Whose Sentiments are Hurt? This poser is slowly being raised – may be – in rather muted terms in this part of the world. Right from Karachi to Patiala or Uttarakhand to B’desh concerned citizens or victims of this bogey, one finds there is an increasing audience to this query. You could easily listen to it among the Ahmadiya Jamaat[Read More…]
Ranil who was elected by a majority members of parliament on 18 July 2022 has been dishing out various promises to suit the occasion and the audiences. A meeting was held on 09 May 2023 with Tamil MPs in the parliament where the 75 years long heartbreaking issues of land appropriations in the North and East by the occupying security[Read More…]
Truth has its own Language The suspicious, paranoid and much hated illegitimate Sharifs, Bhuttos and the Generals are unleashing blind terror against the masses of Pakistan. The unprecedented abduction of Imran Khan, the former PM by the paratroopers from the High Court in Islamabad signals tragic tensions of missing logic and failed systems of political governance and accountability. Since April[Read More…]
In no uncertain terms, JUST-IS (A Network of Interfaith Solidarity Activists against Global Militarism and for Social Justice) harshly denounces the recent spate of attacks against houses of worship of the minority Ahmadiyya religious community in Pakistan. The most recent one, https://countercurrents.org/2023/05/desecration-of-yet-another-ahmadi-mosque-in-pakistan/, has been the most heinous. Of course, mainstream Muslim orthodoxy has had a profound theological problem with certain beliefs[Read More…]
‘The Owl of Minerva takes flight only at Dusk’ –Walter Benjamin “We have met the enemy, and he is us” — Pogo Comics quoted in the “ISIS is US: The Shocking Truth Behind the Army of Terror.” April is the cruelest month: Four years ago as the Fahrenheit rose on a beautiful Easter Sunday morning in April 21, bombs exploded[Read More…]
Pablo Picasso’s ‘Guernica’. War, its infinite brutality and bestiality! It’s eternal, tragic, deathly realism. It’s private and public sorrow. A war within. A dictatorial State in a bloody and damned war against its own people. In a moment it seemed to be a small, little slice of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II in Japan – the cities bombed[Read More…]
The tragic and painful death of nearly 100 persons in air attacks carried out by the military junta in Sagaing region of Myanmar on April 10 is another grim and cruel reminder that violence and distress of people have become the most defining features of this deeply troubled country. According to a statement by the UN Human Rights Chief Volker[Read More…]
Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Abdul Momen in Washington on Monday, April 10th (Blinken had asked Momen to meet him) to discuss the current state of affairs in Bangladesh; in particular, the modus vivendi for the next parliamentary elections, as well as violence against and intimidation of the media and civil society, especially under the[Read More…]
We all know that 95 percent of elite Pakistani politics is mentally challenged fairytales and gossip replete with murmurings that can be cooked up for a good story to sell to the public. The intrigues and power plays of Pakistan’s rulers seem to just drag the country further and further to the abyss. After virtually a year now of the[Read More…]
Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique process with involves a review of human rights record of all UN member states. It is a process conducted under the articles of Human Rights Council which provides the opportunity to each state to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situation in their countries and to fulfill their[Read More…]
Background Democracy, a form of people’s rule, requires great responsibility and commitment from the citizen and state. Democracy is an inclusive practice cemented on modern liberal ideals that brings peace & progress in society. The danger it carries equally great hope and aspirations and failing which revert back to conservative false promises. Unfortunately most of democratic political systems in the[Read More…]
This idea is based on the distinguished journalist Irfan Hashmi’s suggestion to prevent the imminent civil war and loss of millions of lives in Pakistan, including lives of those in power now who are violating the country’s laws and subjecting Pakistan’s people to unprecedented cruelty. What is the fault of the country’s 80% population? They are supporting Imran Khan. Why[Read More…]
“There is great chaos under heaven; [hence] the situation is excellent.” -Mao Zadong With staunch US support, Pakistan’s unelected “imported government” is trying to arrest former Prime Minister Imran Khan, the most popular politician in the country, to prevent him from running in elections. But protesters are protecting him. If 2022 was the year of popular uprisings in Pakistan,[Read More…]
The economic proxy war between the rising and fading Superpowers is escalating and expanding in the “Asian 21st Century.’ This was apparent in an (un)diplomatic exchange between Chinese and United States officials over the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) debt restructuring delays in Sri Lanka which was the venue of the recent CARAT/ MAREX war games. These happened in the run[Read More…]
South Asian University is a university set up in Delhi by member countries of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Maldives – which is open to students from all these countries. However, as SAARC is receiving little attention these days because of regional political dynamics, it appears as if SAU[Read More…]
The 13th Amendment is the baby born from the Indo-Ceylon Accord of 1987, a brain child of India which is an international agreement as entered by two independent nations India and Sri Lanka. It is adopted in the Constitution of Sri Lanka and cannot be removed or repealed unless another new Constitution is adopted by Sri Lanka. This is not[Read More…]
Pakistan is facing a major economic crisis. News agency AFP headlined one of it reports as “Pakistan’s economy in ‘collapse’ as IMF visits” A report — Pakistan facing worst economic crisis; Pakistani rupee at Rs 250 against dollar: Report — said: Pakistan is facing the worst economic crisis since the nation formed with its currency falling to Rs 250 against[Read More…]
