Tamil Eelam Freedom Charter

The Prime Minister of the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam, Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran is reading the Tamil Eelam Freedom Charter – May 18th 2013

Positions:

1. Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran – Prime Minister TGTE
   We, the people of Tamil Eelam, have an inherent right to self-determination. Subject to Genocide at the hands of successive Sinhala national governments and as an essential measure of protection we wish to establish our own independent and sovereign State of Tamil Eelam.
   
2. The creation of an independent and sovereign State of Tamil Eelam remains the only viable option to lead a life with security, dignity and equality, both individually and collectively.
3. For over six decades we have struggled, through both non-violent means and armed resistance, to protect ourselves from state sponsored Genocide. We demand the international community organize a referendum to enable us to exercise our right to self-determination and also take all measures to bring to justice the perpetrators of Genocide against the Tamil people.
4. The North-East of Sri Lanka is our traditional homeland and will be the territory of the State of Tamil Eelam. The maritime and aerial limits of Tamil Eelam will be established according to international laws.
5. The independent state of Tamil Eelam will embrace wholeheartedly the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all international human rights and humanitarian treaties and conventions.
6. A Constituent Assembly, elected by the people, shall draft the Constitution. The Constitution will avoid any concentration of power in one authority or person and enshrine the independence of the Legislature, the Executive and Judiciary. Tamil Eelam shall be a Republic adhering to the laws enacted by a Parliament of elected representatives chosen through direct voting by the people. The people shall have the right to recall their elected representatives.
7. No religion shall be given the foremost place in Tamil Eelam. The freedom to worship and the cultural right to practice religious traditions shall be ensured.
8. Tamil Eelam will prohibit capital punishment.
9. The state of Tamil Eelam shall guarantee Constitutional protection of individuals, families and communities from any form of discrimination on the basis of religion, ethnicity, language, caste, gender or sexual orientation.
10. The rights of all minority groups in Tamil Eelam will be respected and safeguarded. The distinct identity of Muslims will be recognized. They shall have the right to participate in formulation of their role in Tamil Eelam. Whenever the hill country Tamils choose to settle in Tamil Eelam, citizenship rights will be extended to them forthwith and the state shall implement special programs for their welfare.
11. All freedom fighters shall be honored as national heroes. All those who sacrificed their lives shall be honored as martyrs. The welfare of the families of the martyrs and cadre shall be the responsibility of the state. All civilians who lost their lives during the freedom struggle shall be remembered through a national monument. May 18 will be established as a National Day of Mourning and November 27 will remain as the National Maaveerar Day.

Foreign Policy

 12. Tamil Eelam shall maintain close relations with all nations that have democratically elected governments.  Expressing solidarity with the people of India and to foster peace and security in the Indian Ocean region, Tamil Eelam will forge a special relationship with India.

Economic Policy

 13. The economic policy of Tamil Eelam will be shaped with the needs and resources of the people of Tamil Eelam in mind and to cultivate global cooperation as well as recognizing the significant role of the Tamil diaspora.

Language Policy

14. Tamil, Sinhala and English shall be the official languages of Tamil Eelam.

Education Policy

15. Education shall be compulsory and free for all.

Health Policy

16. Health will be a fundamental right and all citizens will have access to free healthcare.

Development Policy

17. Development includes economic as well as social, human resource and cultural development in a sustainable way. An important goal of development policy would be to create social equity and minimize disparities.

18. Some of the objectives of development projects in Tamil Eelam will be to ensure that all citizens have:

– their own shelter;

– basic livelihood

– adequate nutrition, especially for children, pregnant mothers and the elderly

– protection from infectious diseases

Environment Policy

19. Land, water and space resources within the territory of Tamil Eelam will be conserved. Large-scale reforestation projects, especially of the Palmyra resource destroyed during the war, will be undertaken as a priority.

20. Emphasis will be given to renewable energy forms such as solar, wind and wave. All non-renewable resources will be used cautiously keeping in mind the needs of future generations.

Citizenship Policy

21. Citizenship will be extended to all those born in the homeland or descended from those born in the homeland. Provisions will be made for obtaining citizenship through naturalization and also for holding dual citizenship. (Colombo Telegraph)

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Jaffna University Student Clash

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යාපනය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලයේ සිදු වූ සිසු ගැ‍ටුම සම්බන්ධ වෙනස් කියවීමක්

Youtube>>>

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The recent clash between the students at the Jaffna University has shown the increasing need to enhance people-to-people engagement to develop greater understanding and sensitivity to the concerns of each ethnic and religious community, while also understanding the reasons for the frustration of the students.

“While the government, Tamil parties and liberal academics are having a positive rapport at the highest levels, this relationship of trust and cooperation has yet to permeate the student consciousness. This problem is likely to exist at the larger community level also. There is a need for a more concerted effort to be made for people-to-people engagement to develop greater understanding and sensitivity to the concerns of each ethnic and religious community,” the National peace Council (NPC) said.

The NPC also said that it is necessary for the government and university administration to keep reasonable ethnic ratios in mind when allocating places for students to universities in different parts of the country.

Emphasizing its point further, NPC noted that the Jaffna clash follows a clash March this year between Tamil and Sinhalese university students in the Trincomalee campus over an incident of ragging.

“The high proportion of Sinhalese amounting to between 60 to 80 percent of the student body in some of the university faculties in the North and East has caused a feeling of being under pressure by the influx of Sinhalese students in traditionally Tamil (and Muslim) areas,” the statement said.

According to NPC, the changed ethnic composition of the student body is invariably accompanied by a change in the administrative composition of the university system. “Both these factors may be viewed with anxiety by the Tamil and Muslim communities in the North and East who are seeking to protect their identity not least in the areas in which they are a majority,” the statement added. (Colombo Telegraph)

More readings about Jaffna University>>>

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Don’t Re-Traumatise The War-Traumatised: Dons

A group of Sri Lankan university academics who took different positions during the war fought between the Sri Lankan armed forces and the LTTE have called upon the Sri Lankan government, all political parties, the UN and other international bodies and sponsors of the UNHRC resolution to place the needs and concerns of those who suffered during the war at the forefront of any mechanisms that will be put in place in the future.

Prof. Jayadeva Uyangoda

Sending a letter to the President, Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights they said;”This relates not only to their protection, but also that their psychosocial needs and wellbeing should drive the investigation and accountability process.”

