India: Necessity, not option
Peace talks in Sri Lanka are temporarily on hold. The Ceasfire Agreement of 2002 has crashed and burned and the Norwegians and the SLMM have bid a quick but reluctant goodbye. To…
Year: 2008
Scheduled downtime for Groundviews
Groundviews will be down tomorrow, 10th April, for a scheduled upgrade. The site should be up and running as normal by 11th April the latest, but we don’t really expect it to…
The JVP today – Videos and Interviews
A selection of videos on the the JVP in Sri Lanka, including footage from yesterday’s farcical press conference, interviews with JVP leaders from 1971 and interviews with Lionel Bopage. Note that most…
Current ground situation in Mannar, Sri Lanka
View Larger Map Ruki Fernando of the Law and Society Trust speaks about the present situation in Mannar, Sri Lanka. Click here for the video in Sinhala and here for more videos…
Fear: A Personal Experience in Sri Lanka
By Benita Sumita “Beware of suspicious looking objects” – this is a commonly heard public announcement these days in airports, markets and metro stations from New Delhi to London to downtown Chicago….
The Other Out There
By Chandrika Yesterday one of my overzealous office buddies forwarded to me a sensational photograph (as she thought) of half of a mangled bomb victim who happened to have been a prominent…
Madhu Shrine: the struggle to preserve the sanctity of a sacred shrine and humanitarian space
Presently located in areas under the control of the LTTE, but in the frontlines of the recent battle fronts, the Madhu Shrine has now become a prized target to claim in the…
Sloppy Journalism?
Reuters reports that Mr Fernandopulle was “the second minister to be killed since January”, citing Minister for nation building, D.M. Dassanayake, as the first. I seem to recall the killing of the…
Public Servant or Public Sahib?
I used to think that every little trip away was a wonderful respite from the madness most of us living in Sri Lanka are subject to. A respite whence one can return…
An education to die for
Mangalanath Liyanarachchi – Trincomalee The students of the Trincomalee campus face an uncertain future if government plans to move their campus to an insecure location are realized. Students of the Eastern University’s…
ISSUES FOR TAMIL NATIONALISM: REVISITING PUBLIUS
Early in February we were treated to a cogent, indeed, masterful, essay by Publius [Editors note – read ETHNOS OR DEMOS? – QUESTIONING TAMIL NATIONALISM]. Locating the debate within the general difficulty…
Some rudimentary thoughts on Arthur C. Clarke’s funeral
There may have been some two to three hundred mourners at his funeral. Most of them seemed to have been his close acquaintances or those known to him at least remotely. I…
Sri Lankan Defence Ministry suddenly wakes up to its own propaganda
In response to the appearance of posters in Colombo promising generous cash rewards for would be suicide bombers who gave themselves up, Sri Lanka’s military spokesman, Brig Udaya Nanayakkara, said last Friday…
The Terrorist Complex
Responding to a friend’s inquiry on my silence I realised how much I valued being away from home. I actually responded saying I was out and glad to keep away from the…
From Akkaraipattu
This video clip contains a brief interview with A.L Thavam – Chairperson of Akkaraipattu Pradeshiya Saba (local government). It is presented here as is, without analysis or comment. Summary of the interview….