Posts Categorized: Politics

Sri Lanka Scene: Peace Cry to Win Votes

by T. Sabaratnam; Colombo, March 1, 2004 Weekly Review Now, the battle is to win votes with a peace cry. President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe are competing with each other to show to the electorate that their government would be in a better position to usher in permanent peace in Sri Lanka. In… Read more »

Dynasty Strikes

by The Action Group of Tamils; Kotte, Sri Lanka, February 22, 2004 The Sinhala President Chandrika Kumaratunga is locked in a personal power struggle with Sinhala Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe. We, The Action Group of Tamils (TAGOT), had anticipated Kumaratunga’s shenanigans almost two years ago. In our Press Release of 18 March 2002, we said she… Read more »

Letter to the International Community

by Dr. Victor Rajakulendran; published March 2, 2004 An open letter to the International CommunityPresidents Prime Ministers Foreign Ministers and Foreign Secretaries of Democratic Nations Your Excellencies Re: Parliamentary Elections in Sri Lanka As you all may be aware, due to the political bickering between Sri Lankan President Chandrika Bandaranayake Kumarathunga (CBK) and Prime Minister Ranil… Read more »

Political Bifurcation Inevitable

by Taraki; Daily Mirror, Colombo, February 27, 2004 Polarization of political forces inevitable The Parliamentary power equation after the April 2 general elections is set to sharply reflect an acute polarization of political forces in Sri Lanka. The seats in Parliament are going to be divided mainly between two fundamentally distinct political formations. On the one… Read more »

The Lion & His Shadow

by Rajkumar Sivapathan; originally published February 27, 2004 School children from all over the world study great stories of how an arrogant lion demanded one animal per day from the inmates of the forest and eventually was tricked and killed by a small hare. It is no doubt that leaders of the world would have read… Read more »

Mind Your Own Business

by Wakeley Paul; originally published February 27, 2004 “WHY DON¹T YOU MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS” says Lakshman Kadirgamar to Deputy British Foreign Secretary What does this portend? The situation in SL sends the shivers up the affluent; the Tamils and the international community interested in continuing the peace process which was begun by the UNF and… Read more »

Will the Election Solve the Impasse?

by Dr. Victor Rajakulendran; originally published February 26, 2004 Will President Chandrika Bandaranayake Kumarathunga’s snap election solve the current political impasse in Sri Lanka? Background of the impasse Sri Lankan President Chandrika Bandaranayake Kumaratunga (CBK) and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesighe (RW) have been locked in a power struggle for months. The feud reached a climax last… Read more »

Kurds Demand Vote on Independence

By Barbara Plett, BBC, February 25, 2004 BBC correspondent in Baghdad Kurdish activists have collected 1.7 million signatures on a petition demanding a referendum on the future of northern Iraq’s Kurdish region. For the past decade, Kurds have ruled their own affairs, out of the reach of former strongman Saddam Hussein. Their status in the… Read more »

Tamil Aspirations and Traitors

R Shanmugananthan, originally published February 24, 2004 The recent editorial in the Tamil Guardian on ‘Expressing Tamil Aspirations’ at the forthcoming elections is timely. Though greed of the Sinhala politicians – and in particular Chandrika Kumaratunge – is the reason for this election, the outcome will have far reaching consequences. Firstly the way Sinhalese people will vote… Read more »

The “New World Order” and Tamils – a Comment

by Rajkumar Sivapathan; February 12, 2004 The events in the past couple of years have changed the life style and attitude of most people in the world. The attack on WTC and the events followed affected many people. The main thing that affected the Tamils was the hurried inclusion of the LTTE, the only organisation that struggles… Read more »

Open Letter to President & PM

by Dr. Victor Rajakulendran; originally published February 24, 2004 An open letter to Sri Lankan President and the Prime Minister February 12, 2004 Her Excellency, Chandrika Bandaranayake Kumarathunga The President of Sri Lanka His Excellency, Ranil Wickramasinghe The Caretaker Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Your Excellencies Re: The current political crisis Your Excellency the President, you… Read more »

Call to Increased Action for War-Affected Children

by UNICEF; originally published February 24, 2004 SECURITY COUNCIL: Plight of Children in Armed Conflict Reaches Watershed Stage [press release] [NEW YORK, 20 January 2004] – The battle to uphold the rights and well-being of children exposed to armed conflict “has reached a watershed moment,” the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on the issue told the Security Council today…. Read more »

Some Reflections on Terrorism

by Wakeley Paul; originally published February 23, 2004 SOME REFLECTIONS ON TERRORISM Terrorism and Rebellion Distinguishable like Theocracy is from Democracy The common concept of terrorism is one of ruthless civilians who attack helpless unsuspecting civilians for political gain. Is that the only definition there is? If the first narrow definition was the only way to… Read more »

Sinhala Buddhist Vote

by Sarath Bulathsinghala; Lankaweb, February 18, 2004 From a Sangam member: You might think of publishing this as the latest example of Sinhala Buddhist determination to exclude and discriminate- first it was ethnic, now it is religious as well. Where will this end? It reminds me of the cartoon of two roaring galloping lions chasing a… Read more »

Tigers’ Bloodless Coup

by Vasantha Raja; TamilCanadian, February 20, 2004 The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) seem to be outsmarting the Sri Lankan state in its global propaganda battle. The dragging political crisis in the Sinhala establishment, the rise of militant Sinhala-Buddhist fundamentalism, president Kumaratunga’s moves to undermine the peace process and give leadership to the overtly chauvinist… Read more »

Letter to Jehan Perera

by Rajan Sriskandarajah; originally published February 11, 2004 Jehan Perera Media Director National Peace Council Sri Lanka. Dear Jehan, I read your latest Press Release in the Tamil Circle. This is a good analysis. However, I beg to disagree with your statement that, “… the LTTE’s own proposals for an interim self governing authority exceed those… Read more »

Looking for the Pony

by Roy Ratnavel; originally published February 11, 2004 “Will someone tell me what the hell this is about?” — Rock Hudson at the Los Angeles premiere of 2001: A Space Odyssey There is no denying that the political arena in Sri Lanka has been filled with unpleasant aromas recently. In addition to manufactured geopolitical fears, Tamils… Read more »

Tamil Parties Cannot Play Coy in a Corner

by Taraki; Daily Mirror, Colombo, February 11, 2004 The Tamil National Alliance has been made out to be more than what it actually is. If not for a variety of external pressures, it would have imploded at inception. Contrary to the chief myth about the TNA – that it is managed by the Liberation Tigers –… Read more »

The People’s Sovereignty

by George Soros; Foreign Policy, New York, January/February 2004 The People’s Sovereignty How a new twist on an old idea can protect the world’s most vulnerable populations George Soros is a financier and philanthropist. Sovereignty is an anachronistic concept originating in bygone times when society consisted of rulers and subjects, not citizens. It became the cornerstone… Read more »