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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January 13, 2014 · 12:30 pm

Walter Keller: A German with Lanka in his flesh and bones

I: “From people to places, the bond will always bring him back” – by Duvindi Illankoon in the Sunday Times

Walter-kellar-at-exhibition-pic-300x180 Walter Keller (in middle) at on of his photographic exhibitions

Back in 1977, Walter Keller-Kirchhoff was a 25-year-old Economics student fulfilling a young and carefree impulse to travel. He came to Sri Lanka on a little Volkswagen aboard a ferry, imagining it to be just another stop on his Asian tour. Life has a way of surprising us and Keller was no exception-almost four decades later he sits in an office down Jawatte Avenue on a sweltering Colombo morning, asking us if he can turn down the air conditioner because “it’s a little cold”.

_DSC0969 - CopyPerhaps some would recognize Walter more for his colourful photographs of the island, so often exhibited in its galleries. Most would draw the connection between the 62-year-old and his work with the GIZ (German Development Cooperation) in Sri Lanka. Yet there are those individuals who would simply remember him as the sudu mahattaya who helped them find a footing in the world. Whichever way you look at it and however you may know him, there’s no denying that Keller was a live spark within his circles. Continue reading →

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January 12, 2014 · 2:19 pm

Facing Disease & Famine in the British Colonial Era

Saman Kelegama, reviewing Meegama’s new book

FamineFeversAndFearThis book explores some aspects of the roots of modern Sri Lanka through the social history of health during the period when it was a British colony. The author charts out the impact of colonial policies on peasant agriculture, food availability, and the living conditions of the common people. Bringing together rarely documented facts, backed by data from surveys, government reports, and entries in diaries of officials, the author writes of the devastation wrought by famine, new diseases, and volatile epidemics and the consequent fear generated among the subject peoples. Continue reading →

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January 12, 2014 · 2:12 pm

Migrants All. Sri Lankan Diaspora

 

EncyclopediaHappy New Year and wish you the best for the year ahead. I am happy to inform you that The Encyclopedia of the Sri Lankan Diaspora was sucessfully launched on 21 November 2013 during the South Asian Diaspora Convention (SADC) hosted by the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS). The book was lauched by the President of Singapore, Dr. Tony Tan Keng Yam. The Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore and Minister of Finance, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, was also present during the book lauch. For information and images pertaining to the SADC, kindly visit the following website: http://www.southasiandiaspora.org/sadc2013/photo-gallery.html   Continue reading →

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