by P K Balachandran, Hindustan Times, November 15, 2004 sangam.org/articles/view2/647.html One of the basic reasons for the conflict between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the rest of the world is the difference of opinion on whether ‘group rights’ should take precedence over ‘individual rights.’ This conflict is a major factor stalling the… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Politics
A Victory, But Little Is Gained
by DARYL G. PRESS and BENJAMIN VALENTINO, The New York Times op-ed, November 17, 2004 Does any of this sound familiar to Sangam readers? sangam.org/articles/view2/644.html Hanover, N.H. — The textbook urban assault on Falluja reflected well on the dedication, training and equipment of the American military. Unfortunately, it has not brought the United States appreciably… Read more »
All Lankan Eggs in Indian Basket?
The Island, Colombo, November 10, 2004 sangam.org/articles/view2/643.html The joint Indo- Sri Lanka statement issued after the visit of President Chandrika Kumaratunga to New Delhi and the proposed Defence Co-operation Agreement together with complementary agreements such as on Pallaly Airport are being hailed in all quarters here, except by the LTTE. There is much satisfaction because… Read more »
Tigers to Part Ways for Want of Southern Consensus?
by Taraki (aka D.Sivaram), Daily Mirror, Colombo, November 17, 2004 sangam.org/articles/view2/641.html A military solution to Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict remains a very real option today although we are almost into three years of a fairly stable no-war atmosphere. In large measure this is due to persistent beliefs and perceptions in the Sinhala polity about the… Read more »
Peace Puzzle
by V. Gunaratnam, November 17, 2004 sangam.org/articles/view2/640.html The Sri Lanka government’s peace motives remain a puzzle to this day, because of the endless roadblocks and delays the peace process has been subjected to. Twenty long and bloody years have gone by since hostilities began, but the Sinhala leaders still can’t find it in their hearts… Read more »
The Sri Lankan Peace Talks and the ISGA Proposals
by M. Nadarajan, November 17, 2004 sangam.org/articles/view2/639.html Newspapermen and many governments continue to give their views on the peace process, spouting out nonsense without, in most instances, any knowledge of what they are speaking about or the background to the problem. In order to make any meaningful comments, one should look at the past, the… Read more »
Conflict Resolution in Sri Lanka
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 »
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 »