Winds of Change 2.0 and its Implications
The sweeping wave of protests over West Asia is refreshing to see twenty-two years after the fall of the Berlin wall. The demise of repressive communist regimes in Eastern Europe was not…
International Relations
The Curious Case of Diplomats & that ‘Internal Conflict’
We are in the USA, far away from Sri Lanka. Dr. Palitha Kohona, Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN (in New York), had this to say: “We have come to a…
It is ubiquitous Februaries, not that unique Leninist October that counts
Photo courtesy Al Jazeera. Taken on 11 February 2011, Al Jazeera notes that a crowd of thousands marched back toward Tahrir Square from the presidential palace, young men sprinted along the streets…
Sethu Samudram: Bridging art, history and human relations
“Sethu Samudram” is a three-year collaborative art project and a dialog-making platform between Theertha International Artists Collective, Colombo, Sri Lanka and 1Shanthi Road in Bangalore, India. “Sethu Samudram” is the name of…
An Era of Sri Lanka’s President: From Mullivaikal to Oxford Union
[Authors note: Mullivaikal is where the last phase of the war between Sri Lankan Armed Forces (SLAF) and Liberation Tiger of TamilEelam (LTTE) took place. According to the Government of Sri Lanka,…
Julian Assange’s turn for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011
Photo courtesy Wired A week or so ago, a veteran editor cum journalist in a conversation on conflict and peace said, his choice for the next peace prize is Julian Assange. Agreed….
Thanks, Guys
Liu Xiaobo , Winner of Nobel Peace Prize 2010, “ CHRD Vassals, serfs, dependent states, including erstwhile defenders of human rights, we appreciate and respect your well-considered decisions to absent yourselves from…
The ‘Godayata magic’ of Oxford
Occidentalism: in the thrall of the “West“ The “ magic“ of Oxford There is a storm engulfing this country “ not the incessant rains and consequent floods that have brought much suffering…
DIASPORA EXTREMISM, INDIA, CHINA & SRI LANKA
“A social group kindred and allied groups.“ “ Gramsci The Wiki leaks mega “dump“ is an international relations s analyst“s dream. It is also great fun, don“t you think? Consider this: if…
Interview with Bradman Weerakoon
Deshamanya Bradman Weerakoon, who turned 80 recently, is an elder statesman in Sri Lanka and one of the oldest living civil servants in the country. During over half a century of public…
“Chiran Jayathu” – “Aayubowewa”
Let all as citizens comprising the civil society of Sri Lanka, join together in unison and with one voice, in response to the earnest appeal made by Renton de Alwis in “Back…
Ariyasinha urges NGOs to change strategy: A response
Image courtesy South Asia Foreign Relations Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and the EU, Ravinatha Aryasinha says that NGOs need to complement the work done by Sri Lanka in a post-conflict…
Submission before Lessons Learnt & Reconciliation Committee (LLRC) by Chandra Jayaratne
[Editors note: Chandra Jayaratne is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK, a former President of the Ceylon Chamber…
Getting lost in The Hague: UN, Sri Lanka and an ICJ-Advisory Opinion
Dr. Lakshman Marasinghe (Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Windsor) in an article titled ‘Some Random Thoughts on the UN International Advisory Panel’ (Daily Mirror, 14 July, 2010), makes a serious suggestion…
Managing diplomacy with melodrama: Sri Lanka’s Madness
Photo courtesy Flickr photostream on the NFF protest The point of departure for this note is the fast unto death by a government (cabinet) Minister, hereinafter referred to as VW, in front…
