Stooping to win

Thirty years ago on this day (July 29th 1987) an accord was signed by the then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Junius Richard Jayewardene the then President of Sri Lanka in Colombo that had far reaching implications for both the tear drop island in the Indian Ocean and its giant neighbour. 

‘Govigama’ monopoly of presidents and premiers in Sri Lanka

“Ram Nath Kovind was on Thursday declared elected as India’s 14th President polling 65.6% of the vote defeating the Opposition’s joint candidate, former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, who secured 34% of the vote. Mr. Kovind will be the second Dalit President of India after late President K.R. Narayanan but, more significantly, the first from politically significant Uttar Pradesh and the first person from the BJP to hold the offi

Ananthy: First NPC woman Minister

45-year-old Ananthy Sasitharan made history when she was sworn in before Northern Province Governor Reginald Cooray in Jaffna as Northern Provincial Minister of Women’s Affairs, 

Unsolved murder in broad daylight of Batticaloa journalist Aiyathurai Nadesan

Jaffna District MP, Mathiaparanam Abraham Sumanthiran waxed eloquent during the course of the adjournment debate in Parliament on June 6th 2017. M. A. Sumanthiran who is also the official Spokesperson of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and its premier constituent, the Ilankai Thamil Arasuk Katchi (ITAK) emphasised that they stood “for a country that is not divided, a country in which all the peoples will be proud of their equal status to

Operation Re-shuffle Key objective was removing Ravi Karunanayake as Finance Minister

The Oxford English dictionary defines the word ‘compromise’ as being “an agreement or settlement of a dispute that is reached by each side making concessions”. Sri Lanka witnessed a political compromise of sorts between President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, when the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and United National Party (UNP) leaders displayed a show of unity in bringing about a mini re-

Kautilyan machinations and Medamulana Machiavelli

Vesak festivity in Sri Lanka acquired an international dimension this year with the Island nation hosting the United Nations International Vesak day.

Journalist-Activist Poddala Jayantha’s White-Van Ordeal

Well-known Sri Lankan Journalist-activist Poddala Jayantha was in the news last week when he sent a letter to the Director-General of Information, Dr. Ranga Kalansuriya, who is also the Secretary to the Cabinet Sub Committee on granting measures of relief to media persons who were subjected to various types of harassment and oppression during the period 2005 to 2015. Media reports said that copies of the letter had also been sent to the respectiv

Geetha , Gotabhaya and the dual citizenship issue

Kumara Vidugalage Dona Geetha Samanmalee Kumarasingha popularly known as Geetha Kumarasinghe is in the eye of a politico-legal storm. The glamorous actress turned politician who was elected to Parliament in August 2015 from the Galle district on the United People’s Freedom Alliance(UPFA) ticket has been unseated by an Appeal court ruling.  

C.V.Wigneswaran hurts Christian sentiments

Northern Province chief Minister Canagasabapathy Visuvalingam Wigneswaran, who possesses a remarkable flair for getting embroiled in controversial issues, is in the eye of a storm again. 

Tamil nationalist politics and the process of “traitorization” in Sri Lanka

Octogenarian leader of the Opposition Rajavarothayam Sampanthan in a hard-hitting Parliamentary speech made four weeks ago drew attention to the prevailing practice of persons being condemned as Traitors 

Crown Prince of Sri Lankan Politics But never crowned King

That “Politics is a blood sport” was a famous saying by former Sri Lankan President Junius Richard Jayewardene. In the cut-throat competitive world of Sri Lankan politics there have been many casualties,

Divided Security apparatus weakens effort to combat overseas LTTE

Case No. B 85/17 concerning the assassination attempt targeting Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Jaffna district MP M. A. Sumanthiran was taken up at the Kilinochchi courts before Kilinochchi 

Many attempts by diaspora Tigers to foment violence in Sri Lanka

The ongoing investigation conducted by the Police Terrorism Investigation Department (TID) into the assassination plot targeting Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Jaffna district MP Mathiaparanam Abraham Sumanthiran has unearthed more details about the conspiracy hatched by “Tigerish” elements in the Global Tamil Diaspora.   

Sri Lanka’s Beloved Home-Grown Tycoon

Upali Wijewardene known widely as Upali was arguably Sri Lanka’s first home-grown tycoon of the post - Independence era who captured the popular imagination of the people at large.

Will Norway handover diaspora Tiger leader “Nediyavan” to Sri Lanka?

“What was your first military operation”? was a question posed to Veluppillai Prabhakaran in a media interview many years ago. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leader replied “ Alfred Durayappah”.

Overseas LTTE-backed plot to assassinate TNA MP Sumanthiran in Jaffna revealed

“Nallavan” (not his real name) is a Tamil youth living in a Northern village. He was a former member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) organization who had surrendered to the armed forces in May 2009. He was incarcerated for a period of time and released after undergoing a process of rehabilitation.

Magical Charisma of Kandy-Born Actor-Politico M.G. Ramachandran (MGR)

January 17, 2017 was declared a holiday in the Southern Tamil Nadu State of India. This was to acknowledge and celebrate the....

