the island of Sri Lanka since the ceasefire agreement was signed between the LTTE and the government of Sri Lanka. There have been extensive reports of the destruction of 20 years of war, but none to… Read more »
A Reply to ‘TE Proposals and Beyond’
by Wakeley Paul, Esq.; originally published December 10, 2003 A REPLY TO ‘TE PROPOSALS AND BEYOND’ ANOTHER CHANCE TO JETTISON TALKS AND RESUME WAR?Mr. Mahanama Prematilaka’s article entitled “TE proposals and beyond” published December 8, reminds us of that famous saying ‘We had to destroy the Town to save it.’ Prematilaka’s suggestions for dealing with the… Read more »
Examining the ISGA Proposal
by A. Sri-Jayantha; originally published December 10, 2003 The proposal for an Interim Self-Governing Authority (ISGA) for the NorthEast of Sri Lanka was made public by the LTTE on Nov.1, 2003. The constitutional crisis in the South precipitated by Pres. Kumaratunge on Nov. 4 has allowed us to mull on this proposal and to react to… Read more »
What is a Refugee?
originally published December 10, 2003 IRC Brown Bag: How can we educate others about refugees? Tuesday, December 16th “A refugee? Someone who lives in a slum, maybe?” -Answer given by an American to the question “What is a refugee?” in Will They Ever Go Back?, an IRC-sponsored documentary How can we educate others about refugees?… Read more »
The Commonwealth Secretariat – On Thin Ice
by Neville Chinivasagam; published December 9, 2003 Today the Commonwealth Secretariat’s historic and glorious prestige has been put on thin ice by Sri Lanka. Hopefully it will quickly melt with British acumen and foresight. The embarrassment facing the people of the Commonwealth is Mr. Lakshman Kadirgamar’s application, sponsored by Ms. Kumaratunge President of Sri Lanka, for… Read more »
Worldwide Comments on the ISGA
by M. Nadarajan; originally published December 8, 2003 Worldwide Comments on the ISGA of the LTTEComments have been made from around the world on the proposals for an Interim Self Governing Authority (ISGA) submitted by the LTTE. Only a few have been written dispassionately without taking sides. Most have been written either with pre-conceived ideas, or… Read more »