“We must also ensure those who have suffered human rights violations do not get ‘re-traumatised’ through this endeavour and that psychosocial support for those who need it is provided before, during and after the process. In this regard we emphasize that what is required is not simply a judicial process or a punitive process of investigation and punishment, but a process that will consider and respond to all the different needs of those who have been affected by the war such as their material, emotional and social protection needs. This means approaching the issue of justice from the broadest possible perspective. We strongly urge all parties involved to desist from efforts to use the suffering and trauma of these people for engaging in political grandstanding. We also urge the Sri Lankan state and the UN to ensure that the process of accountability is made meaningful for the victims of war and not simply as an exercise in image building for any individual, group or organisation.” they further said.

We publish below the letter in full;

To:

H.E President Maithripala Sirisena
Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister
Hon. Mangala Samaraweera, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Hon. R. Sampanthan, Leader of the Opposition
Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Your Excellency and Honourable Sirs,

SRI LANKAN UNIVERSITY ACADEMICS APPEAL TO THE AUTHORITIES REGARDING THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL RESOLUTION ON SRI LANKA

One of the greatest challenges facing the new government today is that of reconciliation between ethnic and religious communities. This challenge is all the more formidable because ever since the end of the war in 2009 in Sri Lanka, the ideology of the ruling regime reinforced ideas of Sinhala majoritarian supremacy and the suppression of minorities. It is in this context that we need to respond to the recent UN Human Rights Council Report on Sri Lanka and the resolution to which the current government is a co-sponsor.

We, the undersigned, took different positions during the war fought between the Sri Lankan armed forces and the LTTE. Some of us were opposed to the war, while some of us were of the view that the LTTE had to be defeated militarily. However, whatever our differences on the war, we are of the view that the conduct of the Sri Lankan state after the end of the war and the military defeat of the LTTE in 2009 exacerbated existing ethnic tensions in the country. No war can claim to have been fought cleanly. All wars claim victims and leave losers. The latest UNHRC report documents with strong evidence the human rights violations that occurred during the last stages of the war. Even otherwise, our own observations and experiences provide evidence of the tremendous losses, suffering and trauma to which our fellow citizens, especially in the North and East were subject. The efforts especially by the last regime, to gloss over these losses have been the greatest barrier to national reconciliation. It created a situation where any attempt to acknowledge the loss and trauma of war and violence were depicted as ‘anti-national’, pro-terrorist and unpatriotic. It is time that these notions are once and for all put to rest. The Sri Lankan state which has claimed victory in this war, a war which we must remember was fought against its own citizens and was the result of historical failures in state-building, has an undeniable responsibility to respond to these instances of human rights violations.

We are strongly of the view that it is therefore necessary to acknowledge the loss, suffering and trauma of this war. People who were subjected to human rights violations deserve to have their story heard and acknowledged. It is also noteworthy that this report documents human rights violations also in the South of the country. The grief and loss of those whose rights have been violated cannot simply be ignored or swept aside through the rhetoric of ‘defeating terrorism’ and ‘protecting the sovereignty of the country’. Attempts by certain groups, individuals and the media to portray this report as ‘anti Sri Lanka’ are particularly disturbing since it suggests that some Sri Lankan citizens are less worthy or more expendable than others. It is for this reason that we strongly oppose attempts to undermine investigations into human rights violations during the war and to hold accountable those who were responsible for such violations. We find attempts to frame such interventions as ‘western conspiracies’, attacks on sovereignty and insulting to ‘war heroes’ as particularly damaging towards reconciliation and healing. We would like to draw the attention of everyone, especially those who are resisting current efforts to investigate human rights violations, to Sri Lanka’s international obligations to uphold human rights of all its citizens.

We therefore call upon the Sri Lankan government, all political parties, the UN and other international bodies and sponsors of the UNHRC resolution to place the needs and concerns of those who suffered during the war at the forefront of any mechanisms that will be put in place in the future. This relates not only to their protection, but also that their psychosocial needs and wellbeing should drive the investigation and accountability process. We must also ensure those who have suffered human rights violations do not get ‘re-traumatised’ through this endeavour and that psychosocial support for those who need it is provided before, during and after the process. In this regard we emphasize that what is required is not simply a judicial process or a punitive process of investigation and punishment, but a process that will consider and respond to all the different needs of those who have been affected by the war such as their material, emotional and social protection needs. This means approaching the issue of justice from the broadest possible perspective. We strongly urge all parties involved to desist from efforts to use the suffering and trauma of these people for engaging in political grandstanding. We also urge the Sri Lankan state and the UN to ensure that the process of accountability is made meaningful for the victims of war and not simply as an exercise in image building for any individual, group or organisation.

It is in this context, that we are especially concerned that the process for investigation and accountability that is undertaken is independent and legitimate. Given the serious erosion of judicial independence in Sri Lanka in recent times, we are of the opinion that a purely domestic process cannot ensure justice or inspire confidence especially among the affected people. Neither do we think that the mere presence of international actors can ensure this. We call upon all those responsible to learn from similar processes in countries such as South Africa and Cambodia and to apply those lessons to the processes and institutions that are to be established in Sri Lanka.

We, the undersigned, reiterate that how we deal with the human rights violations during the wars could be the single most meaningful intervention towards the all important and badly needed task of reconciliation, healing and rebuilding our country as one which is truly democratic, inclusive and pluralistic. Without acknowledging our past wrongdoing we will be unable to move forward as a country and society.

