July 1983, State Racism and Truth Commissions
Image courtesy Sangam To everyone who has not read them I recommend reading Izeth Hussain’s, articles of 31 August and 7 September in The Island, and my article in groundviews and in…
Jaffna
Assessing Local Governance in the Northern Province
Introduction In April 2013 Home for Human Rights (HHR) undertook a survey in the Northern Province. HHR hoped to accurately capture the opinions that the people have about the performance of their…
Northern Provincial Council Elections: A Pre-Election Survey
Image courtesy Sri Lanka Brief Provincial Elections in the Northern Province will be held on the 21st of September 2013 – the first time in 25 years. According to the Department of…
Madras Cafe: A timely interrogation
“There are events, facts from history” and according to the director Shoojit Sircar his film Madras Cafe (2013) is “fiction inspired from fact”.[1] And while the director claims that his film is…
Causes of “Boat Migration” to Australia from Sri Lanka A Rejoinder to Emily Howie
The “Special Article” on illicit migration to Australia by boats from Sri Lanka by Emily Howie (2013) in the Economic and Political Weekly (August 31) appears to be based largely on lot…
Why is land a fundamental issue to the Tamils?
Introduction President Jayewardene did not like the word ‘colonisation’. Instead, he preferred the terms ‘land settlement’. But the Land Settlement Ordinance uses ‘settlement’ to mean a settlement on claims over ‘land’. Item…
The Burning Questions
A stroll through the Public Library of Jaffna, and some reflections on knowledge, culture and the open space to question, create and dissent The sun burns the Jaffna peninsula. It devours every…
Remembering, to never again repeat: Launch of 30 Years Ago site
Photo by Seshanka Samarajiwa/The Picture Press The culmination of months of dedicated research, travel, challenging production work and curation, I am very pleased to launch . The project is an attempt to…
30 Years Ago: How ICTs Are Changing Sri Lanka
To remember Black July, brought together leading documentary filmmakers, photographers, activists, theorists and designers, in Sri Lanka and abroad, to focus on just how deeply the anti-Tamil pogrom in 1983 shaped our imagination, lives,…
30 Years Ago: I Was I Am trailer
To remember Black July, brought together leading documentary filmmakers, photographers, activists, theorists and designers, in Sri Lanka and abroad, to focus on just how deeply the anti-Tamil pogrom in 1983 shaped our…
Is a Black July being threatened through the State media?
Image courtesy Sri Lanka Guardian “Now intolerance is the badge of the tribe and the scribe. A papier-mâché patriotism is the last refuge of a petrified elite that has lost its nerve,…
Remembering the riots
Image courtesy Thuppahi’s blog June 2013 saw violent clashes between small groups of Sri Lankans at cricket grounds around the UK. Although barely reported by the mainstream media, for members of Voices…
On the 30th Anniversary of the Pogrom of July 1983
Photo courtesy Ilankai Tamil Sangam I was GA and District Secretary Jaffna at that time, and was not directly a victim of the pogrom, but was very much involved with the care…
The Story of a Sri Lankan Constant
Have you ever observed Physicists? They are usually searching for constants, and separating them from variable quantities aren’t they? You must have heard of Plank’s constant, gravitational constant, the speed of light…
30 Years Ago: An unprecedented look at Black July
In August this year, will launch a compelling collection of content to commemorate 30 years since Black July. The content will feature original podcasts, photography and writing on a dedicated website. Building…