V-Day 2nd Anniversary: Peace Under Pressure
Original image by J. Adam Huggins for Every mayoralty in Paris has tablets on which are inscribed the names of those from that locality who died in the many wars which France…
Post-War
Tuyilam Illam: Positivist readings and new debating grounds
[Author’s note: Though I was invited around February 2011 to respond to the discussion in on the issue of Tiger ‘cemeteries’ being desecrated, I was so busy that my draft article simply…
Reflecting on the End of the Sri Lankan Civil War: The Need for a New Conversation in the Global Sri Lankan Community
Although military hostilities in Sri Lanka ended two years ago, the dynamics of the conversation in the global Sri Lankan community continues to be influenced by the nations’ past conflicts. Decades of…
Seminar on defeating terrorism: Sharing Sri Lanka’s experience
Original image from AFP | The Sydney Morning Herald The Sri Lanka defense establishment is organizing a counter-insurgency seminar from the 31st of May to 2nd of June 2011. It has invited over…
From draft to official text: Wikileaks reveals the US response to the end of war in Sri Lanka
The Norwegian newspaper published on 7th May a cable from the Wikileaks tranche of US diplomatic cables (confidential briefings) dealing the US government’s response to the end of war in Sri Lanka. Wikileaks…
Opposition to the UN Panel report: Any method to this madness?
There is obviously much confusion in official circles on what to do with the report of the panel appointed by the UN Secretary General to look into issues of accountability in Sri…
Some Quick Reflections on the Legislative Process in Sri Lanka
The author (centre) with Ambassdor Terry Miller, Director Center for International Trade and Economics and Lisa Curtis, Senior Research Fellow Heritage Foundation and some guests at the talk delivered at the Heritage…
Anti-UN sentiment in Jaffna: Fact or fiction?
The reveals that bereft of any public support, the minister and his goons are now ostensibly forcing people to sign their names, and this too in the regions most affected by war.…
On Sinhalese Nationalists, Tamil Diaspora and the War Crimes Saga
Photo from The Australian A couple of days ago I was watching a political talk show in the Derana TV Channel attended by prominent nationalists including Professor Nalin de Silva of the…
Sinhala and Tamil translations of UN Panel’s report on accountability
Original image from TNL The official version of the report published by the panel constituted by the UN Secretary General to look into issues of accountability in Sri Lanka was released on…
Notes on Possibilities after the UN Report: Including Nationalism and ‘The Geopolitics of Emotion’
Photo courtesy Deborah Philip It was my sense after May 18, 2009 when the LTTE was defeated that Sri Lanka was missing an opportunity to redefine itself as part of a kinder,…
War Crimes Accountability In Sri Lanka: Is There A Liberal Democratic Alternative To International Action?
Sri Lanka’s President pictured here with the Governor of the Central Bank Ajith Nivard Cabraal (L) and his brother Basil Rajapaksa, the Economic Development Minister (R) has repeatedly called the war a…
Much ado about nothing: Is Sri Lanka in danger of being held accountable by the International Criminal Court?
Image from Joe Klamar/AFP/GETTY Early last year I set about examining, as a recent graduate, the feasibility of any citizen of Sri Lanka being tried in the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the…
Reconciliation and accountability after the UN Panel’s report: Challenges and opportunities for Sri Lanka and the UN system
Image courtesy Huffington Post Asia Pacific Forum is a pan-Asian radio show broadcast every Monday night from 9-10pm on WBAI 99.5 FM in New York City and live on the web. WBAI…
An elephantine gestation: UN Panel’s report on accountability in Sri Lanka released
Leaked versions of the UN Panel’s report found their way into . The UN had earlier expressed its deep regret over the leak to mainstream print media in Sri Lanka. Accusations between Palitha…