Signed
Prof Jayadeva Uyangoda – University of Colombo
Dr Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri – University of Colombo
Dr Neavis Morais – Open University
Dr Mahim Mendis – Open University
Dileepa Witharana – Open University
Dr Harini Amarasuriya – Open University
Dr Harshana Rambukwella – Open University
Dr Farzana Haniffa – University of Colombo
Dr Theodore Fernando – Open University
Prof Gameela Samarasinghe – University of Colombo
N.G.A Karunathilaka – University of Kelaniya
Sithumini Rathnmalala University of Moratuwa
Dr Aboobacker Rameez – South Eastern University
Dr Prabhath Jayasinghe – University of Colombo
Dr Pavithra Kailasapathy – University of Colombo
Dr Jeyasankar Sivagnanam – Eastern University of Sri Lanka
Dr Sengarapillai Arivalzahan – University of Jaffna
Dr Sumathy Sivamohan – University of Peradeniya
Athula Kumara Samarakoon – Open University
Dr Ruwan Weerasinghe – University of Colombo
Dinesha Samararathne – University of Colombo
Upali Pannilage – University of Ruhuna
Dr Janaki Jayawardene – University of Colombo
Dr A.W. Wijeratne – University of Sabaragamuwa
Dr Romola Rassool – University of Kelaniya
Dr Chandrabose Suppiah – Open University
Dr Dinuka Wijethunga – University of Colombo
Dr D.H.S. Maithripala – University of Peradeniya
Dr Kaushalya Perera – University of Kelaniya
Prof Neloufer de Mel – University of Colombo
Dr J. Kennedy – Eastern University of Sri Lanka
Dr Shyamini Hettiarachchi – University of Kelaniya
Chandraguptha Thenuwara – University of Visual and Performing Arts
Dr Jeyaratname Jeyadevan – University of Jaffna
Dr S. Krishnakumar – Open University
Prof Priyan Dias – University of Moratuwa
Dr Ranil D Gunarathne – University of Colombo
Krishantha Fredricks – University of Colombo
Dr. Jeyaseelan Gnanaseelan – Vavuniya Campus
Ravi de Mel – Open University
S. Selvarajan – University of Jaffna  (CT)

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Remembering Rajani

Rajani Thiranagama Commemoration, 20-21 September 2014 in Jaffna

Dr. Rajani Thiranagama, a prominent human rights activist and author, a medical doctor, and head of the Department of Anatomy at the University of Jaffna, was assassinated near her home in 1989 at the age of thirty-five. Her death was an immense tragedy for the community and was symbolic of a climate of terror and human disregard that ultimately left hundreds of thousands dead throughout the country.  Rajani’s death represented a moral crisis within the community, and a crisis of governance and education that continues to mar our future.

A Tamil from northern Sri Lanka, she married a Sinhala political activist from the south, and despite being aware of the dangerous consequences of speaking out, chose to remain in the north with her people. She was one of the founding members of the renowned human rights group UTHR-J (University Teachers for Human Rights Jaffna) and the co-author of their book The Broken Palmyrah, which exposed the atrocities committed by all parties to the conflict, including the Sri Lankan armed forces, the Indian Peace keeping Force and armed groups such as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and other militant movements. Rajani was also at the forefront of establishing Poorani, a home for women in Jaffna, who were rendered destitute by the threatening and constraining conditions of war in the north of Sri Lanka. As a feminist and social activist, Rajani strove hard to create spaces for women’s collective action. After Rajani’s assassination, two of her co-authors, Rajan Hoole and Kopalasingam Sritharan, and fellow members of the UTHR-J, have continued to report on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, inspired by Rajani’s memory and determination. Forced to remain underground since Rajani’s death, UTHR-J are one of the few non-partisan voices in Sri Lanka. In 2007 they were awarded the prestigious Martin Ennals Human Rights Award.

Democratic societies, democratic practices, an equal and just world!

Rajani remains an inspiration and symbol of hope to many in Sri Lanka who desire a just peace with democracy and dignity for all. We hope to explore spaces for a democratic practice in which people are able to participate. The post- war period offers us space to focus on the needs, aspirations and self-expression of people who have been dispossessed during the long period of war and in the current context of development and post-war reconstruction. We wish to honour Rajani’s memory with a series of events on the 20^th and 21^st of September. We earnestly request your presence at these events as both a show of solidarity with the people of Jaffna and all those gathered in the name of democracy at this crucial juncture of our shared history.

Solidarity for peace, democracy and the marginalized!

Support political and social practices for a new society!

Proposed events

• 20^th September, 9:30am – Rajani Thiranagama Commemoration Meeting at the Medical Faculty, University of Jaffna.
• 20^th September, 2pm – A procession for peace, democracy and social justice. (Starting at the Medical Faculty, University of Jaffna and ending at Veerasingham Hall with a short meeting.)
• 21^st September, 9am – A seminar on “A more just and democratic society”, at Kailasapathy Hall, University of Jaffna. 

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Tamils & The Political Culture Of Auto-Genocide

The Surrender of the Intellectuals and the Cancer of Fascism

“Man in his fullness is not powerful, but perfect. Therefore, to turn him into mere power, you have to curtail his soul as much as possible. When we are fully human, we cannot fly at one another’s throats; our instincts of social life, our tradition of moral ideals stand in the way. If you want me to take to butchering human beings, you must break up that wholeness of my humanity through some discipline which makes my will dead, my thoughts numb, my movements automatic, and then from the dissolution of the complex personal man will come out that abstraction, that destructive force, which has no relation to human truth, and can therefore be easily brutal or mechanical. Take away man from his natural surroundings, from the fullness of his communal life, with all its living associations of beauty and love and social obligations, and you will be able to turn him into many fragments of a machine for the production of wealth on a gigantic scale. Turn a tree into a log and it will burn for you, but it will never bear living flowers and fruit.” – Rabindranath Tagore, from Nationalism

Over the last few years, the use of the children as combatants has become a burning issue worldwide. This phenomenon is normally associated with post- colonial societies with a history of exploitation, that are coping with extremes of poverty and wealth, and where local group or tribal rivalries have been mobilised behind the global competition for primary resources. West Africa had all this besides the social disruption resulting from many centuries of slave trade where millions were dispatched in chains, particularly to the Americas. But how did the nationalism of the Tamils of Jaffna – a relatively modernised society with a level of education commensurate with developed parts of the world – come to be associated with child soldiers?

The principal paradox of this society is that one section – the diaspora – love life to the utmost and are averse to the slightest risk that may impair it. Then there are the children fighting for the LTTE who disdain life and apparently take pride in blowing themselves to smithereens at a sign from the Leader. Recently a journalist from the French journal Le Point had the opportunity to talk to an LTTE girl Mariana near Batticaloa (Daily Mirror 27.4.2000). She related proudly how even women do not take prisoners and how ‘traitors’ are publicly executed and their severed heads stuck on a pole. The rare Sri Lankan soldier taken prisoner, she said, was drained for his blood and then executed. Mariana also spoke of her readiness to explode herself.


*File Photo

There is however an inherent drawback in such highly newsworthy disclosures. It appears as an abnormal outgrowth. It is amenable to being played down as an exaggeration or as being isolated. But the insider who knows and feels the organic growth of cancerous fibres trying to strangle the whole society, needs a sense of humour to keep his sanity. His knowledge is seldom sensational. It is for the most part absurd and commonplace. It is not newsworthy. One needs to ask questions and probe deeper to understand its sinister import. Take a few examples.

