10 Years After the War: Violence in a Time of Peace
Although the war ended a decade ago, the ethno-political and social fractures from conflict endure. On no other day are they more apparent than on May 18. Often, what we see, read…
War
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” – Edmund Burke, 1795 As I sit on the steps leading down to the garden from…
Interview with Udaya Gammanpila, Legal Advisor, JHU
I interviewed Udaya Gammanpila, the Legal Advisor to the Jathika Hala Urumaya (JHU) and erstwhile Chairman of the Central Environmental Authority (CEA). Udaya is now a candidate from the Colombo District for…
None Other Than Mahinda Rajapaksha!
Lasantha Wickrematunga faced his last moments at an unusual time at an unusual place. From the moment he left home the day he was murdered, he was aware that he was being…
Interview with Kumaravadivel Guruparan, a Sri Lankan Youth Activist
Interview with K. Guruparan, a well known Sri Lankan Youth Activist. Guru is a student at the Faculty of Law University of Colombo and the Founder of the Sri Lankan Youth Parliament…
Ridicule and reality: SCOPP, War and Peace in Sri Lanka
Sunit Bagree, October 2008 Whenever the government and security forces have faced criticism in relation to Sri Lanka’€™s armed conflict, the Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP) has always been swift…
Have we faltered in Sri Lanka?
Pictures of Sri Lankans mourning the victims of the bomb blasts in the past few months have occupied local and international press agencies; the former to a greater degree. What were once…
Civilian displacements in the Vanni
Reports coming in from sources in Kilinochchi district shows that military operations in the district have led to mass displacements of the civilian population living in the Vanni. In the past 3…
Plus 25: Things we can’t do because of “National Security” in Sri Lanka
25 years after Black July, the term “National Security” is used to thwart lot of things. V from the movie ‘V for Vendetta’ said . At least he had that. We don’t.…
The tamasha that is SAARC – Who really cares and benefits?
An interesting advertisement by a tour operator caught my eye in a daily paper last week. It said “Get away during the SAARC summit” as a part of an advertisement promoting overseas…
Mobile Phones in Sri Lanka: Everyman’s new trousers?
One day a few years ago, I found my uncle in a really bad mood. Enjoying his retirement after long years as a senior civil servant, he was highly agitated about what…
A military pathway to nation building
The leaders of the Tamil community and the left movement, who had joined the governments of UNP and SLFP since independence had helped the leaders of these two parties to bring this…
Terror is spreading in the South
Abductions continue Abductions continue unabated and last week five persons all of Tamil identity were abducted from the Kotahena area. Meanwhile threats to abduct and kill intellectuals seem to have started as…
Impact of the Batticaloa Conflict and the situation of Muslims
The Kattankudi Jamiyyathul Ulama had requested all the newly elected Muslim members of the Eastern Provincial Council to boycott its inaugural session to highlight the demand of strengthening security of the Muslim…
Hawks and hypocrisy in the Rajapaksa administration
When President Mahinda Rajapaksa met with some editors and senior journalists recently, he was asked about the attack on the Associate Editor of the Nation. His reply was,” You know me, I…