18 03 2016 Ex-Judge Wigneswaran is Like a Jaffna Lagoon Lobster Caught in the Tamil Diaspora Net! By Don Manu Perhaps it’s the long exposure to the balmy breeze that blows in from the Indian Ocean. Or the cultivated taste for the Palmyrah treacle that flows liberally to the waiting pot. Or even the pungent onion that sprouts in abundance from Jaffna’s fertile soil and is rumoured to make grown men lose their marbles in tears if consumed in excess; but certainly something funny has happened to this former Supreme Court…
08 03 2016 The New Constitutional Edifice By Jayampathy Wickramaratne*Translation of the speech made by Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne in Parliament on 23.02.2016 on the Resolution for setting up a Constitutional Assembly, as a Committee of the whole House Today, a golden opportunity has opened up for us to build a new constitutional edifice, with the broad support of the people and various political parties. We take the first step towards that today. Why do I say so? Have we not made constitutions before with the support of the people and…
02 03 2016 Tamil Leadership and Elite Must Come Out Of Their Shells And Be Seen As Average ‘Sri Lankans”Not Just as “Tamils By Vishwamithra 1984“Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate for people other than your own comes first.” -Charles de Gaulle When we discuss in our high-sounding socio-political conversations of reconciliation or accommodation, we simply mean a genuine feeling of empathy, based fundamentally on compassion and kindness. Whether one is a Tamil, Sinhalese, Muslim or a Burgher, reconciling oneself to the feelings,…
20 02 2016 “The world wants Sri Lanka to be a success story. It has seen the opportunity for lasting success in Sri Lanka” Says UN Human Rights Chief (Text of Statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, at the end of his mission to Sri Lanka in Colombo on 9 February 2016 ) Good afternoon, and thank you for coming. I come to you shortly after wrapping up my visit here with meetings with President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the…
13 02 2016 Power Sharing Quest of Sri Lankan Tamils After Independence -2 Threatening Spectre of Separatism The overall situation was gloomy with the threatening spectre of separatism dominating Tamil politics. Any visionary Govt would have adopted political means to contain this trend and through political concessions and tried to pull back the Tamils from a secessionist precipice. No such attempt was made though at the tail end of her rule Mrs. B held informal talks with the ITAK about getting support in a situation where further extension of Parliament…