Among those who fled to the army- controlled area when the LTTE overran the Thenmaratchy sector in May 2000, was an ordinary driver from Palai. He spoke to a friend resignedly about his plight. He said, “If those LTTE fellows come here too, God knows whether my own children will be mine or theirs!”

In the early 1990s, very young children from poor families taken by the LTTE in Jaffna were corralled in camps. One was sited on the way to the cremation ground in Irupalai, one in Manthuvil and so on. The one in Irupalai had a flimsy fence of palmyrah fronds. Parents of the children taken, loss and bewilderment writ on their faces, surrounded the camp and waited passively. They lacked the defiance collectively to go in and get their children out. In Bulletin No. 23 we gave an example of a couple who got into a camp in the Vanni where their child was taken. The couple was assaulted for trespass.

One mother said, “You must see the inexpressible agony of the parents whose children are so taken. They go from pillar to post for weeks and months trying to find their child. There is for them no rest thereafter.” In what has become quite typical in the Vanni today, the parents of a boy saw nothing of their son who was taken away. After many months, the LTTE brought home a sealed coffin that was said to contain the remains of their son. The father insisted on opening the coffin. The LTTEers objected, saying that the stink would be unbearable. The father said, “What does it matter to me, is it not after all my son’s stench?” He then took an axe and broke open the coffin. The coffin was found to contain stems of plantain trees. The father, in a fit of agony, assaulted those who brought the coffin.

Such events are so common that one forgets their significance. Here is a force, which, in the name of liberation, has imposed an astonishing legality by the use of thuggery. It has made the poorer sections helpless to the point doubting their rights and duties by their own children. It has reduced governance to a branch of cattle ranching or factory farming. In the LTTE’s management of society, parenting has been curtailed to eating and breeding offspring to feed its infernal machine. No agent of external terror could have imposed such a glaring indignity with such remarkable thoroughness. There are other experiences where the intensely sinister lies hidden behind a manifestation of heart-rending innocence.

A man was cycling to Jaffna through the Ooriyan passage, east of Elephant Pass, in the early 1990s. It was past mid-night when he passed an LTTE sentry. A child in uniform was sharing a gun with an older boy. Apart from the gun, the one mark of adulthood in the child was his wrist-watch. The man asked the child the time. After a pause, the child replied, “Seven- five”. The man knew instantly that the time was one-thirty five AM! Such innocents were the first to be killed whenever the Army made a foray.

This force has brazenly violated the sanctity of the most fundamental of human relationships. It destroyed living associations that make for a strong and vibrant people. A force that has brought this ignominy upon its own people is capable of any depravity. Everything about it becomes a lie. Only, it does not know that the people see through it. The most dastardly of its actions have become an area of insider knowledge that is incommunicable.

To those who have lived under this regime and kept their humanity; who feel its shame and the abasement of a people; its leaders, and their agents, cannot be forgiven. Those who diminish the degradation caused by the Tiger phenomenon would also fail to appreciate the malignancy of its parent – the Sri Lankan State.

Then there is that strangest of ironies. Those campaigning most feverishly on the genocide of Tamils by the Sri Lankan State and supporting the Tiger cause for a separate state, are Tamils living overseas. At every boast of a Tiger ‘victory’ millions of dollars are collected for armaments to be sent to the Vanni jungles. But in the Vanni itself fear stricken parents hide their children at home to keep them away from LTTE press gangs. This one way trip of children into the LTTE forms the largest single element of ongoing genocide.

Moreover, it is not as though these persons who talk about genocide in Sri Lanka arrived in Canada or Europe from some such situation as in Rwanda. They for the most part like ordinary Sri Lankans applied for their passport and flew out of Colombo International Airport by following normal procedures. And in cities with a major concentration of Tamils like London, Toronto and Geneva, they read Tamil papers flown from Colombo. These papers use their democratic freedom to reinforce the talk about genocide, compliment the LTTE and to run down the few Tamils who openly differ. They also derive revenue from birthday advertisements displaying richly attired Tamil children living abroad, wishing them long life and prosperity. Surely the remedy for the problems faced by the Tamils in Sri Lanka does not require such draconian measures as condemning native children to explode themselves at the Leader’s behest?

How did a well-educated community where parents are normally over-careful of their children become part of this public crime against children? The main part of the answer is to do with the community itself, and stemming from it, a part concerning today’s global culture as articulated by the West.

The most potent aspect of the LTTE’s success is its strike against dissent. It was in the main completed by 1987, though it may not have been so evident then. From then onwards, its effects proceeded steadily like a cancer consuming the best part of the Tamil intelligentsia. The extent to which it would go was not so evident to us when we completed the Broken Palmyrah in 1988. It is true that the foundations for the LTTE’s success were laid by state oppression of the Tamils. This was further aggravated by the intolerant Tamil nationalism of the Federal Party. Writing in 1988, Dr. Rajani Thiranagama traced the weakness of Tamil nationalism to the nature of the Tamil middle class (The Broken Palmyrah, Sects. 6.2.5. and 6.2.11):

“[Being a product of British colonialism] ensured their position as an intermediary controlling group…..This privileged position produced an overblown psychology of superiority. However, the underpinning material base consisted of economic activity totally under the control of the state structure and dependent on the South. This weak and paradoxical position was to produce both the impetus as well as the impediments to the growth of Tamil nationalism.”

Yet, from the time those words were written Tamil society has gone through 13 years of sheer destruction with no end in sight. For those who care to see, the Tamil people have regularly, by overt and covert means, expressed their wish for peace with democracy. Yet a number of burdens imposed on the people by the different actors, have obstructed the latent potential for renewal blossoming out from within Tamil society. Disenchantment with the LTTE emerged into the open in 1987,1990 and 1995, but it led to nothing that was sustained. This cannot be explained without reference to the current global environment.

In looking at different fascist experiences, one would notice many common features. Especially true of them all is the German joke cited by Helmut Thielieke in his Between Heaven and Earth: “… of the three qualities, namely, being a Nazi, being intelligent and having character, one can have only two. Either one can be a Nazi and be intelligent, in which case one has no character or one can be a Nazi and have character in which case one is not intelligent; or one can be intelligent and have character, in which case one is not a Nazi”. The stifling of dissent was in all instances the first step towards fascism.

