As long as the moon shall rise,
As long as the rivers shall flow,
As long as the sun shall shine,
As long as the grass shall grow. - Senaca Indian treaty terms
Government bows to Supreme Court [BBC]
Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has ruled that President Chandrika
Kumaratunga’s term ends in December, with fresh elections to be held
soon.
The government spokesman and health minister, Nimal Siripala de Silva
said, “We abide by the Supreme Court decision.”
The minister said that, unlike the United National Party, they would not
throw stones at the judges who deliver decisions they do not like.
Sri Lanka: It is the Economy, Stupids!
By: Dr.Rajasingham Narendran
Sri Lanka, as a nation has reached a major intersection in her history.
The Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and others who constitute the citizens of
Sri Lanka are now struck at this intersection- bewildered, confused and
lost, not knowing in which direction to head. Unfortunately, there are no
sign posts to tell us in which direction we have to travel not only to ensure
the territorial integrity of our island nation, but also a prosperous future for
us and the generations to come.
Anura B’s pilgrimage to India
By K. Godage
We are happy at his appointment and think that, it would be like a duck
taking to water. He should make us proud of him, as we were of the late Mr
Kadirgamar.
I am somewhat intrigued that, Mr Bandaranaike has decided to rush to India
before his visit to China. Whoever his advisors maybe, they are dead
wrong on this. If, I were to surmise, I would not put it beyond the Indian High
Commission here, to have advised him, stating that Delhi would get the
wrong signal if he does not visit India first and pay tribute to the gods of
Delhi.
India, Lanka's Oppn agree on peace process
By PK Balachandran
India and the United National Party (UNP), Sri Lanka's main opposition
group, have a common perspective on the peace process in the island as
well as Sri Lanka-India relations.
The commonalities came out during the visit of the UNP leader Ranil
Wickremesinghe to New Delhi between August 16 and 18. He and his
advisors met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, External Affairs Minister
Natwar Singh, National Security Advisor MK Narayanan and the
Chairperson of the ruling United Peoples' Alliance (UPA) Sonia Gandhi.
Lakshman Kadirgamar:
Beyond Labels of Race and Religion - II
By D.B.S. Jeyaraj
Damage to Kadirgamars name, reputation and image is not being done by
tiger elements alone. The so called Sinhala patriots and nationalists are
doing it too. They are portraying him only as a man working for the Sinhala
state against the tigers. To them Sri Lanka is Sinhala. They do not want to
acknowledge that Kadirgamar stood for devolution and wanted in his own
way to restructure the state. The Sinhala ultras are also silent about
Kadirgamar being denied Prime Minstership on account of his ethnicity. By
trying to depict Kadirgamar as a "Sinhala Veeraya" (which he was not)
these elements are only helping the tiger sections to portray Kadirgamar
as a Tamil traitor. [Continued from last week]
Lakshman Kadirgamar [1932 - 2005]
By D.B.S. Jeyaraj
The memorial service also saw an intercession by Lakshmans daughter
Ajitha. She stated that her step mother Suganthi had refused to give them
at least a part of Lakshmans ashes to be used for Christian rites and then
buried at the family plot in Kanatte. All of Lakshmans brothers and fathers
remains are buried here. Furthermore the entire ashes had been scattered
in the waters of Kalutara in the early hours of the morning without the
Kadirgamar family members knowledge.Though Christians usually bury
their dead in Sri Lanka cremation is not taboo either. In fact Christian
burial services refer to "dust to dust and ashes to ashes". [Continued
from last week]
Monitoring the myths on Kadirgamar’s
assassination
By Sumanasiri Liyanage
A popular columnist D.B. S. Jeyaraj last Sunday exposed the
contradictions in the statements issued by the world leaders including the
Secretary General of the United Nations immediately after the
assassination of Lakshman Kadirgamar allegedly by the Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Many of these statements have emphasized that
the perpetrators of this assassination should be exposed and brought
before the law.
Above all divisions [Frontline]
By Lionel Fernando
Lakshman Kadirgamar was a man above class, caste and creed. As
Foreign Minister, he opened a new chapter in Sri Lankan policy.
BY 1994, Sri Lanka's position in the world was not at all enviable because
of the negative publicity the county had attracted. Our prestige had hit the
rock bottom. When President Chandrika Kumaratunga set up her
government in 1994, Lakshman Kadirgamar was pursuing a very lucrative
legal career in Britain and Switzerland. He gave up all that and came over
to Sri Lanka to join the government and the President appointed him
Foreign Minister.
The path ahead [FrontLine]
By Jaydeva Uyangoda
The overall challenge now is about the difficult task of providing incentives
to the LTTE to stay on the path of political engagement and disincentives
to its military wing to resort to action.
