Apr 13-19: "Peace is not only better than war, but infinitely more arduous "- George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950) Irish dramatist
Why 13th Amendment per se is inadequate?
By Dr. S. Narapalasingam
Many problems created and neglected by successive governments continue to deny Sri Lanka stability, unity, peace and social and economic development benefiting the people in all provinces and ethnic groups. The disparities in overall income distribution and in the living conditions of the people in different provinces have also widened. Many citizens face an uncertain future. The centralized system failed to promote the development of all provinces and address the pressing problems of the people in the neglected regions. [FI]
Gandhi daughter visits assassin
Priyanka Gandhi, daughter of former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, says she has met a woman serving a jail term for her father’s assassination.
Ms Gandhi said she met Nalini Sriharan last month in a prison in Vellore in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. [TC]
Displaced Our Lady of Madhu Statue: Danger of Disappearance
by D.B.S. Jeyaraj
Orders going out to the 57 division in late march directed that the area in and around our Lady of the Rosary church in Marudhamadhu (Madhu) be taken by the traditional April new year. [TC]
Jeyaraj Fernandopulle: “Minority” Man of the Masses from Manalsenai
by D.B.S. Jeyaraj
Dale Carnegie of “How to win Friends and Influence People” fame once observed that a man’s name is the sweetest sound in any language to him.Departed cabinet minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle and I had in common the sweetest sound of any language. [TC]
Let us All Go Back Home to Africa
By: Dr. Rajasingham Narendran
“Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence”-George Weber
V.Suryanarayanan, in his recent article in the Sri Lanka Guardian (4th April’08) cites a conversation narrated in the novel, ‘When Memory Dies’ by A.Sivanandan. Uncle Para tells Vijay,” When memory dies a people die”. Vijay asks Uncle Para, “But if we make false memories”? Uncle Para responds,” That’s worse, that is murder”. [FI]
An essay by Dr V Ramakishnan, Emeritus Professor, Eastern University
It is about time education is elevated to centre-stage as the main focus of the national debate. A regular review of what goes on in our schools and universities will have healthy implications for the long term well being of the larger community we live in - the future of our children and of generations yet to come.
“Sarvathaari”- dawns April 13th, 2008
by Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai
“Puththaandu” or “Puthu Varusham” literally translates New Year. The New Year is the harbinger of spring. Tamil and Sinhala New Year dawns on April 13th 2008 at 4.55 pm according to Vaakkiya Panchaangam, and at 6.29 pm according to Thirukanitha Panchaangam on Poosam Natchaththiram first stage. Vishu Punniya Kaalam or auspicious time is 12.55 pm to 8.55pm. Panchaangam is an almanac. [HA]
The ‘Tamil Nation’ Vetoes the Tamil New Year
by Dharman Dharmaratnam
The ‘Tamil Nation’ website was launched in 1998. The Editor, Satyendra Nadesan, an Attorney at Law based in the United Kingdom, represents one strand of the Tamil diaspora who had left Sri Lanka in the early 1980s. Many appear to have since lost touch with the ground reality in the island. [TC]
A response to pseudo Hindus who oppose Thai first as Thamil New Year
by V.Thangavelu, President Thamil Creative Writers Association
Opposition has been voiced by a small bunch of individuals who are Hindus against the change in the birth of Thamil New Year. They claim the change is against tradition and borders on blasphemy. Such people are superficial and naive in many ways. [TC]
IIGEP observations on Presidential Commission of Inquiry into HR Violations
Public Statement by The International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP):
As you may be aware, the IIGEP is in Sri Lanka at the invitation of the President to observe the work of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into 16 cases of human rights violations and killings. The IIGEP is further mandated to make recommendations to the Commission for corrective action, and to report to the President of Sri Lanka whether the investigations and inquiries conducted by the Commission are in accordance with international norms and standards. [FI]
by Col R Hariharan (retd.)
The political style of Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his use of military option in handling the Tamil insurgency have split almost all political parties which have been compelled to make hard political choices. Starting with the United National Party (UNP), the latest episode in the “split-story” is the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). [FI]
History-making in Lanka–I:Problems
by Michael Roberts
Central themes in the understanding of Sri Lanka’s recent as well ancient history have been fashioned by two occupational categories, namely, schoolteachers and politicians. The school teachers of the first 75 years of the 20th century were mostly well-meaning personnel trained in the British empiricist traditions. [FI]
Several hospitals in northern Sri Lanka face increasing challenges
Statement by International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC):
The limited number of staff available to care for routine cases alongside war casualties has become a critical issue for several hospitals in northern Sri Lanka. In addition, the lack of regular deliveries of supplies from the country’s health ministry has resulted in clinics and hospitals in the Vanni (the four northern districts of Sri Lanka) running out of basic medicines such as paracetamol, antibiotics and vaccines. [FI]
'Like a Tsunami That Won't End'
After a Failed Cease-Fire in 25-Year War, Weary Sri Lankans Fear the Worst
By Emily Wax
As gray-bellied clouds started to blot out the scorching sun, Sara Waeathi, 46, and her sister Kannaga, 30, called their seven children inside just as a light rain accelerated to a downpour. [Washington Post]