by Kopi Annan, September 6, 2005 In the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, the world witnessed a complete breakdown of law and order in Louisiana that required the presence of the National Guard to safeguard property. The chaos is best described by Rossie Diamnno of The Toronto Star (September 2, 2005) as follows: “It is disgraceful that countless… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Politics
India May Pull Troops From Kashmir
After New Talks by Somini Sengupta, The New York Times, September 6, 2005 NEW DELHI, Sept. 5 – India will pull back troops from the disputed territory of Kashmir if militant infiltration and violence ends, the prime minister’s office announced Monday evening after a rare meeting with Kashmiri separatists. The meeting, between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh… Read more »
Is It Crisis Management or Conflict Resolution?
by Chandi Sinnathurai THE FIVE-DAY visit to Sri Lanka by the UN special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has caused many speculations. Is the intent of the UN to study the progress of the peace process genuine enough to win peace while bringing justice to the marginalised Tamils? Such fear is always palpable in the Sinhala mind-set…. Read more »
Deja Vu? Sri Lanka’s Tamils Fear Return to Civil War
by Simon Gardner, Boston Globe, August 27, 2005 JAFFNA, Sri Lanka (Reuters) – Displaced four times by Sri Lanka’s two-decade civil war with the Tamil Tigers, 22-year-old Nirmalashanthi Vijayakanth is ecstatic to finally settle into the first home she can call her own. The ramshackle shelter in the artillery-ravaged northern town of Jaffna has no running… Read more »
A Man of Straw
by V Gunaratnam, September 6, 2005 “All of us who are concerned for peace and triumph of reason and justice must be keenly aware how small an influence reason and honest good will exert upon events in the political field.” – Albert Einstein on Peace 1879-1955 Death comes to most of us without warning, but… Read more »
The Construction of Kadirgamar
Lakshman Kadirgamar: How the South Constructed Him, the Tamils Saw Him by J. S. Tissainayagam, Northeastern Monthly, September 1, 2005 “The LTTE has wreaked havoc so many times and now killed the best foreign minister this country ever had. It was he who changed the international opinion of this Island, which was hitherto referred to… Read more »
Pride and Prejudice
by Chandi Sinnathurai, September 3, 2005 THE LATE Mr. Kadirgamar prided himself solely as a Sri Lankan while distancing himself as a Tamil. The harsh reality of it all is that the Tamils around the world have refused to mourn the death of this prodigal son who with style and finesse betrayed his own roots. Many… Read more »
Sangam: US Must Stand by the Peace Process in Sri Lanka
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 »
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 »