The Dragon, a drama written by the late Russian playwright Eugene Schwartz, is a modern day political fairytale. It tells the story of Lancelot, who on his quest to slay the dragon, stumbles upon a community governed by a hierarchy of bureaucratic clowns who are using the dragon to cover up their own desire for power. Sound familiar?

It’s unlikely to be coincidental that the Sri Lankan Janakaraliya group of dramatists chose this piece as one of the adaptations that were performed when they took to the stage in Colombo, after two years of touring more remote areas of the island. In the same way that Schwartz himself demonstrated the repression, militarism, racism and brutality of his homeland under Stalin’s …

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During this year’s Vesak week in Sri Lanka, Buddhists celebrated the birth, life and death of their Lord. Principles were recalled: that it is a bad thing to drink alcohol, to eat meat or fish, to commit any crime against living beings. However, there were no messages about the protection of human life, or references to the principle of ahimsa for people; revealing a curious absence of concern or interest in the humanitarian disaster raging in the country. The last few months of undeclared war in the North and East have generated 300,000 IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) and, according to reports by human rights organisations, more than 4,000 people have been abducted and killed; while in the South families …

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By Kumar Rupesinghe

Normally it would seem that nobody wants to have war. War is so horrendous and so devastating that nobody in their right minds would want a war. But unfortunately, this is not the case. There are those who benefit from war and make enormous amounts of money. They are called the Merchants of Death.

Today, we will look at the Merchants of Death. These are companies and individuals who profit from war. They are very powerful in the world arena. There are large corporations and companies which focus on the manufacture of arms. These range from the Kalashnikovs to lethal weapons which can harm many. The range of weapons produced by the manufacturers is getting deadlier and more effective. …

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“Australia should add its voice to this call and put real pressure on the Sri Lankan Government to accept an international monitoring body. The conflict can only be resolved through dialogue, but peace talks won’t happen until there is effective and continued pressure applied by Australia and the international community to stop the human rights violations committed by all sides.”

Sam de Silva’s article Diaspora dilemmas: Australia and the Sri Lanka conflict, first published by the Nautlius Institute at RMIT in Australia, sketches the background of the conflict in Sri Lanka and the Australian government’s increasing concerns. The Tamil diaspora in Australia, de Silva argues,

“faces three main options: continue to promote their claim that the men were raising …

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My article is based on an encounter with two Sinhalese youth in Puttlam recently. Both had served in the Army. Both had lost limbs, though we didn’t find this out till much later. We listened silently as we sat on the bund and they recounted their stories of war, and their aspirations for peace.

When so many are clamouring for war and violence in Colombo, these two youth offered us a different viewpoint. Instead of hatred and violence, having seen enough of both perhaps, they told us they were sick of war and just wanted to live in peace.

It’s a simple message, but are we listening?

Read my article in Sinhala here.

Information sharing on various levels has become something of a modern day phenomenon, no doubt fuelled by the extensive use of the internet. Perhaps it is also a result of a heightened sense of anxiety that has taken a firm foothold since September the 11th, but the premise that the sooner we are aware or informed, the better positioned we will be to preempt bad things from happening to us, is a notion that practically everyone is familiar with. Of course, information sharing existed long before this, but the incident certainly played a part in pushing it to the forefront on such a global scale. However, this tool is not only used by intelligence, security and law enforcement agencies, but …

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The recent massacre of a family in Delgoda gripped the attention of the media recently. Reports today indicate that several houses of those suspected to be behind the massacre were torched by the local community. I link this senseless violence and brutality to society that is no longer moved by these events.

Sensationalism aside, do we really care? The Delgoda incident, the numbers of those killed in the battlefield, criminals shot by the Police, those abducted and murdered by persons unknown - we seem to be drawn to the events themselves, but are unable to see the clear erosion of a larger humanity.

All this, I argue, at a time when religious fervour is at unprecedented heights.

This is a sombre reflection, …

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The full title should have read, “I am an enemy of the State as defined by the Rajapaksa administration”. Truncation was not meant for sensational optics alone. The accusation is increasingly made by those in government that civil society and rights activists who question its bona fides are enemies of the State. Branded traitors and pariahs, activists have over the past year alone faced not just a hostile government, but an increasingly hostile public in the South, who starved of information in the public domain on the actions of this government that have seriously eroded the democratic fabric, do not understand why we stand in opposition to it. To be an enemy of the State is clearly not the …

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Update to the story published earlier.

FMM is relieved to report that former Journalist Pakkiyanathan Vijayashanthan who went mission yesterday noon, reported to Badulla Police station some 200 KM away from Colombo.

He had phoned his wife around 4.00 am this morning to say that he is at Badulla bus stand and colleagues who were waiting for nay news had advised him to report to the closest police station when he called again around 6.00 am.

According to our information he had been abducted by a group of people in a van, but how he found himself at Badulla bus stand is not yet known to the FMM.

FMM thanks government ministers, human rights organization here and abroad and especially media for their …

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From a Free Media Movement statement released last night:

Pakkiyanathan Vijayashanthan alias Vijayan, who had been a journalist and actor was reported missing today, 18th may 2007. He worked for a Tamil daily as a Trincomalee correspondent and later edited Samaadana Nokku, Tamil edition of Peace Monitor, a publication of the Centre for Policy Alternatives up to 2004. He was a part time actor, played a lead role in Tamil political drama. He left the country because of threatening environment and came back few months ago.

Vijayan (32) is married and father of two children.

FMM is shocked and dismayed that Vijayan who is a peaceful citizen, who was never involved in politics of violence, has been abducted in the broad daylight …

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