January 28, 2014 · 4:26 am

Harsh Ground Realities in War: Decomposing Bodies and Missing Persons and Soldiers

RAJ NARENRajasingham Narendran, presenting a blog comment within http://transcurrents.com/news-views/archives/6285 which is an article by Michael Roberts, “The Tamil Death Toll in Early 2009: A Misleading Count by Rohan Gunaratna,” 23 November 2011.**

As addendum to Prof. Michael Roberts presentation, I hereby present briefly what I witnessed with regard to the bodies of my family members and others killed by the IPKF on day 10 of their murders: My mother: 68 year old at the time of her killing. Slim build. Had been attacked by animals and crows and was in an advanced state of decay. My brother: 38 year old at the time of his death. neither obese or thin. Body intact though bloated. The gardener: Age approx. 60 years. Obese. All flesh had fallen off and the skeleton was clearly visible .A neighbour’s Watchman: Age approx. 60 years. medium build. Only thigh bones-femurs and the skull remained. The rest of the body had been consumed or carried away by animals. Continue reading →

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January 28, 2014 · 4:11 am

Rajasingham Narendran’s Open Letter to All Sinhalese in 2005

Rajasingham Narendran, courtesy of  http://www.infolanka.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/001127.html, posted on 14 May 2005 … While the political dispensation has changed substantially since this intervention occurred, certain strands of confrontation still remain and this letter is good to think with. It is seen as one facet of a series linked with Jayantha Dhanapala’s LLRC Memorandum and other items that will follow. Also see Editorial Note at the end of the article. EDITOR.

RAJ NARENDRANDear Sinhalese,

I am addressing this letter to you – the Sinhala people, directly, because your leaders of the past did not and the present do not, have the capacity or intention to resolve the Sinhala-Tamil and the majority-minority problems in Sri Lanka. You are their excuse! I am writing this letter firstly as a human being, secondly as a Tamil and thirdly as a fellow Sri Lankan. I am addressing this letter to you as a people with a proud culture and heritage; a people who are compassionate and decent; a people who are largely Buddhist and practice a compassionate religion grounded in the principles of dhamma and karma. I am also addressing you as a people who are the closest to me as a Tamil, in appearance, culture and beliefs. Continue reading →

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January 23, 2014 · 1:19 pm

Three British reporters evicted … ASHES in the dust

David Hopps, Courtesy of ESPNcricinfo

 Australia’s tougher immigration laws are set to see three English tabloid journalists expelled and unable to cover the death throes of England’s disastrous Ashes tour. John Etheridge from The Sun, one of English cricket journalism’s most experienced operators, has been refused licence to stay, as has Dean Wilson from the Mirror and Paul Newman of the Daily Mail. Continue reading →

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January 19, 2014 · 2:50 pm

Jayantha Dhanapala’s Representations before the LLRC: Food for Thought Today

This session occurred on the 25th August 2010. the exchanges are reproduced here because they are good to think with as some of us, and Sri Lanka writ a large, consider pathways towards the reconciliation of its conflicted peoples.

LLRC -island Chairman – opening statement: Mr. Dhanapala before we commence I wish to outline the general procedure as far as this Commission is concerned. Now you are entitled to make your representations either in public or in camera – the choice is yours. Thereafter the Commissioners are entitled to seek clarification from you on the representations that you make or on any matter that is relevant to the Warrant. Now you are entitled to respond either in public or in camera. Nobody else can ask you any questions except the Commission. So you will have to decide whether you are making your representations in public or in camera – the choice is yours.

REPRESENTATION OF MR. JAYANTHA DHANAPALA

Thank you Mr. Chairman. Distinguished Members of the Commission, first of all may I thank you for your kind invitation to make some presentations to you. Thank you also for the option given to me of either speaking in camera or in public. I have always believed in the principle of transparency and so I would gladly speak in public because I have nothing to hide especially from the public of my country. Continue reading →

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January 17, 2014 · 10:52 pm

Reflections in 2010 on the end of the Eelam Wars

Sanjana Hattotuwa and Others: The end of war in Sri Lanka: Reflections and challenges was organised by GROUNDVIEWS in 2010. The GV Editor is now proceeding to organise another set of reflections on events and processes since then that will probably encompass the previous histories as well. This internet-book will appear in 2014. There may be many people out there who are not aware of the previous edition and could profit from visiting its possibilities. Even those so aware may wish to ponder over some of the arguments therein.  SO let me introduce you to this treasure trove.