What fascism imposes on society is conformity with a process of total destruction – both material and spiritual. Thus even the few voices that continue to proclaim the ideals of freedom and equality become anathema to the rulers. But having already been reduced to a minuscule minority, these voices are easily isolated and crushed. This can happen only in societies where the elite have already lost faith in freedom and equality, and are in turn mired in cynicism and opportunism. Fertile ground for this is pervasive insecurity and despair, amidst a political vacuum.

In Germany the conditions were precipitated by the post World War I economic collapse. In the Tamil case, the main responsibility for creating conditions of insecurity and despair lies with the State, which finally pushed matters to breaking point in July 1983. A considerable part of the blame also lies with the immature nationalist politics of the Tamil middle class which thrived on insecurity and despair rather than in their alleviation. From this boorish brand of parliamentary politics emerged that notion of ‘traitor’ that has wreaked havoc within the community over the years. Conditions were thus made ripe for the Tamil elite to worship a demon of their own creation.

The first success of the Tigers in silencing the intellectuals from a weak middle class was achieved with little effort. This victory was to ensure their silence over assassinations of individuals. To some extent, the foundation was laid by the Federal Party’s attacks on ‘traitors’ followed by the political murder of Alfred Duraiappah in 1975, which elicited weak protest. The turning point was the assassination of St. John’s College principal and citizens’ committee activist C.E. Anandarajah in June 1985. He was not a political figure, but rather a valued educationist and a member of the Jaffna University Council.

The LTTE almost totally muffled any protest by paying visits to some leading members of the Jaffna Citizens’ Committee and abducting an editor who spoke out of turn. The Citizens’ Committee, which initially wanted to call for a day of mourning, backed off. The University Council discharged its obligation by merely sending a condolence message to Mrs. Anandarajah. A reputedly bolder body, the Students’ Council of the University, asked the LTTE to ‘show cause’. The incident showed the Tamil intelligentsia to be deficient in the redeeming qualities of courage, civic sense and intellectual depth. They were so easily cowed down by the loutish means of selective violence leading to pervasive fear.

Most people remained complacent, thinking this a passing phase. But it was the beginning of the cancer. Once the LTTE imposed itself as the sole arbiter over life and death, even those who had earlier shown token dissent subsided into acquiescence. Here one was able to witness and even feel the progressive character degeneration of the intelligentsia. One could feel it at meetings of university, church and other civil bodies. The accepted thing was to utter platitudes and drop some hints that one appreciated what the LTTE was doing. Nevertheless, these persons knew in their heart that they were wrong and further, that they were betraying the people.

By contrast, when someone rather exceptionally discussed real issues and raised questions about what this silence and complicity were doing to the people, there was pin-drop silence. No one contradicted the speaker. Many of them looked at the speaker as though wishing that something would remove him or her from their midst. They and their self-esteem were being challenged. In a society that was for long grudging in its tolerance of dissent, the natural trend under the LTTE was to universalise its attitude to dissent, particularly among the elite. Repression by the LTTE became for those among the intelligentsia who co-operated, a means to enhance their international standing as accredited spokesmen for the Tamil people.

They unashamedly articulated the LTTE’s line. How uneasy they felt even about dissent that had to take refuge outside the North-East is reflected in a statement made by a bishop, who was also powerful in the World Council Churches:

“Those who do not support the LTTE have left the land (the North-East). Nearly all those who live in the land support the LTTE. Unfortunately, those in the West are paying heed to reports from those who have left the land. However these reports are very far from the truth.”

This statement appeared in an interview in the Europe-based LTTE journal Kalatthil of 10th July 1992. It came at a time when well- authenticated reports of torture and elimination of dissidents in the LTTE’s mass detention camps were beginning to emerge (our Reports 5,6,9 and 10, and Bulletin 5). This was also a time when Tamil dissidents were quite active in the West and a number of Tamil journals critical of the LTTE were in circulation. The next major success of the LTTE, and a most remarkable one, was to silence, assimilate or utterly marginalise this dissident segment in the West. Unlike in Jaffna this happened in the very ‘citadels of freedom’ where the right to dissent was considered sacred.

This was crucial in enabling the LTTE to become a very versatile parasite on the global system, tapping every opportunity it offered, including crime and extortion. The cover is again provided by the Westernised Tamil elite who are organised into cultural groups, peace groups and charities. Their role has been crucial in exploiting the foibles of churches, democratic politicians and NGOs. Money collected by them, ostensibly for refugees, is brazenly spent on putting more children at home under arms.

Thus the facility provided by the LTTE’s global reach enabled a well-financed war to be fought in the north-eastern dry-zone of Sri Lanka, that had few resources to boast of. The value of the land rather lay in what was made of it by its inhabitants who tended and cherished it. Here was big money pouring in from all corners of the world into this small place to destroy everything that had been painstakingly built up over several generations, and indeed the politics of the struggle thrived on destruction. The Tamils living abroad, who had the greatest freedom to question it, have become its chief agents.

The successful accomplishment of this made it absolutely necessary to crack down on all effective Tamil dissent abroad. It was accomplished quite simply by variants of the same methods used at home – threat, physical attack, arson and even murder. A notable example of the latter was the murder of dissent intellectual A. Sabalingam in Paris on 1st May 1994. Few months earlier D.B.S. Jeyaraj, a well-known Tamil journalist in Toronto, was grievously assaulted because even his tactically worded reporting of internal developments did not conform to the LTTE’s sensibilities. His leg was broken and he was forced to close down his Tamil paper – Mancharie. The simple means of closing down a dissident journal was to threaten shops that sold it. Thedakam, a stridently anti-LTTE dissident group in Toronto, which ran a library and study centre, had its premises destroyed by an LTTE arson attack.

The impunity with which the LTTE is able to function in the West is exemplified by several murders ascribed to it in Paris alone by local residents. Two other notable killings in Paris are those of senior LTTE operatives Perinpanathan and Gajendran by a gunman on 26th October 1996. The LTTE leader bemoaned their loss as caused by ‘the enemy’. However, other factors, including the precipitate and mysterious removal of the LTTE’s European spokesman Lawrence Thilagar, confirmed that the killing was an inside job. The European authorities dismiss such incidents as intra-communal violence within migrant communities. To them Sabalingam and Thilagar – the first, a man with noble ideas, so valuable to the community, and the second, a crude killer – are like Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dee. Tamil dissidents under attack in the West are thus very much on their own. Very little was done by the governments or by non-governmental organisations to sustain the victims of these attacks. The end result was very much a coup in the LTTE’s favour.

