“The general population doesn’t know what is happening and it doesn’t even know that it doesn’t know” – Noam Chomsky Introduction In the article published in May 2010, I concluded: The emphasis…
Last Thursday, I was reading an article about Joan Jara, the widow of renowned Chilean activist, singer, songwriter and theatre director Victor Jara, and her family. They are seeking long-delayed justice for…
An introduction Prosterman in 1976 estimated that some 68 million people have perished from all forms of deliberate human violence from 1820 to 1970. Zimmerman in 2013 found that if the victims…
Photo courtesy People usually pay tribute to great individuals, once they are no more. However, I wrote this poem about Nelson Mandela, in order to pay homage to him, while he…
Photo courtesy the late Fr. Tissa’s blog We heard the sad news that the internationally acclaimed Sri Lankan catholic priest and theologian Father Tissa Balasuriya (Fr Tissa) has passed away. His exertions on…
Photo from HRW I am honoured to have been asked to speak at this Vigil, to Remember the Disappeared in Sri Lanka on this important occasion, of The International Day of the…
Photo from The Struggle for Justice blog Introduction Lankan society in its post-1948 history has undergone many violent conflicts in the form of pogroms, insurrections, and a civil war. The latest round…
Good Afternoon; Esteemed and Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen; Dear friends Thank you for inviting me to share with you my thoughts on reconciliation. I will not devote much time here, to…
I was requested to speak about the important role writers and artists play in the struggle against oppression and in the protection of democratic and human rights of the oppressed. We all…
Good Afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen and dear friends I want to start my talk by bringing to the fore the experiences of another, which was seen as an intractable conflict – the…
Without peace, there is no development; without development there is no peace, President Rajapaksa has said. Yet, for the overwhelming majority of the population he presides over, life is quite harsh under…
The present President of Sri Lanka, who consolidated his power after defeating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) militarily, has spurned the pledges of ‘Mahinda Chinthana’ manifesto of the 2005 presidential…
[Editors note: Lionel Bopage was a former General Secretary of the JVP and was involved with the party since 1968 until his resignation in 1984. For more content with Bopage on ,…
Sage words indeed from General Sarath Fonseka. Now that the euphoria of winning the war against the LTTE is over, our minds must turn to the complex issues facing the country, such…
The recent interview the JVP leader, comrade Somawansa Amarsinghe, conducted with Sanjana Hattotuwa and published on clearly demonstrates the limitations, fluctuations and the non-cohesive nature of the JVP’s policy position regarding the…
