Keenie Meenie: A ‘deniable’ arm of Whitehall?
Book Review – Phil Miller, Keenie Meenie: The British Mercenaries Who got away with War Crimes, (Pluto Press, 2020) Eleven years ago, in May 2009, the Sri Lankan security forces decisively defeated…
Author: Channa Wickremesekera
Countering the Fascists on the Streets: A Lesson from Australia
Photo by Christina Coombe The recent attack by a group of hoodlums led by Buddhist monks on a safe house sheltering Rohingya refugees in Colombo has once again exposed the ugly face…
The Road to Nandikadal and the struggle for the military history of the Ealam war
Sri Lanka’s separatist war was one of the longest insurgencies of modern times. It was also one of the most destructive insurgencies in the region, causing the deaths of tens of thousands…
To be or not to be gay – Frangipani and the travails of homosexuals in Sri Lanka
Photo courtesy Years ago, when only heterosexuality was legal in Australia men or women having sex with members of their own gender was a serious offence. Underpinning the law was a gamut…
The moon is out
In Sri Lanka The moon is out I think No, not a full moon Just a patch of light Straining through the darkness And not everywhere equally bright In the north I…
Did you too laugh, my brother?
Photo courtesy Tell me my brother in the North, Who is not allowed to weep today Tell me about the times when you laughed On your long road to defeat and subjugation…
First, the colours
Photo courtesy Tamil Guardian First, the colours. My memories of July are full of dark colours, foreboding and angry. Grey dominates. Grey, the colour of the smoke that is everywhere, even in…
Asylum Seekers: the next wave of ‘invaders’?
Image courtesy Zimbio Teaching Selvam (not his real name) even the rudiments of English pronunciation is not easy. He only completed his primary school and is now in his mid 40s. In…
Jayasena and Rajakulendran: Heroes of a Lesser God
Wars are terrible things. They kill people, destroy their property and livelihoods. They also destroy people’s souls. Horrendous atrocities are committed against the defenceless, often in the name of the highest ideals,…
Operation Liberation: 25 years on
Twenty five years ago, on May 26th 1987, the Sri Lankan military forces launched ‘Operation Liberation’, which, at the time, was the biggest military operation in Sri Lanka since independence. At least…
A Plea from a Muslim woman in a Western Country
Now that the men in black Have descended the machines Silently, Like nocturnal birds of prey And stalked and slain the beast That taunted them For a long, miserable decade, Now that…
The Tamil In The Room At The War’s End
On May 19th 2009 the last shots in the nearly three decade long war between the Sri Lankan state and the LTTE were fired. The end came in the form of the…