A particular aspect of the modern Western milieu is advantageous to groups like the LTTE. During 1940 a group of German dissidents conceived of a plot to murder Hitler. In urging timely action, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the greatly respected Christian thinker and martyr had exclaimed: “If we claim to be Christians, there is no room for expediency. Hitler is the Anti-Christ….” If one were to say something mildly approaching that in the West today about the LTTE leader, one would be greeted with incredulity and disapproval. One would be quickly branded an extremist, and asked to cool off and take a course in peace making. Since the last World War there has been a quiet revolution in the West, where evil has been relegated to a primitive superstition.

Many dissidents had been appalled by what Tamil fascism has done to the Tamil people and the hypocrisy and opportunism of individuals who pandered to it. But in the West, they were largely ignored by their elite compatriots. Once attacked by the LTTE and confronted by Western attitudes, these dissidents too drew the conclusion that their approach of denouncing what they knew to be evil was wrong. Like everyone else, many of them moved in the direction of subscribing to platitudes about conciliation, compromise and confidence building, which meant absolutely nothing to the LTTE. Various shades of compromise in the world-wide dissident camp resulted in division and, among themselves, a desultory war of attrition. Some slowly drifted into the LTTE’s camp – particularly the more nationalistic – in a final act of character breakdown.

It left the LTTE supreme in the West. Even those who are uncomfortable about the LTTE find it difficult to say no to collectors who come with video war cassettes. There have been regular reports, and we too have received testimony, that LTTE fund collectors extort money from refugee claimants in Europe by directly or indirectly threatening to harm their families. It is a context in which there is fear, and where issues concerning the good of those at home, cannot be discussed. This is the fate of Tamils in the ‘democratic’ West.

We look at how the British government dealt with the LTTE before it was formally listed a terrorist organisation in early 2001. Our testimony from impeccable sources during late 2000 relates to the all-important City of London. Fund raising is organised systematically. LTTE agents visit the local libraries and make copies of electoral lists. Tamil homes are marked off and collectors go there with their literature etc. Then a second list is made of homes that refuse to contribute. Senior LTTE operators then go to these homes and harangue the inmates on their want of patriotic fervour. The threat is implicit in the tone and manner rather than in the words. Moreover, knowing the LTTE’s reputation, no one likes to be on its blacklist.

Occasionally, there may be an altercation and the Police called in. The Police would usually take the collectors to a side and advise them in a friendly manner not to go to such houses. This much appears pedestrian, but there are other remarkable aspects.

Scotland Yard officers maintain a friendly relationship with those who work for the LTTE. Several of them were given personal cards by Scotland Yard officers and asked to get in touch

if they needed help. In turn, Scotland Yard keeps a close watch on the LTTE and any irregularity is queried in a friendly manner. If for example, a vehicle that regularly goes to the LTTE office is not seen for a few days, the owner would receive a call from Scotland Yard asking him what happened.
The LTTE office is a different world from ‘democratic’ Britain. Inside, no one dare raise questions. Those who do are reminded in colourful language of the cost of such impertinence in Tamil Eelam. Fortunately, such chastisement has to stop short of giving the recipient a taste of Tamil Eelam.
One could however see a pragmatic argument emerging for Britain’s recent handling of the LTTE. Giving the LTTE rope to take some liberties with the law enabled close monitoring of the group. It made it difficult for the LTTE to go to the next step and resort to violent crime in Britain, unlike in Continental Europe and Canada. Violent crime within the Tamil community in Toronto has reached notorious proportions. One sees what Anton Balasingam meant when he said that should Britain ban the LTTE, they would become real terrorists!

Such pragmatism however threatened Britain’s credibility as a democracy. It discriminated against Tamil British citizens and residents by winking at LTTE extortion from this minority. Every democratic society maintains some basic checks on organisations that appeal to the public for money. The LTTE accosting people for money is a very different phenomenon from collections by the Salvation Army. The LTTE’s history of terror carries an unspoken message. The British position was in effect a bias that conferred de facto recognition on the LTTE as the representatives of the Tamil people. It imposed a psychological inhibition on Tamils who wanted to organise and campaign for alternatives to fascism. Further, it inhibited Tamil politics at home from coming out of the fascist groove. In this respect, at least, Britain’s new position will have a salutary effect.

Of concern has also been the complacency and even complicity of several NGOs and church groups in the West (see our Special Report No.11). What the LTTE had done to its people at home is horrifying enough. But here is an organisation that has even developed the sophistication and versatility to defy all legal checks and to bring Tamils living even in the West under a covert regime of terror. Addressing the danger it poses therefore becomes all the more compelling.

The manner in which peace research sponsored from the West together with its local counterpart has avoided key questions pertaining to the LTTE raises some searching issues. The resulting selectivity imposes dangerously false perceptions about the reality of the people. This glaring misrepresentation cannot go on without the aid of characterless Tamil intellectuals in a society levelled down by fascism.

*To be continued..

*From Rajan Hoole‘s “Sri Lanka: Arrogance of Power – Myth, Decadence and Murder”. Thanks to Rajan for giving us permission to republish. To read earlier parts click here

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Sambanthan & Crisis of The Opposition

Once, Tamils were more Sri Lankan (or rather Ceylonese) than the Sinhalese. When the Kandyan National Assembly and Bandaranaike were demanding a federal setup in Sri Lanka, resistance came from Tamil leaders. Although, G. G. Ponnampalam’s 50-50 demand entailed an unfair equation it was still a Colombo-centric formula. Even today, Tamil political leadership is extremely Colombo oriented and spends more time in Colombo than in their electorates in the North and East. Lack of power and opportunities in the center immensely contributed to the Tamil demand for separation. Accommodating minorities including the Tamils at the center and at the national level certainly could be one of the ways to promote national integration.

Therefore, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R. Sambanthan’s appointment as the Leader of the Opposition (LOTO) has the potential to strengthen goodwill among communities; that is if handled carefully by parties involved. That perhaps was one reason why President Sirisena conceded the position to Sambanthan.

