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…
Identity
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…
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…
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.
Beyond the war psyche in Sri Lanka
Dust is finally settling on the euphoria generated by last year’s military defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Old concerns naturally give way to the new and a year…
Post-War Sri Lanka: Way Forward or More of the Same?
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…
Tamil Question and the Global Crisis of Capitalism
One whole year has elapsed since Sri Lanka’s military victory over the Tamil Tiger forces that were fighting for a separate state. Many had high hopes that the triumphant Mahinda-regime would now…
Living with the Other in post-war Sri Lanka
I often have to remind myself that I live with a Tamil. My housemate, Vanessa is a Tamil, married to a Sinhalese and I have been living with her and her husband…
Women are not willing to go back to pre-war status quo
By Kumi Samuel and Chulani Kodikara War is a gendered process. Post war is no different.  It may be a cliché to say that in Sri Lanka as elsewhere in the world,…
CHALLENGES TODAY: WEEVILS IN THE MIND
Daya Somasundaram was in Jaffna town in late 1995 when the Sri Lankan army advanced south and eastwards from Palaly. As the LTTE decided upon a strategic withdrawal, they insisted that all…
What is there to celebrate? Rumblings of a Jaffna Tamil
The question that I have been repeatedly asked by people outside Jaffna is whether we Tamils are not happy that the war is over. An immediate follow up question is whether we…
