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 »
Posts Categorized: Politics
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 »
Behind the Headlines
by V Gunaratnam, August 12, 2005 These are my comments on the news behind the headlines quoted below from various Sri Lankan sources. Less than ten percent of Sinhalese want Norway to continue as the key facilitator of Sri Lanka peace process – survey – July 22 According to the “Social Indicator” published by the… Read more »
After 29 Years, an Aceh Peace Pact
The Aceh accord, to be signed on Monday, feels like a major gamble on the part of GAM, based on what we know from Sri Lanka. In return for giving up their quest for a separate state and disarming, GAM may or may not be able to form a local party and take part in… Read more »
Report to UN ECOSOC Subcommission on Human Rights
by Liberation, UK, August 4, 2005 UNITED NATIONS Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights Fifty-seventh session 04-08-2005 Agenda item 4 – Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Liberation welcomes the preliminary report of Sub-Commission member Mr. Marc Bossuyt on the issue of non-discrimination in Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. While still early in… Read more »
All the World’s a University
by Janadas Devan, The Straits Time, Singapore, December 2004 WHEN Jawaharlal Nehru was arrested by the British in 1942, he traipsed off to prison clutching, among other things, Plato’s Republic and Marcel Proust’s A la recherche du temps perdu (in the original French, of course). This Indian freedom fighter was nothing if not inward with high European culture. He… Read more »
Stranglehold on Peace
Kumaratunga will not sacrifice power for peace by Tamil Guardian editorial, December 22, 2004 Fear of a renewed war has become all pervasive. Tamils, both in the homelands and the diaspora are closely following developments in the Norwegian peace process, albeit with deepening pessimism. Even the usually upbeat Norwegian Special Envoy, Erik Solheim, could not conceal… Read more »
Notes on Political Instability in Divided Societies
Some Notes on Political Instability in Divided Societies with Reference to the Sri Lankan State and Conflict by A.R.M. Imtiyaz, Ph.D. (Visiting scholar, Department of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania, USA), December 21, 2004 Form of governments Recent political disturbances in ethnically, religiously and linguistically divided societies including Sri Lanka reminds one of Max Weber,… Read more »
Brief History of the Stalled Peace Talks
by Wakeley Paul, Esq., December 21, 2004 In December, 2000 the LTTE declared a unilateral ceasefire. Four months of negotiations toward a mutual ceasefire with the President’s PA government came to nought. In July, 2001 the LTTE attacked the Katunayake Airport, but followed this up with a second unilateral ceasefire. In late 2001, Ranil Wickremesinghe’s… Read more »