Jul 13 - 19: "You never get a second chance to make a good first impression." - Will Rogers (1879-1935) Cherokee-American cowboy, Social commentator
Birunthan Park: 'Through this recognition he's going to live forever' [Toronto Star]
Sri Lanka's east in shadow of war
By Swaminathan Natarajan
A year after troops overpowered Tamil Tiger (LTTE) rebels in Sri Lanka's eastern province and took control of the area, normality has yet to return.
The government called the victory the "dawn of the east" and held a nationwide celebration on 19 July 2007, days after the last rebel stronghold fell.[TC]
South African to be next U.N. human rights commissioner [LaTimes]Navanethem Pillay, currently serving on the International Criminal Court, was the first woman of color to become a high court judge in South Africa.
The daughter of a Tamil bus driver in Durban, she experienced human rights violations firsthand. Pillay earned a law degree at Harvard, but for 28 years during apartheid, she was not allowed to set foot in a judge's chambers as a lawyer because of her South Asian origins. In 1995 she became the first woman of color to become a judge on the High Court. [LATimes]
By Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai
Anoma Rajakaruna shares her photos of people in black and white. Anoma has captured many expressions and many environments. Every photograph speaks differently. As a film-maker, photographer and poet ,Anoma has well captured the many moods of men, women and children around the Island. The exhibition is divided as My story, her story, his story and their stories comprising 34 photographs.
The coordinates of national consciousness
by Dayan Jayatilleka
Any serious search for a solution to Sri Lanka’s problems has to be found within the known parameters of the people’s consciousness. Even if a solution outside those parameters is sought to be imposed from above and without, it will prove unsustainable. This is the lesson of Iraq. [FI]
A Political Solution and Conduits for Racism
By Prof Rajiva Wijesinha
Over the last year, I have been struck by the number of times I have been told that a political solution to our problems is not possible unless the two main parties get together. [TC]
The baseless hype about Prabha and his One-Four base
By D.B.S. Jeyaraj
When a newspaper reported erroneously that Mark Twain had passed away the famous American humourist responded by writing that “reports of his death have been greatly exaggerated”.[TC]
Loss of collective ‘national interest’ after independence
By Dr. S. NarapalasingamThe citizens of Sri Lanka have a country they regard as their motherland but do all regard it as their nation? They had this perception before independence when they all proudly identified themselves as Ceylonese and jointly campaigned for self-rule. The Ceylon National Congress was truly national before this word got tarnished. After independence, the natives regardless of their ethnic, religious and regional differences regarded themselves as joint heirs to the sovereign rights. [FI]
Conventional and unconventional wars: The end of one and beginning of the other
by Rajan Philips
Sri Lanka’s supposedly most successful Army Commander has spoken. According to General Sarath Fonseka, the Tigers are finished as a conventional army, if not already, certainly by next year. He has also added the caveat that the LTTE will not be totally eliminated and that as an insurgent force it could go on forever, fuelled by Tamil nationalism and bankrolled by Tamil expatriates. As military declarations go, this one was rather cautious and guarded, quite unlike the “Mission Accomplished” bravado that President Bush mouthed off on the Iraq war and has been egg-faced ever since. [TC]
What’s behind Sri Lanka President’s attraction to Tirupati Temple?
[TW]
Nutrients awareness exhibition held in Kilinochchi
The exhibits showed maximizing the availability of essential nutrients by way of consuming various whole foods that are locally produced and widely available. [TW]
India chases the dragon in Sri Lanka
By Sudha Ramachandran
Gripped by civil war for over two decades, Sri Lanka is fast becoming a battleground for the two Asian giants - India and China. The looming struggle for influence has Delhi worried as the stage is on India's southern doorstep. [AsiaTimes]
All Lands Home
I Wrote a Story, Not the Whole Story
By V.V. Ganeshananthan
Yalini, the protagonist of my novel "Love Marriage," turns 25 this month. "I was born in the early hours of the morning, on a day in late July," she says in the book. [Washington Post]