Negotiating with the "illiberal" forces
Dr. A.R.M. Imtiyaz
The assassination of Foreign Minister Mr. Kadirgamar not only deeply
shocked many Sinhalese but also vigorously spurred Southern nationalists
who oppose the power sharing arrangements with the LTTE. Literally,
absence of social peace with justice in ethnically divided societies would
bring negative social disharmony between the different ethnic groups.
"LTTE is not the sole rep of Tamils.
They are insecure" - Dr.Saravanamuttu
Dr Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu, founder / Director of the Center for Policy
Alternatives (CPA) says the LTTE is not the sole representative of the
Tamils in Sri Lanka and they have been more insecure than secure. In a
HARDLINE interview on YATV/TNL TV , Saravanamuttu said that Mr.
Lakshman Kadirgamar was on the LTTE hit list since he became Foreign
Minister and the LTTE wanted to deal a blow at the peace process because
they had problems with regard to control
Fresh Promise [Tamil Guardian]
The welcome decision last week by the Liberation Tigers and the Sri
Lankan government to hold direct talks on the implementation of the
February 2002 ceasefire has given a desperately needed boost to the
Norwegian peace process. The talks are to centre on the implementation of
the truce. There is much to address. The increasingly widespread killings
that have produced a climate of acute insecurity in many parts of the
island, particularly in the east, would undoubtedly be high on the agenda.
The talks will bring welcome scrutiny on the details of the ceasefire, both
breaches and failures of implementation.
‘Emergency’ back again – Tamil Homeland trepidates
English version of the Lead Story in “Viduthalaippuligal”, LTTE’s
official organ –July-August 2005
The state of ‘Emergency’ brought into effect now, is a subtle and
horrendous strategy authorising the ‘Sinhala’ State forces to suppress the
Tamil freedom struggle. During the last two decades and many times
before, this piece of legislation has been ruthlessly made use of with
meticulous precision by Colombo in enforcing ‘wild governance’ in the
occupied areas of the Tamil homeland. [LTTEPS]
A gender paradox in Sri Lanka [Buisinessonline]
Sri Lanka might have the best social indicators in the region when it comes
to women's literacy, health, etc and also boast of giving the world its first
woman prime minister in Sirimavo Bandaranaike. Yet, it has a history of
abysmal representation of women not only in its Parliament — less than 5
per cent — but also its local bodies where just over one per cent of women
are represented, says Kumari Jayawardena, Secretary of the Social
Scientists Association, Sri Lanka, in an interview to Life. Excerpts:
Charity & Non-Profit Organizations
Vaazhvaham:
Home for the visually handicappad [HA]
Vaazhvaham; Home for the visually handicappad is in Chunnakam in
Jaffna and teaching through brail. Apart from these children there are more
children who are visually handicapped due to malnutrition.There are 25
children currently staying there. Miss. Annaluxmy Sinnathamby stared this
home in 1972 for visually handicapped people. From 1988 onwards she
started to accommodate children, who lost their eyesight due war. This
home has basic facilities for the children. This home needs more funds to
buy brail papers and typewriters.
Arts - Culture - Heritage
Crazy little thing called love [Hindu]
Another Fazil romance releases today with `Oru Naal Oru Kanavu.'
For the past 25 years, Fazil has been making Malayalam and Tamil films
mostly in the love genre. His creations have no villains, violence, dialogue
with double meaning or crass comedy. They are all basically feel-good
romantic movies set against a family background and have melodious
music.
Now his 27th film, "Oru Naal Oru Kanavu," releasing today (Aug 26), is a
typical Fazil fare, where the hero and heroine bring alive the romance. Fazil
started his career with "Manjil Virinja Pookal" (1980, Malayalam), which
introduced Mohanlal.
Playing a Captain's innings
Challenges have only made Vijaykanth stronger
He is poised to make the transition from cinema to politics, the big event
slated for September 14. `Captain' Vijaykanth is the man of the moment
and his long innings as the silver screen law enforcer is just about to enter
a new decisive phase. He has been working not just on his pitch to the
voter, but also his latest grand project, aptly titled "Perarasu."
Is Mexico still a nation? [CS Monitor]
Already, one in eight adults born in Mexico now lives in the US. And the
Mexican economy is kept afloat partially by an estimated $16 billion sent
back by immigrants to relatives.
Such numbers reveal a people so fed up with Mexico's dysfunctional
politics and stagnant economy that their nationalism is wilting. While more
than half of Mexico's 106 million people are officially poor, the Pew survey
found an inclination to migrate "evident across a broad swath" of the
population.
This wide push to leave is probably now as strong as the pull of higher
wages, social advancement, and family connections in the US. And yet,
Mexican leaders remain in denial about this propensity for mass exodus.
Standard
Disclaimers
Applicable
"There are two things born from mountains, shining so brilliantly that the great bow down, driving
darkness from earth circled by roaring waters. One is the flaming sun, single wheel bright as
lightning, the other is Tamil that has no like." — from the taNTiyalankârum [Berkeley Tamil]
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