Sri Lanka: Spice Island or Bland Nation?
Located strategically in the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka was a hub in the maritime silk and spice routes for millennia. It drew traders from the east and west for both business and…
Human Rights
Responses and clarifications on Sri Lanka: Is the war really over?
[Editors note: This is a detailed response to over 30 comments left on Sri Lanka: Is the war really over? and read over 2,500 times to date.] Though several comments made on my…
End of the LTTE and future of the Tamil Struggle
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which claimed to be the sole representatives of Tamil people, one of the most feared and considered as one of the most ruthless terrorist organizations…
The West’s bogus concern for human rights
President Obama, in a statement made on the 13th of May, has requested the government of Sri Lanka to “stop the indiscriminate shelling that has taken hundreds of innocent lives, including in…
Fear Psychosis, State of our Nation, Terrorism and Sri Lanka, our Motherland
Double standards as it may seem Lasantha’s murder was a rude awakening for many, including me. Why I call it a double standard is that many lives were previously lost and I…
The abduction, assault, arrest and defamation of the Sudar Oli Editor: Questions for the Sri Lankan Government
The police informed courts they have no charges against Mr. Vithyatharan the Editor of both Sudar Oli and Uthayan news papers, after detaining him for two months. On 24th of April, he…
Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) on whether the LTTE is really finished and the war over in Sri Lanka
Vikalpa Video asked the spokesperson of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) Nishantha Warnasinghe for his opinion on whether the LTTE was really finished and the war over in Sri Lanka. This video…
Would killing 50,000 civilians to finish off the LTTE bring peace?
[Editors note, 6 January 2011: This specific post and the debate that ensued is referred to and featured in Fire and Storm: Essays in Sri Lankan Politics by Prof. Michael Roberts. Read…
It is a hostage crisis, stupid!
Image courtesy The Telegraph The Sri Lankan military is dealing with probably the largest hostage crisis in world history. Sri Lanka and its present leadership will be forever remembered for how it…
Four things done, Four things undone: The self-immolation of the LTTE Part 2
A Brief Preface Some of my friends were worried that through the previous articles I may have inadvertently ‘’caught the tiger by the (ir) tail’. They have requested me to take care…
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” – Edmund Burke, 1795 As I sit on the steps leading down to the garden from…
Have NGOs failed in peacebuilding? An interview with Jehan Perera
I recently interviewed Dr. Jehan Perera, Executive Director of the National Peace Council. Jehan is also a columnist for the Daily Mirror and the Lanka Monthly Digest in Colombo. He holds a…
Four things done, Four things undone: The self-immolation of the LTTE
It is clear, even amongst the most liberal of the western political academic circles that the end of the LTTE is now inevitable. Backed by the widow state of Sonia Gandhi and…
Ape Lankawe: The Great NGO Pantomime!
For anyone concerned with the plight of innocent civilians, the reports from the North are depressing. The latest ‘avalanche (!?) is yet to be fully screened, searched, scrubbed and bleached for any…
Round-up
219 Tamils were rounded up in Gampaha town during dusk to dawn raids. They had no proper id cards and did not offer adequate reason to be living in the vicinity. Their…
