Jaffna after the war: Observations by a visitor
Large crowds rush to Jaffna every day. Some of them have never been there before. The 30 years war is over and thanks to president Rajapakse, (General Fonseka is already forgotten), they…
IDPs and Refugees
The Muslim question and resettlement of Muslim IDPs in post-war Sri Lanka: Two comprehensive interviews
The question of Muslim identity, displacement and forcible evictions during war and their enduring socio-political impact in post-war Sri Lanka is often underplayed in the media and mainstream politics. Muslim IDPs in…
Citizen’s Commission: Expulsion of the Northern Muslims by the LTTE in October 1990
Sri Lanka has been increasingly the scene of much ethnic violence. The Northern Muslims are the victims of the earliest large scale act of ethnic cleansing in our history. Close to 80,000…
Going beyond Sarath Fonseka in achieving democracy for people
A visibly shaken wife in tears, Anoma Fonseka told the media “this is the gift my husband got for finishing a 30 year war”. Gen Sarath Fonseka was arrested, or detained, or…
The loud and clear message from the voter turnout and the voters in the North and East
I wrote on the 30th of December in a post to ) that the assertion that the Tamil people would be deciders in the Presidential election would be a myth. There was…
Breaking the Piper’s charm
Political commentators seem to have run out of superlatives when attempting to describe the leadership of President Mahinda Rajapakse. Academics have joined the fray, falling over themselves to award him honorary degrees…
We can believe in NO candidate in 2010. What’s new though, right?
The big day is fast approaching, and every water-cooler, tea/cigarette break, meeting intermission is a hive of discussion on the latest thoughts on the election. But the whole run up to the…
“Believable Change†with unbelievable evasiveness: Sarath Fonseka’s manifesto
Part 1 The presidential election manifesto of the opposition Common Candidate General (Rtd) Sarath Fonseka was released on 7 January, 2009 at a media launch in Colombo, titled “Believable Change”. He says…
Concerns of first time voters in the 2010 presidential elections
In the upcoming presidential election a new voter base will be in play. A generation of first time voters whose futures will depend on the winner of next month’s election, are faced…
Christmas 2008 to Christmas 2009 in Sri Lanka
Last Christmas, together with few friends, we prayed desperately, hoping a bloodbath would be avoided This Christmas, we prayed and lit candles for the thousands killed and missing during the war, the…
A photo story: Five years on, forgotten victims of the tsunami
Maya Angelou, 4 April 1928 Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai in Saainthamaruthu Today is the 5th anniversary of a tsunami that devastated our country.Five years on, but how many of us still care for the…
On Lasantha Wickremetunge, media freedom and human rights in Sri Lanka: Interview with Dilrukshi Handunnetti
“Governments usually don’t take notice of silent majorities” says well known investigative and environmental journalism Dilrukshi Handunnetti in this video interview with . To commemorate Human Rights Day 2009 (falling on 10…
The Tamil Population and the Politics of Boycotts and Non Participation
The first opportunity that the population of this island had to vote in an election based on universal adult franchise was in the State Council elections of 1931 under the Donoughmore Constitution….
The Travelling Circus on video: Looking at war and IDPs through theatre
Obligingly recorded by Young Asia Television at the request of , produced by Mind Adventures, directed by Tracy Holsinger and recently staged in Colombo. An in-depth review of the production is published on…
Human Rights in Post-War Sri Lanka: Challenges and opportunities
To commemorate Human Rights Day, falling today, interviewed a number of leading activists in Sri Lanka to find out their perspectives on current challenges facing human rights in post-war Sri Lanka. This…