When faced with challenging human rights and humanitarian law issues who should we seek out for advice but a celebrated former Vice President of the International Court of Justice? Faced with the task of peace building after a Thirty Years war, to whom should we turn to spearhead a state-aided national effort, or at the very least, for ideas and guidance, but the sole Sri Lankan to win the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education? If the Sri Lankan state and society have done neither, what does that say about us, where we are at and where we are headed?

One of the more refined gratifications in my life is the friendship of a few renowned intellectuals like Richard Falk, Emeritus Professor …

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This war has taken the lives of tens of thousands of men, women and children. Hundreds of thousands more are displaced, and the abnormality of the war and post war situation is fast and painfully becoming normalcy to most people, some don’t and didn’t even live to see that.

Hundreds of children are being born into such conditions, by virtue of the fact that the Muslim IDP’s displaced in the early part of the conflict are still languishing in Puttalam, I won’t be surprised if a decent amount of these children born would die (possibly as adults) in the same conditions to which they were born to.

Studies …

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We regret to inform you that your condolences cannot be accepted at this time. At present, both our pain and our hope defy that word, which has been offered and denied us, which we need and do not need, and which in any case we cannot accept, because they (your condolences) will not reach from what has happened to what will come.

We find the word condolences stunning in its insufficiency for past and future.

We evacuated our homes in the light; we vanished from our homes in the dark; we walked away from our families, toward the weapons, and wished that we could turn around. Our bodies entered the earth in places we cannot now identify, and so we are everywhere, …

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[Editors note: Deshan Tennekoon is one of Sri Lanka's best, young photographers. We are ardent fans, and requested Deshan to send photos that amongst the hundreds taken by him, resonated most with the end of war and the enduring challenges for peace in Sri Lanka.]

December 01, 2006. A response to the failed attempt by the LTTE to assassinate Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse. The Ministry of Defence commissioned Triad Advertising to create the graffiti. It was removed in early January 2007 once the owners of the house repaired their wall.

Feb 21, 2009. Tracers over Colombo. Two LTTE Air Tiger …

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“Counter-terrorism is terrorism’s best ally.” –Joseba Zulaika in “Terrorism: The Self-Fulfilling Prophesy” (2009)

On April 12, 2010 the majority of citizens of the island’s two main linguistic communities celebrated the “Sinhala and Tamil New Year” and the categorical end of war and terrorism with considerable optimism, despite lack of a clear political solution to the ‘ethnic conflict’. The New Year celebrations, the first since the end of the State’s 30 year war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), were in the wake of recently concluded parliamentary elections that returned the ruling party to power. President Rajapaksa, who in January had already won the Presidential elections for another 6 year term, noted that the New Year brings into focus shared …

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I remember visiting Jaffna in 1997. Local government elections were due. Several leading political figures had been assassinated in the preceding years, some by the LTTE, others by anti-LTTE groups.  In the prevailing climate of fear, the Federal Party had reluctantly submitted nominations for elections for the Jaffna Municipal Council and one or two other local bodies. The LTTE was against the whole exercise, but the anti-LTTE gun carrying groups were contesting the elections. The Federal Party candidates showed great courage in contesting but minimized their risk by avoiding public meetings and house-to-house campaigning.

Many Federal Party supporters faulted the candidates for avoiding public visibility. They asked: how can we vote for those who are reluctant to publicly or privately ask …

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A perceptive and sensitive Sri Lankan has noted;

“It is reported that the people of the North, especially in the Jaffna district, have developed a feeling of dissatisfaction, disaffection and contempt towards the people of the South, who post the end of the war are now engaging in pilgrimage and sightseeing related visits to the North in large numbers, and in the process totally disregarding the need for privacy, encroaching on meagre infrastructure resources and services of the district, causing significant negative impact on the environment/cleanliness and pollution in the area, and behaving in a manner unacceptable by the cultural and religious values of the Northerners.

These negative feelings are expressed in relation to the following issues highlighted in support of the …

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Aachcharya writing from Jaffna

I wrote on the 30th of December in a post to Groundviews (and republished in the Daily Mirror) that the assertion that the Tamil people would be deciders in the Presidential election would be a myth. There was nothing brilliant or extraordinary about what I said at that time, but it was contrary to public perception that was prevalent all over the country and in international media circles. What I suggested was that for the Tamil people to be deciders two conditions have to be fulfilled. I wrote:

“For the Tamils to be the deciders in the election (like they could have been in the last) they have to vote as a whole, to one candidate …

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Whilst it is not clear as to whether we would be voting in both the presidential and general elections on the same day, it is clear that we will be voting in at least one of them in the next three months, followed soon thereafter by the other.  Most likely it will be the presidential elections since it is the president who has to decide and since he is much more popular than his party. Moreover, we have been told that he is willing to sacrifice, if necessary, two years of his first term in order to secure a second and a parliamentary majority nearest to the heart’s desire.

All elections are important and these will be no exception. It is worth …

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(The author is formerly of the Ceylon Civil Service and Retired Senior Professional of the Asian Development Bank.)

Recent developments, including the statements made by President Rajapakse and his brother Basil Rajapakse, on the need to return North to normalcy after the horrific civil conflict that brought suffering and dislocation to countless number of civilians, provide opportunities to revisit the past and look at the pre-conflict situation to determine current and future courses of action. In order to do so it is necessary to define priorities in the light of conflicting reports emanating on the ground situation in Wanni and elsewhere.