This does not mean that Sambanthan deserved to be the LOTO, even if his party does not qualify to be the main opposition party. In other words, the LOTO position does not have to be a charity or a gift to the TNA. Opponents of Sambanthan as the LOTO, think or argue that the position was gifted to Sambandan for political reasons. Their argument is unfounded and in a way crooked. The criticism, unsurprisingly, comes from Mahinda Rajapaksa loyalists and sympathizers. The racist elements in their arguments are too obvious and even the ones who argued that their objection was not motivated by ethnicity or ethnic factors could not hide it too much. These are the people who have extensively used racist slogan to win the general election, without much success.

Some of them argued that the TNA polled only six percent of the total votes. Therefore, it cannot be the main opposition party as there were other parties, for example the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and the Janatha Vimukthi Prramuna (JVP) that polled more votes. They argued that this violates the sovereignty of the Sinhala people. Rationalists have already pointed out that in parliament, votes do not count. It is the seats that count in there. The TNA presently has more seats in the opposition.

Another commentator pointed out that Sambandan should thank Rajapaksa for the appointment, because President Sirisena “appointed” Sambanthan as the LOTO in order to checkmate Rajapaksa. Rajapaksa was not interested in the LOTO position. He was clear about that from the beginning. Rajapaksa’s interests are served well as an ordinary member of parliament. Now, he does not have to challenge Sirisena or the government, which could instigate a backlash against his family members and friends who stand accused of abuse and corruption. The parliamentary seat allows him to be in the midst of and contact with powerful people. In fact, Rajapaksa seems to be increasingly using soft-power to protect his interest. Therefore, Sirisena does not have to worry about Rajapaksa for at least about five years. This commentator’s criticism also had the embedded notion that Sambandan is an illegitimate LOTO.

However, the notion that the UPFA should be the main opposition party and one of its members (Kumara Welgama?) should be appointed as the LOTO, deserves attention. The UPFA probably created a world history by sitting in the government and the opposition at the same time from January to August 2015.The TNA did not challenge the paradox probably due to the anticipated announcement of the election. The irony probably was also evident to the UPFA leadership, which could have also led to the decision not to challenge Sambanda’s claim this time.

It is the SLFP that has signed an agreement with the UNF and has become part of the government. Therefore, the SLFP cannot be part of the opposition. This is obvious to everyone except die-hard supporters of Rajapaksa. The argument that UPFA should be the main opposition becomes legitimate if one could separate the UPFA from the SLFP. The UPFA (minus SLFP) is not part of the government. Therefore, they have all the reasons to stake a claim for the LOTO seat. The pertinent question here is whether the UPFA (minus SLFP) has more than 16 seats in parliament. It is reported that 85 percent of the UPFA parliamentarians are from the SLFP. This puts the UPFA (minus SLFP) seats roughly at 14; two seats shorter than the TNA members in parliament. This is exactly why the UPFA (minus SLFP) should prove their numbers to the speaker if they are keen on the position of the LOTO.

On the other hand, if the UPFA (minus SLFP) could prove to the speaker that they have more than 16 seats and officially inform the speaker that they will operate as an independent group in parliament, then their nominee should be recognized as the LOTO. This logic should also be applied to the illusive 56 member list so many people are suggesting.

As far as this author knows, the UPFA (minus SLFP) has not officially informed the speaker that it will operate as an independent group. This also means that UPFA should sever its relations with the SLFP because it cannot continue to keep the alliance with the SLFP and operate as an independent group. An interesting aspect of the UPFA faction that opposes Sambanda as the LOTO is that it sent the letter claiming the position to Sirisena; not the speaker. So, they still recognize Sirisena as their leader. If the UPFA wants the position it should renounce the SLFP and Sirisena’s leadership.

Would the UPFA do this? That is doubtful. The small parties of the UPFA for example Mahajana Eksath Peramuna and Jathika Nidahas Peramuna know that they can hardly win a single seat without the SLFP. Therefore, they would probably stick with the SLFP while criticizing the appointment of Sambanthan as the LOTO. Through this program they are trying to cater to the nationalist faction of the Sinhala voters. In other words, the UPFA’s opposition to Sambanthan is nothing but ethnic politics.

Meanwhile, from the TNA’s perspective it is important to recognize the fact that the appointment might be temporary. Right now the agreement between the UNF and the SLFP is effective for two years. If the coalition ends in two years, the SLFP will return to the opposition. Then Sambanthan has to vacate his position. The agreement also states that it could be extended beyond two years. However, it probably will not last for five years because prior to the next general election, the SLFP as one entity or its members will start quitting the government. This would also threaten Sambanthan’s position.

Therefore, Sambanthan needs to operate with the understanding that he, as the LOTO, could be toppled any time. Also, without merely occupying the seat, he should work with an agenda and strategy to maximize the value of the position for the country and the community within a limited period of time. This would be his primary challenge. The question whether he could fulfil his responsibilities effectively could gain significance due to his age and the limited support he enjoys within the opposition ranks. (By: Keethaponcalan )

*Dr. S. I. Keethaponcalan is Chair of the Conflict Resolution Department, Salisbury University, Maryland.


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Identity Politics and State-Building in Sri Lanka:by Sisira Pinnawala

tity Politics and State-Building in Sri Lanka

The book, Identity Politics and State-Building in Sri Lanka, Understanding Ethno-nationalist Mobilization in a Postcolonial State in Transiti, wiill be launched tomorrow at the Peradeniya University from 4.00 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. at the Faculty Seminar Room.
In 2011 the Pathfinder Foundation (PF) and the Institute for the Study of Human Rights (ISHR) of Columbia University initiated a joint project entitled, “Historical Memory as a Tool for Conflict Resolution” with the objective of engaging scholarly and intellectual participation in the country’s post conflict peace building and reconciliation effort.
The specific task identified by the project was to get the scholars and intellectuals with different perspectives to work together in collaborative work to produce, through research, public debate and discussion, shared narratives of the conflict which would provide a strong and dependable basis for mutual understanding between the two main protagonists leading to sustainable peace and reconciliation.
It was decided to conduct a collaborative research project and produce a scholarly volume on the Sri Lanka state as focusing on identities and State-Building with particular attention to the post-colonial state. This collaborative research project resulted in studies independently prepared by the scholars commissioned to do the work. These studies were undertaken by a group of well-known Sri Lankan academics with backgrounds in History, Economics and Sociology most of them currently holding senior academic positions in one of the Sri Lankan Universities. They are Dr. Gamini Keerawella, Dr. Sisira Pinnawala, Dr. P. V. B. Karunatillaka, Dr. Janaki Jayawardena, Dr. O. G. Dayaratna-Banda, Dr. Sathiaseelan and Ms. S. A. C. Feroziya.
The launch will be attended by academic staff as well as students of the University and other civil society stake holders from the suburbs. 

