"I Have Only One Objective and No Options"

                                               My Jerusalem Declaration  Today, November 14, marks an important day in my life. After some crucial steps in the Holy Land, I am beginning to think about my next path while moving forward from Jerusalem.  As a child of conflict, I have been through indescribable and undesirable challenges. Now, as I reflect upon my past and look toward future, I find myself in another region marked by yet another protracted conflict.  &nbs...

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Political Duplicity and Hypocrisy of Sri Lanka’s Regime

                                             Photo Credit: Asiantribune Nearly one month ago (October 24), the Sri Lankan government called for an explanation in their twenty-one word statement on the killing of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi. [1]  Earlier, on March 22, 2011, the Sri Lanka Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement on the deteriorating situation in Libya, which said “the issue of protection of the civilian population in Libya remains a concern for Sri Lanka”.[2] It is true,...

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Human Rights in Sri Lanka: Impunity against Accountability and Justice

Image credit AP, via BBC News “There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth…not going all the way, and not starting.” – Lord Buddha Authors note: When I was a teenager, I heard from a Sinhala brother that he constantly felt guilty for being unable to protect nearly 70 000-80 000 Sinhala youth who were killed in 1971 and 1989 by their own government in the name of ‘countering  insurgency’. Now, approaching my tenth year of engagement in journalism and human rights activism, I am experiencing a similar feeling. When thousands of Tamil civilians were massacred under the banner of ‘defeating...

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Today is ...

Today is not the day to cry or to be sad. Today is not the day to get angry. Today is the day to think about our people’s solemn cry in their final moments. Today is the day to think about 146,679 unaccounted Tamil people. Today is the day to think strategically and pragmatically to strengthen our re-emergence. Today is the day to consider the better tomorrow to the annihilated nation. Today is the day to pledge our commitments to create the better future for the oppressed people. ...

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The Reckoning: Press Freedom in Sri Lanka

Cartoon by Carlos Latuff “The freedom to speak and the freedom to write are essential preconditions for the transition towards democracy and good governance” –  Irina Bokova, the Director-General of UNESCO. We are living in the world, in which committed journalists writes the news not only with ink, but also with their blood. This is the very reason that their souls still exists with us even after their tragic deaths. Sri Lanka is the very recent example for such context.  Thirty-four journalists and media workers have been killed with no recourse to justice since the United Peoples Freedom Alliance...

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A Mother’s Call for the Re-awakening

                                                             Photo credit: Sangam Mrs. B. Thilagamani began her non-violent resistant activism when she was 18 years old and played a key role during the 1961 Satyagraha Campaign. During the Satyagraha Campaign, Sri Lankan Armed Forces (SLAF) brutally retaliated against non-violent campaigners. In their terror campaign of 18 April 1961, Thilagamani was sprayed with SLAF tear gas and her sari was partly burnt. Today, 18 April 2011, marks...

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The Tamil Diaspora and the Future of the Tamil Struggle

Today, the 18th of February, finds us three months away from the second anniversary of the “Mullivaikal Massacre”. At this juncture it is important to ask the question: What constructive action can be taken by the Tamil Diaspora to build a better future for the Tamil nation? In Tamil culture, at a funeral, all the people of the village are expected to attend. It’s tradition. But if the whole village was a funeral house, who will go and to whose house?  Also, who will heal the existing souls? ...

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