The issue of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPS)
Attention has been drawn to the plight of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in …

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It is a much analysed fact that the Tamils of Sri Lanka under the guidance of its leadership have missed many historically defined opportunities, in laying the foundation towards creating a decent future for their political aspirations and self determination. The 50 – 50 representation in Parliament instead of a federal constitution, a claim that seemed rightfully unreasonable to the Sinhalese; the vote in favour of the Citizenship Act of 1948 that deprived the citizenship of the plantation Tamils which was instrumental in conceiving the impression of the Tamils as lacking moral conviction and as being egocentric; the Sinhalese Only law of 1956; the Referendum of December 1982 leading to the subsequent 1983 racial riots and the Indo-Lanka Accord …

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The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which claimed to be the sole representatives of Tamil people, one of the most feared and considered as one of the most ruthless terrorist organizations in the world is vanquished. LTTE guerillas who once considered them in an equal footing with the SLA are silenced with their first and second rung leaders all killed. One of the bloodiest civil wars ended with all the due recognition given to the political will and determination to engage devoid of dithering in the face of the pressure of the IC and courage of Sri Lankan armed forces. People are in a jubilant mood relieved to have got rid of fear and destruction of war. That …

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Vikalpa Video asked Ven. Prof. Bellanvila Vimalarathana Thero for his opinion on whether the LTTE was really finished and the war over in Sri Lanka. Ven. Prof. Bellanvila Vimalarathana Thero is the Chief Priest of the Bellanwila Rajamaha Viharaya.

This interview was recorded one week ago, before the dramatic events over the past few days. An English transcript of the short interview is provided below for those who can’t understand Sinhala to interrogate the Thero’s opinion on the conduct of war and plans for development and humanitarian assistance to the Vanni, which mirrors that of the Buddhist clergy writ large in Sri Lanka….

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The long and bloody Sri Lankan war is over, and not a moment too soon. I really want to believe it. The alternative is too depressing to consider.

Of course, there is no independent verification – it has been a war without witnesses for the past many months, with no journalists or humanitarian workers allowed access. We know that history is written by victors, not losers. I am willing to take a leap of faith if that’s what we need to usher in the long-elusive peace.

As we stand on the threshold of peace, I am overwhelmed with memories of our collective tragedy. I hope we can once again resume our long suspended dreams for a better today and tomorrow.

I …

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From the Ministry of Defence website:

LTTE defeated; Sri Lanka liberated from terror
Sri Lankan armed force have militarily defeated the LTTE and freed the nation from three decades of terror, Army Chief Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka announced.

Meanwhile, defence sources on the battlefront said all top LTTE leaders were believed to be killed during their abortive attempt to flee from advancing troops this morning (May 18). According to the sources, troops have found a burnt body suspected to be of LTTE chief V. Prabhakaran. However, the sources said that positive identification is yet to be made.

Also, unconfirmed sources revealed that LTTE’s intelligence wing leader Pottu Amman and Sea Tiger wing leader Soosai were killed in today’s …

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We are reading about war crimes and ethnic cleansing on an unimaginable scale. I wonder when these artillery shells will stop raining upon our people and whether there will be justice for the victims.

It is hard for those who have no access to the camps in the North to form a realistic opinion on the plight of the over 65,000 refugees who are supposed to bestuck in an ‘event horizon’ inside them. While the authorities paint quite a rosy picture of it, their detractors seek to discredit the claim. Assuming that the truth is half way between them, I wish to offer a few suggestions on how to improve the ground situation, depending on my past experience of working for the displaced in the North.

The main complaint is about the conditions in the camp. The tents in which the refugees are housed are reported to be too small, too low and uncomfortable. The …

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Most of the arguments about Manik Farm (and other transit camps in the North of Sri Lanka) seem to get stuck on definitions and comparisons.  Is it a concentration camp?  Is it like the camps run by the Nazis or old colonial powers?  I believe these debates miss the most important question: what is the actual predicament of people who have escaped from the Wanni to be held in these camps?  Can we spend just a few minutes to really consider their situation?  Or does victory mean we do not need to know the cost of liberation and do not care what their new form of captivity means to those who have been newly ‘liberated’?

Family Separation
When people were fleeing the …

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Let me get this right. Two hundred and thirteen years since the first British colonial ships landed in Sri Lanka, a ship is setting sail from Britain, launched at an event with banners and posters (Vanangaman: “Mercy Mission to Wanni” ) bearing the map of Tamil Eelam, patronized by politicians and personalities of the former colonial occupier; a ship which hopes to enter the territorial waters of Sri Lanka without our permission and in violation of our sovereignty, at a time when our Navy is involved in the closing battles against a separatist terrorist army.

This is an arrogant intrusion combined with provocation and intertwined with diversionary intent.

While there is no doubt that what this Vanangamania deserves is the …

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Refugees are sometimes
active
have agency
they Leave, Flee, Sneak
Flow over boundary lines
unchecked
like rivers
they Escape, Hide
Cross territories
they Flood places
like unnatural disasters
are associated with
Asylum and Sanctuary
they are A Problem
An Issue

Sometimes they have a voice
if only passive
they become
Internally displaced
(slightly more dignified)
ordered out forced out asked to quit
resettled
relocated

They come in all shapes
sizes colours
types
Afghan, Kosovo, Vietnamese. Kashmiri
Palestinian Sri Lankan
Tamil Muslim Sinhalese
environmental
political
etc etc etc etc

If they are lucky they
metamorphose into
Returnees
If they are really lucky
they find their relatives
If they get really very lucky
they become famous.

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