Lester’s “Rekava” was the first Sinhala film to compete at ‘The Cannes’ film festival

“Rekava”(line of Destiny) directed by Lester James Peris premiered 60 years ago at the Regal Theatre in Colombo on December 28th 1956. It was a path-breaking venture in Sinhala cinema that notched many “firsts”.

Sinhala Cinema’s Line of Destiny Re-drawn By ‘Rekava’ 60 Years Ago

December 28, 1956 remains a red letter day in the cinematic history of Sri  Lanka (formerly Ceylon). The maiden feature film of 37-year-old director Lester James Peries premiered at the upmarket ‘Regal’ theatre in Colombo on that day. It was a black and white Sinhala film named ‘Rekava.’ Though Rekava is spelt in English with both a ‘V’ as well as a ‘W,’ I am sticking to ‘V’ because

LTTE Political Adviser Balasingham knew the world was going to clobber the tigers

Ten years ago in the third week of November 2006, I received a telephone call from London. It was from Anton Stanislaus Balasingham....

“Great Heroes Day” (Maaveerar Naal), is an LTTE event, not a Tamil National Day of Mourning

November 27, 1989, was the day on which the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) first observed its annual “Maaveerar Naal” or Great Heroes Day (GHD). 27 years have passed since then and the 27th anniversary of the event fell on Nov 27, 2016.  

Murder most foul of moderate Tamil MP Raviraj

Former Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Jaffna District Parliamentarian and Lawyer Nadarajah Raviraj and his Police bodyguard Sgt.Lakshman Lokuwella were gunned down on a Colombo street in broad daylight ten years ago. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) investigation report on Sri Lanka (OISL) presented at the 30th session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in September 2015 summed up the shooting in the following manner:-  &

Controversial Shooting of two Jaffna undergrads by policemen in Kokkuvil.

Last week’s shooting incident in Jaffna in which two male Jaffna varsity undergraduates lost their lives because of alleged police firing has given rise to a raging political controversy. Initially it was announced officially that the deaths were due to an accident but subsequently it was stated that the police had to open fire on a motorcycle with two persons as they had disobeyed instructions to stop. 

Right of reply

With reference to two articles written by our columnist DBS Jeyaraj, dated August 13 and 20, EPDP General Secretary and Jaffna District MP Douglas Devananda has written a Right of Reply (RoR). We here publish the RoR together with writer D. B. S. Jeyaraj’s response to it. 

What if Mahinda was Attacked by Pro-LTTE Elements in Malaysia?

Sri Lankans were shocked and disturbed in the first week of September by two violent incidents directed against a Buddhist prelate and a senior diplomat in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur (KL). In the first incident on Saturday September 3, the chief Adhikarana Sangha Nayake of Malaysia, Sri Saranankara Nayake Maha Thera was attacked opposite the Buddhist Temple at Sentul in KL. This incident however was of a minor nature. In a more serious

Assault on Lankan Envoy Ansar in KL Airport by Malaysian “We Tamils”

An official Ambassador is defined as a diplomat of the highest rank accredited to a foreign Government as the resident representative of his or her Motherland. The equivalent designation to an Ambassador among Commonwealth Nations is High Commissioner. Since an Ambassador or High Commissioner is the premier representative of his or her country any honour bestowed upon him or her in the host country is a respect afforded to the envoy’s count

Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra’s Murder and Hirunika’s Quest for Justice

Former parliamentarian and presidential adviser Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra known as “Lucky Aiya” was gunned down along with three of his bodyguards in Mulleriyawa on October 8, 2011. The past few years has been a taxing period of struggle for Bharatha’s daughter Hirunika Premachandra -- now a Colombo district MP -- as she sought justice for her father’s killing. Finally Hirunika’s quest for justice triumphed on S

“Dharussalam” in the Eye of a Political Storm Within The Muslim Congress

“Dharussalam” meaning “abode or house of peace” is the name given to the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) headquarters at 53 Vauxhall Lane in Slave Island or Colombo 2. The impressive seven-storey structure was constructed mainly through the untiring efforts of M.H.M. Ashraff the legendary leader of the SLMC. “Dharussalam” was officially declared open on October 23, 1998. 

When a Tamil Catholic Priest went Missing in Jaffna Ten years Ago

Exactly ten years ago on August 20, 2006 a member of the Catholic Clergy along with a member of the Catholic Laity went missing in the North.The clergyman was Fr. Thiruchelvam Nihal Jim Brown who was serving as a priest in the Catholic Diocese of Jaffna. The layman was Wenceslaus Vimaladhas a social worker.   

“White-Vanning Culture” and the Lucrative Industry of Abducting Tamils

August 11, 2016 was a day of well-deserved pride for the people of Sri Lanka. The Island nation’s parliament on that day passed legislation to set up an Office of Missing Persons (OMP) in the country. Sri Lanka’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera hailed the passage of the OMP bill as “historic”. Addressing a news briefing soon after the Bill had been ratified, He said the new law would give relief to the loved o