Monthly Archives: June 2012

Incremental secessionism: Why devolution mustn’t be open-ended

While everything is debatable, not everything is negotiable. Some things, a few things, simply must not be negotiable. The territorial
unity and integrity of the Sri Lankan state, Sri Lanka as a single indivisible country, must never be up for negotiation. Whoever we negotiate with and whatever we negotiate on, must know and understand this from […]

By Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka | Published on June 30, 2012 at 1:33 am

Dispelling the myth of an uncaring government in the north

Well constructed news
Those who travel from Colombo to the north, be they nationals of Sri Lanka or foreigners, are likely to be impressed by the developments that they see when they travel by road. The view on the A9 Highway, once called the Highway of Death due to the scores of lives lost in fighting […]

By Dr. Jehan Perera | Published on June 30, 2012 at 1:20 am

Politics of power has destroyed the power of politics

“There will be no end to the troubles of states, or of humanity itself, till philosophers become kings in this world, or till those we now call kings and rulers really and truly become philosophers, and political power and philosophy thus come into the same hands.” – Plato
Power politics has its own momentum; it has its […]

By Vishnuguptha | Published on June 30, 2012 at 12:12 am

Mervyn de Silva: Enlightened dissent

Mervyn de Silva, journalist, commentator and literary critic—and his legendary professional career of over four decades–are encapsulated here to commemorate the 13th anniversary of his passing away. The underlying themes
that sustained Mervyn’s thoughts culled from insights privy to me and a choice sampling of Mervyn’s slick repartee recalled by Thalif Deen are presented here. We […]

By Philip Fernando in Los Angeles | Published on June 24, 2012 at 7:05 am

The global Tamil community and its impact on the Rajapakse regime

19 Jun, 2012: “It was under these circumstances that Rajapaksa agreed to forego his own limousine and travel to Marlborough House at Pall Mall in an unmarked vehicle belonging to the Metropolitan Police . The President and First Lady entered Marlborough House premises in a Range Rover bearing the number plate VX 12 CYY. The vehicle […]

By Sunanda Deshapriya | Published on June 20, 2012 at 9:40 am

Community opinion on post-war developments in Sri Lanka

Willing to listen
The adequacy and need for further humanitarian initiatives to assist war-affected people three years after the war’s end is one on which there is contrasting opinions within the country and internationally. When faced with any call for improvement, the standard response of government authorities is to claim that Sri Lanka is a model […]

By Dr. Jehan Perera | Published on June 18, 2012 at 8:57 pm

SRI LANKA: Forgiveness is the most important gift we can give each other

Your excellency Ambassador Sager, Caux Scholars and alumni, Friends of IofC, distinguished guests.
I cannot tell you enough how honoured and grateful I am to have been given the opportunity to be a part of CSP’s 20th year in
existence. That it has already produced over 360 leaders from 88 countries is in itself an amazing feat. […]

By Sonali Samarasinghe Wickrematunge | Published on June 18, 2012 at 2:45 am

Leaked photos reveal fate of Tamil prisoners

Photos from a Sri Lankan soldier’s cellphone, show prisoners at the end of the civil war between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels.
They are the faces of the vanquished. The captured Tamil rebels are young and barefoot. They are handcuffed to bus seats. Some are bandaged. All have the downcast faces […]

By Stewart Bell | Published on June 17, 2012 at 10:22 am

U.S. expands secret intelligence operations in Africa

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — The U.S. military is expanding its secret intelligence operations across Africa, establishing a network of small air bases to spy on terrorist hideouts from the fringes of the Sahara to jungle terrain along the equator, according to documents and people involved in the project.
At the heart of the surveillance operations are […]

By Washington Post | Published on June 14, 2012 at 7:57 pm

Sri Lanka: The rape of the legal process

Thursday, 14 June 2012: As the criticism both from within the country as well as internationally mounts against what is happening in the name of law and order in Sri Lanka, new types of distortions and aberrations are taking place in the country’s courts.
There has been quite a lot of criticism about the delays of adjudication […]

By Asian Human Rights Commission | Published on June 14, 2012 at 7:43 pm