Sithuvili: On war’s end and a year later…
Prelude: The following is a ‘fragmented reflection’, on present-day Sri Lanka, war’s end and related issues. The objective was to capture the thought process of a citizen ‘thinking’ about these issues as…
Year: 2010
The Priority Vesak Thought for Action: “Care and Compassion for the Most Needyâ€
In a pre-Vesak address the Prime Minister and Minister of Buddhasasana and Religious Affairs made known his priority to lead Buddhists on a path, through awareness, to enhance their commitment to develop…
WINNING THE INVISIBLE CONFLICT: Is Sri Lanka headed for sustainable peace?
Background On Tuesday 19th May 2009 – the day after the death of Velupillai Prabhakaran, leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) – Mahinda Rajapaksa, the President of Sri Lanka,…
Vanni in the year after war: Tears of despair and fear
About six months after the end of the war, in November 2009, the government of Sri Lanka relaxed restrictions on travel to the Vanni[1] and started to allow some of the displaced…
Post-war Sri Lanka: Challenges and opportunities
This Government, as it commences to address the many challenges facing post – war Sri Lanka, stands today at a watershed of major, unprecedented and possibly never to be replicated, opportunity. Wherever…
Will ‘Peace’ Arrive Before Death?
It was, unfortunately, a necessary war, for terrorism had to be defeated, eliminated. After some thirty long years, on or around the 19th of May 2009, Sri Lanka gained liberation; liberation from…
The Drivers and Scenarios in Post-War Sri Lanka
My focus in this essay is not what happened in the past but what can be envisioned in the near future particularly with regard to the national question in Sri Lanka. The…
THE SECOND PHASE OF A WAR WITHOUT END
One year after the end of the war there is optimism in the country, particularly amongst sections of the business community. The government has taken the position that rapid economic development can…
A Tribute to our Unsung Heroes
The teenage girls singing a Tamil song “Tomorrow is Ours” is interrupted by my wife Samantha and I walking in to the classroom. They giggled coyly as we looked around at them.  …
The importance of not forgetting
One year ago, the war that had defined our lives for the last 30 years ended. Brutally, callously and mercilessly fought like most wars are, it ended amidst allegations of immense suffering…
Sri Lanka after war: Where to now and how?
Great Expectations The greatest challenge facing Sri Lanka is the quest for a just reconciliation to the ethnic issue through a democratic process coupled with a well planned economic strategy which will…
WILL THE ISLAND OF SRI LANKA WIN PEACE? SOME NOTES ON WAR AND PEACE IN SRI LANKA
INTRODUCTION On May 17, 2009 the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, (LTTE), the major Tamil resistant movement, admitted defeat in the war that was waged without any witness and vowed to silence…
Tamil Diaspora in Post-War Sri Lanka
One year ago today, the Sri Lankan army brutally and decisively ended its military campaign against the LTTE. The once hoped quiet dissolution of the national question through negotiation, devolution, and constitutional…
Dungeons are also peaceful: Enduring uncertainties in post-war Lanka
Is the world coming unhinged? In Spain a judge is on trial for a technicality relating to his attempts to go after war crimes committed by Franco’s fascist regime. The Sri Lankan…
Smokin’ soldiers: The Zippo Special Edition lighter
Zippo’s special edition lighter to celebrate Sri Lanka’s war victory is most definitely more colourful (and cheerful?) than versions produced for the US military in Vietnam.
