Sangam Press Release The US must stand by the peace process in Sri Lanka On August 31, 2005 the Ilankai Tamil Sangam sent out a press release concerning the peace process in Sri Lanka and responding to a recent press release from the Sri Lankan Embassy in Washington, DC. The press release can be read… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Politics
NESOHR: Sethusamedram Project
NESOHR on the Sethusamedram Project The University of Jaffna, the Green Movement Sri Lanka, the Tamil Economic Consulting House (TECH) and the Environment Foundation together organized a public discussion at the Library Auditorium in University of Jaffna on August 30th 2005 on the “Socio-economical and environmental impacts of the Sethu Samudhram Canal Project (SSCP).” NESOHR… Read more »
NESoHR: Withdraw ER & PTA
Withdraw the Emergency Regulation and the Prevention of Terrorism Act NORTH EAST SECRETARIAT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS NESOHR A9 Road Karadippokku, Kilinochchi nesohr /A_T/ hotmail /D_O_T/ com Tel: 94 (0) 21 228 5986 NESOHR Press Release 22 August 2005 Withdraw the Emergency Regulation (ER) and the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) Reintroduction of the… Read more »
NYT: Divided They Stand
By David Brooks, The New York Times, August 25, 2005 This constitution gives each group what it wants. It will create a very loose federation in which only things like fiscal and foreign policy are controlled in the center (even tax policy is decentralized). Oil revenues are supposed to be distributed on a per capita basis,… Read more »
Negotiating with ‘Illiberal’ Forces
by A.R.M. Imtiyaz, Ph.D., August 26, 2005 The assassination of Foreign Minister Mr. Kadirgamar not only deeply shocked many Sinhalese, but also vigorously spurred Southern nationalists who oppose power-sharing arrangements with the LTTE. Literally, an absence of social peace with justice in ethnically divided societies will engender social disharmony between the different ethnic groups. It… Read more »
Sri Lanka in Crisis Again
by M. Thiru, August 26, 2005 Mr. Venkatesh, Re: ‘Sri Lanka in crisis again’ in the Asian Tribune As an observer, I wonder why the Sri Lankan Police declined the help offered by the UK and US police authorities in solving the murder of Laxman Kadirgamar? This international help the Sri Lankan police do not want. … Read more »
U.S. Can Learn from Unrest in Sri Lanka
by Lloyd Chapman, Statesman Journal, Salem, Oregon, USA, August 24, 2005 Sri Lanka is again in the throes of unrest. The foreign minister and two popular radio announcers were assassinated recently, ending a week that saw half a dozen people killed on the nation’s east coast. This island nation near India has been here before. Who… Read more »
Comment on Kadirgamar
by Brian Senewiratne, Brisbane, Australia, August 25, 2005 I note that the Editor of Sangam adds what amounts to an apology for publishing the poem by Rajendra and the well-researched article by Satchi Sri Kantha on Sri Lanka’s worst ever Foreign Minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar. I think the apology is misplaced. I am aware of the… Read more »
Burgher Emigration – a Clarification
by J. B. Muller, Daily News, Colombo, August 24, 2005 The person who referred to the Burghers as “so-called Burghers’ is still with us and he has a theory why the Burghers emigrated from as far back as 1942. Adverting to the reason for the mass emigration of the Burghers to other parts of the world… Read more »
US State Dept. Description of Sri Lanka’s ‘Communal Crisis’
Communal Crisis “Historical divisions continue to have an impact on Sri Lankan society and politics. From independence, the Tamil minority has been uneasy with the country’s unitary form of government and apprehensive that the Sinhalese majority would abuse Tamil rights. Those fears were reinforced when S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike triumphed in the 1956 elections after appealing to… Read more »
Reply to an Offensive Tribute
by Roy Ratnavel, August 25, 2005 Mr. Gunaratne, No doubt, to lose a friend in this manner is a tragic event. I never met Mr. Kadirgamar. However, reading all the tributes tells me, despite my opposing views about him, that he was an intellect, splendid orator and would have been an interesting person to sit-down… Read more »
LA Times: A Disaster’s Peace Dividend
by Los Angeles Times editorial, August 22, 2005 Editorial comment — Much of the information in this editorial is correct, so it is surprising the conclusion the editor ends with. One tip-off that the writer does not really know what he is talking about is his assertion that there has been a cease-fire in Sri Lanka for… Read more »
TG: Fresh Promise
by Tamil Guardian editorial, London, August 24, 2005 The welcome decision last week by the Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lankan government to hold direct talks on the implementation of the February 2002 ceasefire has given a desperately needed boost to the Norwegian peace process. The talks are to centre on the implementation of the truce. There… Read more »
Letter to the ‘National Post’ 2
by Mak. S. Makenthiran, Vice-President, Senior Tamils Society of Peel, Canada Re: ‘Why does Ottawa turn a blind eye to Tamil terrorists?’ An article entitled as above in your issue of August 15, 2005 was brought to my notice. The above title is very misleading and racist as it gives the idea that Tamils are terrorists. … Read more »
Letter to Hindustan Times
about Assassination by M. Thiru, August 16, 2005 Dear Mr. Balachandran, Please refer to your article ‘ Sombre mood in Lanka augurs well for peace.’ In that article you have not mentioned about the upcoming Presidential elections, the pending court case on when the current presidential term ends, what will be the effect of FM… Read more »
Kadirgamar and the Tamils
by Rajendra, August 15, 2005 Many readers will consider this poem and its sentiments in somewhat bad taste because they do not speak well of someone who has passed on. The editor is of the opinion that one must look at a life honestly and acknowledge the good and the bad. The feelings expressed in… Read more »
The Fate of Sri Lanka
by Wakeley Paul, Esq., August 15, 2005 A few teasing and troublesome questions arise from the assassination of the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister. One first wonders how a Tamil Tiger could have penetrated the highly secured area where the Foreign Minister lived, which was further secured because of the presence of a foreign embassy in… Read more »
Assassination Threatens to End Sri Lankan Cease-Fire
by Somini Sengupta, The New York Times, August 14, 2005 The government of Sri Lanka and its Tamil separatist foes traded accusations yesterday over the killing of the country’s foreign minister, with rebels denying responsibility, government officials brushing off their denials and the country’s fragile peace process falling ever deeper into crisis. The assassination late Friday… Read more »
Turkey’s Prime Minister Pledges Further Reforms for Kurds
Admits Past Mistakes by Voice of America, August 13, 2003 Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan traveled to Turkey’s troubled Kurdish region Friday where he pledged to address the Kurds’ long running grievances through further democracy and social reforms. As Amberin Zaman reports for VOA, Mr. Erdogan’s remarks are seen by some observers as signaling… Read more »
Sri Lanka Tense After Sniper Kills Kadirgamar
by Tamil Guardian, London, August 13, 2005 Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar was shot by a sniper outside his home in Colombo on Friday and died in hospital after emergency surgery, raising fears for the island’s increasingly shaky ceasefire. Kadirgamar, 73, died at the National Hospital in Colombo where he had been admitted in serious… Read more »