DAWnThe end of war in Sri Lanka is available for download with iBooks on your Mac or iPad, and with iTunes on your computer. Multi-touch books can be read with iBooks on your Mac or iPad. Books with interactive features may work best on an iPad. It was made into a PDF. To service requests for the book from the diaspora and international community, it was reproduced as the country’s first iBook available on Apple’s iTunes Book Store for free.  The PDF can be downloaded from http://www.box.net/shared/static/xalnexgd2u.pdf

Continue reading →

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January 15, 2014 · 12:49 am

Medical Man Sanjiva Wijesinha’s “Not Our War” hits the bookshelves

SanjivaW-182x300Dr. Sanjiva Wijesinha, launched his latest book “Not our War” at his ancestral home in Colombo ‘Lakmahal’ this week amongst a distinguished gathering of old school mates, relatives and family friends. Old Thomian Rakhita Jayawardena introduced the book at the launch together with Publisher Vijitha Yapa. Brigadier Bahar Morseth, President Sri Lanka Ex-Service and Police Association (Australia) has written the foreword to the book where he refers to Dr. Wijesinha’s services as an army doctor in both Sri Lanka and Australia. Dr. Wijesinha has dedicated the book to his friends and colleagues, soldiers as well as civilians who lost their lives during Sri Lanka’s war years between 1983 and 2009. Continue reading →

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January 15, 2014 · 12:40 am

Sarath Munasinghe’s Account of his Eelam Wars

Chandani Kirinde, courtesy of the Sunday Times

On the night of July 23, 1983, when Army intelligence officer Sarath Munasinghe, serving in the rank of Major drove in the dead of night towards Thirunelveli junction in Jaffna from his camp at Gurunagar to investigate an explosion that had taken place a short while earlier, he had no idea that the scene had been set for the dawn of the darkest days in the country’s recent history. When he reached the scene of the explosion, a colleague with whom he had shared a cigarette a short while earlier lay dead on the road with several other soldiers. In all the Army dead were 13 and the incident set off the worst race riots in the country.  Continue reading →

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January 14, 2014 · 2:36 pm

Wigneswaran’s ICES Lecture in Jaffna: “Democratizing the North”

Justice C.V. Wigneswaran, Chief Minister, Northern Provincial  Council delivered the opening address at a discussion on “Democratizing the  North: A Dialogue on Governance, Development and Vulnerability on January 10th  at the Green Grass Hotel Jaffna. The dialogue was organized by the International  Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES).

WI8GNESWARAN 11New Year 2014 is starting well for us. The War had got us into a  cocoon in which we managed howsoever we could, not really appreciating the  changes taking place locally and globally all around us. We failed to appreciate  the nuances of political or administrative terminology too. We are thankful to  ICES for coming forward to help us to get out of our niche by introducing to us  the processes that are functioning in the field of Governance and Development  not forgetting to identify areas of vulnerability. Continue reading →

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January 14, 2014 · 1:23 pm

Dayan Jayatilleka reflects upon Sri Lanka’s past struggles and future security

Dayan Jayatilleka speaks to Sergei De Silva-Ranasinghe about the security situation in Sri Lanka … courtesy of POLICY,  Autumn 2013, vol. 29/1: 53-56 where the title reads “In the security of Sri Lanka”

DAYAN Jayatilleka

In Australia, Sri Lanka continues to dominate headlines about allegations of war crimes and the influx of asylum-seeking refugees, but comparatively little is known about Sri Lanka’s history and politics. Dr Dayan  Jayatilleka is among Sri Lanka’s leading and most respected political commentators. A prolific writer, he has published several books, including  The Travails of a Democracy: Unfinished War, Protracted Crisis (1995); Fidel’s Ethics of Violence: The Moral Dimension of the Political Thought of  Fidel Castro (2007), and Long War, Cold Peace: Conflict and Crisis in Sri Lanka (2013). In addition, and until recently, he was Sri Lanka’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva (2007–09) and ambassador to France, Portugal and UNESCO (2011–13). In March, he spoke to defence analyst Sergei De Silva-Ranasinghe about Sri Lanka’s political future; the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE); allegations of war crimes against the Sri Lankan state; the causal factors of Tamil secessionism; Sri Lanka’s evolving relations with the United States, India, Pakistan and China; and its future strategic options. Continue reading →

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January 14, 2014 · 1:14 am

Pathways to Reconciliation in Sri Lanka

Maha Hosain Aziz, Special to CNN, courtesy of CNN site, 13 January 2014, where the title is “Four steps to secure lasting peace in Sri Lanka“

Maha Hosain Aziz“While building the nation, we have set aside all differences and divisions.  As a result there is today a new political and development culture before the country,” Sri Lanka’s media reported President Mahinda Rajapaksa as saying in his New Year’s message. “Further consolidating this, we must forge ahead in the New Year. Having won freedom and peace for the people, we are committed to give them progress and happiness, too.”

mr-cut-colombotelegraphThe question many Tamils are no doubt left wondering, four years after the country’s brutal civil war ended, is whether this commitment includes their own happiness. And right now, many appear to have their doubts. Continue reading →

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