- See more at: http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=local/identity-politics-and-state-building-sri-lanka#sthash.ryyFHXOh.dpuf

Identity Politics and State-Building in Sri Lanka

The book, Identity Politics and State-Building in Sri Lanka, Understanding Ethno-nationalist Mobilization in a Postcolonial State in Transiti, wiill be launched tomorrow at the Peradeniya University from 4.00 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. at the Faculty Seminar Room.
In 2011 the Pathfinder Foundation (PF) and the Institute for the Study of Human Rights (ISHR) of Columbia University initiated a joint project entitled, “Historical Memory as a Tool for Conflict Resolution” with the objective of engaging scholarly and intellectual participation in the country’s post conflict peace building and reconciliation effort.
The specific task identified by the project was to get the scholars and intellectuals with different perspectives to work together in collaborative work to produce, through research, public debate and discussion, shared narratives of the conflict which would provide a strong and dependable basis for mutual understanding between the two main protagonists leading to sustainable peace and reconciliation.
It was decided to conduct a collaborative research project and produce a scholarly volume on the Sri Lanka state as focusing on identities and State-Building with particular attention to the post-colonial state. This collaborative research project resulted in studies independently prepared by the scholars commissioned to do the work. These studies were undertaken by a group of well-known Sri Lankan academics with backgrounds in History, Economics and Sociology most of them currently holding senior academic positions in one of the Sri Lankan Universities. They are Dr. Gamini Keerawella, Dr. Sisira Pinnawala, Dr. P. V. B. Karunatillaka, Dr. Janaki Jayawardena, Dr. O. G. Dayaratna-Banda, Dr. Sathiaseelan and Ms. S. A. C. Feroziya.
The launch will be attended by academic staff as well as students of the University and other civil society stake holders from the suburbs. 

- See more at: http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=local/identity-politics-and-state-building-sri-lanka#sthash.ryyFHXOh.dpuf

In 2011 the Pathfinder Foundation (PF) and the Institute for the Study of Human Rights (ISHR) of Columbia University initiated a joint Project entitled “Historical Memory as a Tool for Conflict Resolution” with the objective of engaging scholarly and intellectual participation in the country’s post conflict peace building and reconciliation effort. The specific task identified by the Project was to get the scholars and intellectuals with different perspectives to work together in collaborative work to produce, through research, public debate and discussion, shared narratives of the conflict which would provide a strong and dependable basis for mutual understanding between the two main protagonists leading to sustainable peace and reconciliation. The formal work of the Project commenced with a workshop jointly organized by the PF and ISHR in Colombo in July 2011, facilitated by Dr. Elazar Barkan, Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and Director of Columbia’s ISHR. The participants of the civil society representing academics and researchers from the Universities and other stakeholder groups, were invited to this workshop. A consensus that emerged from the workshop was that the lack of agreement on the nature of the postcolonial Sri Lanka state was one of the root causes of the conflict. Therefore it was decided to conduct a collaborative research project and produce a scholarly volume on the Sri Lanka state as focusing on Identities and State-Building with particular attention to the postcolonial state.  A Working Group (WG) consisting of university academics/ researchers and civil society intellectuals was formed to carry out the above activity. The Working Group (WG) on State-Building

Identity Politics and State-Building in Sri Lanka

was launched in October 2011 and identified the following three thematic concentrations for study. 1. The nature of the pre-colonial state focusing on state and collective identity formation 2. Identity and Political Mobilization in the Colonial Sri Lanka 3. Postcolonial State and nation building in Sri Lanka since 1948: Approaches, Attempts and Challenges Each contributor was asked to develop a research paper that was subjected to peer review and open and critical stakeholder dialogue. Three stakeholder dialogues were conducted, two at the University of Colombo and one at the University of Jaffna. The papers were revised incorporating the comments and the work was completed in August 2013. This volume presents the outcome of their intellectual engagement in the form of six scholarly papers. The papers trace the different stages in state formation in Sri Lanka from the pre-state chiefdoms and early state formations to its present form, the Postcolonial state. Particular emphasis of the authors is on understanding different approaches and attempts towards Postcolonial state-building by various stakeholders. There is also an examination of the reconstitution of ethnic identities within Sri Lanka, especially during the British period, and the consequences of this for state formation in Sri Lanka. Two other areas of focus are post independence ethnicization of the economic function of the state and the role of the minorities in a state which is characterized by a citizenry deeply divided on the basis of a whole range of deep-rooted identities with differential interests in managing the state. The Muslim factor which constitutes the third key dimension of the discourse has also been given attention in this volume with a detailed analysis of the dynamics associated with the politicization of the Muslim collective identity and its specific manifestations.

The above studies were independently prepared by the scholars commissioned to do the work with no influence on their values or judgments by the Pathfinder Foundation or any other parties associated with this project. The views expressed in the papers are those of the authors. The Parthfinder Foundation is grateful to Dr. David Phillips, Director of the Program on Peace-building and Rights at Columbia University’s Institute for the Study of Human Rights for his support at various stages of the project cycle. We would also like to record our gratitude to Danielle Goldberg, Program Coordinator, Peacebuilding and Rights Program of Columbia University. We are also thankful to Dr. Gamini Keerawella, Professor in History of the University of Peradeniya who coordinated this Project component. His contribution in conceptualizing the research theme on the Postcolonial State and leadership and input at the workshops and discussions were invaluable to the successful completion of the work and in bringing out this volume. I wish to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks and appreciation to Milinda Moragoda Institute for People’s Empowerment (MMIPE) for funding and other assistance received from the inception of the PF that ensures continuation of work of this nature. The Parthfinder Foundation believes that this volume of well researched papers by Sri Lanka’s prominent academics and researchers in their respective fields, in addition to being a useful contribution to post war peace building and reconciliation effort which is its main objective, will be of value to scholars and students interested in history, sociology, ethnic studies, political science and conflict resolution. Luxman Siriwardena Executive Director The Pathfinder Foundation 01st of September 2014. 

Daily News info>>>

Read full text of pdf from M. R. Mohamed's Resource Bank from here>>>

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