Photo credit: Tamilnation.org

My article deals with the social and political after-effects of one of the most despicable episodes in Sri Lankan history – the ethnics riots of July 1983. I examine how in the intervening years, Sri Lanka’s political establishment has failed to address the growth of hate and violence, and how even certain sections of the religious establisment now see and promote war and violence as viable means to peace. Sections of the Buddhist clergy are notable in this regard.

We also see that in combatting the terrorism of the LTTE, we have now already unquestioningly entertained the growth of political terrorism. Terror against terror defines the age we live in – and I ask, have we really learnt anything from our sordid experience of ethno-political violence?

Read my article in full here.

• Another face of corruption – The breakdown of the medical profession
• Should We Fight Terror?
• In conversation with Nelum Gamage: Does anyone give a damn about corruption?
• Have NGOs failed in peacebuilding? An interview with Jehan Perera
• The promise of Citizen Journalism: Article on Madrid11

So blurted out a person next to me at a meeting recently on Federalism in Colombo, at which Bimal Ratnayake said that even if the last member of the LTTE was killed, Sri Lanka would never attain peace. For my thoughts on the capture of Thoppigala and the context to Bimal’s statement, read my article in full here (in Sinhala).

• Ranil Wickramasinghe on Thoppigala
• The Capture of Thoppigala – A Phyrric Victory
• Find the parallels – Hitler’s rise in Germany and lessons for Sri Lanka
• Views of the Periphery – Competing Views on Thoppigala
• An encounter in Puttlam: Peace as seen by two youth who served in the Army

Worldwide, those rendered homeless and destitute by violent conflict is growing. According to UNHCR statistics, the figure of Internally Displaced Persons stood at over 32 million at the end of 2006. In Sri Lanka’s case, many of those displaced by the tsunami were communities already displaced by war. This double displacement exacerbated their trauma and continues to date. My article end with impressions of a photo exhibition of refugees and IDPs by Gemunu Amarasinghe.

Read my article here.

• A thought for the IDPs in the camps
• Whiter justice? – The killing of Thillainayagam Theeban
• Exclusive video interview with Somawansa Amarasinghe, the Leader of JVP, in English
• Human displacement
• Review of “Ethnic Warfare in Sri Lanka and the UN Crisis” by William Clarance

Looking back at the history of ethnic discrimination and the marginalisation of communities through parochial language legislation, I end my article with the submission that we will not be able to create a plural and diverse society in Sri Lanka if we don’t first address ourselves to the task of imagining peace.

Read my article in full, written in Sinhala, here.

• Dallas – Are you listening?
• Sri Lanka – Images of a divided nation
• Another face of corruption – The breakdown of the medical profession
• Exclusive video interview with Somawansa Amarasinghe, the Leader of JVP, in English
• Whiter justice? – The killing of Thillainayagam Theeban