I must confess that I am a great fan of the present BJP-RSS government, its intelligence and the manner it executes various projects for the so-called “national interest”. From demonetization to disarm the opposition political parties of cash, dramatic launching of GST at midnight of July 1, 2017, quashing of Art 370 and 37A, pushing various agendas of “Hindutva”, winning[Read More…]
The history of massacres against Tamils had started long before the Tamil youth took to the weapons. All the successive regimes in Colombo were backing the genocidal massacres against Tamils. State sponsored pogroms against the Tamils in 1958, 1961. 1977, 1983 and the several frequent massacres since independence in 1948 forced the Tamil youths to take up arms as there[Read More…]
[I wrote this article at the time of the Balakot Crisis in February of 2019. It still carries relevance today within the context of Pakistani Prime Minister Sharif’s recent statement, (on Monday, the 16th of January, 2023);where he asks the President of the UAE; “to facilitate dialogue with India and vowed sincere talk with the arch rivals, if a channel[Read More…]
It is a well-known fact that most of the past agreements written and/or oral promises including undertakings of the past Sri Lankan governments are mostly complied with breaches, partial and / or complete non-compliances. Some of the notable instances are the Indo-Ceylon Agreement 1987, BC Pact 1958, and Reasonable Use of Tamil Language Act 1958. At the recent meeting with[Read More…]
The incident referred to as Trincomalee massacre in 2006 happened when five minority Sri Lankan Tamil high school students playing by the beach were briefly detained and then shot dead by Special Task Force These five Tamil students were shot and killed at point blank range by the STF whilst they spent an afternoon on the beach in Trincomalee. The[Read More…]
![Thousands of Bangladesh Nationalist Party supporters rally in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Dec. 10, 2022, to demand the Hasina government resign and hold early elections. [AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu]](https://cdn.countercurrents.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Bangladesh-Protest-200x150.webp "Mass protests in Bangladesh against brutal cost of living increases 45")
Tens of thousands of people protested in Dhaka on December 10 to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League-led government and to call for new elections over rising inflation, fuel increases and violent police attacks. The next general election is not officially due until the end of 2023. The demonstrations—part of a national series of “restore democracy”[Read More…]
Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK) India’s official claim is to the entire region of the pre-Independence “Princely State of Kashmir & Jammu” – namely, Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh – as an integral part of India. This includes Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK). Pakistan entered into a boundary Agreement with China in March 1963 to settle its border differences, and ceded the Shaksgam Valley of the Hunza region[Read More…]
73 year old Ranil Wickremasinghe after serving as a prime minister for five years achieved his ambition of becoming the President of Sri Lanka on 21 of July 2022 as an appointed member of parliament not elected by the people in an election but through the national list thanks to he people’s uprising and fleeing of Gotabayas;’family on 9th of[Read More…]
by Azhar Imran and Zerrish Khan During the days after former Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted from office, there was jubilation by the Pakistani liberal-left. But they figured out quickly that they had to go into overdrive to produce and police a narrative of what happened. But bizarrely, that narrative wasn’t being constructed for Pakistanis, but for some mysterious[Read More…]
The enemies of the most honest and most popular political leader in Pakistan’s history tried to assassinate him. Since they suffered major defeats in election after election, could not succeed in their repeated efforts to have him declared ineligible for election, they realized that they could not beat Khan electorally. So they tried to kill him. He and many[Read More…]
Pakistan has suffered its worst ever floods this year, resulting in over 1700 deaths, nearly 13,000 seriously injured persons and damage estimated at around $40 billon. UNICEF stated in a report that as a result of these floods, nearly 10 million children needed urgent assistance. As millions of persons were rendered homeless by floods, urgent reconstruction efforts are needed. Winter[Read More…]
The recent statements of President Ranil Wickramasinghe and Foreign Minister Ali Sabry expose and confirm the financial, political, and economic bankruptcy of Sri Lanka even admitted by the leaders and architects of these bankruptcies who nurtured and fed them for their political and personal prosperity partly encouraged by the numbed and sterile opposition coupled with the complacency of ordinary citizens.[Read More…]
The Facts Search for Meanings People and nations once colonized by the European Empires remain colonized in thoughts, behavior and practices for ever. Pakistan is no exception in contemporary global affairs. Its systems of political governance, public institutions, legal systems and delivery of services if any to public are a replica of the British colonial systems. The concept of national[Read More…]
UNHRC in its 51st session passed a Resolution against Sri Lanka with 20 countries supporting and 7 countries opposing while other 20 countries abstained from voting. This striking Resolution has vindicated and enhanced UNHRC’s reputation and its deep commitment to uphold human rights, accountability and justice to the victims of human right violations and genocidal crimes. It is to be noted[Read More…]
Over the past decade, the Sri Lankan government has borrowed vast sums of money from foreign lenders to fund public services. Sri Lanka had to fall back on its foreign exchange reserves to pay off government debt, shrinking its reserves from $6.9 billion in 2018 to $2.2 billion this year. This impacted imports of fuel and other essentials, which sent[Read More…]
Despite decades of Tamil protests and unequivocal calls for international action to end impunity in Sri Lanka, the Human Rights Council has continued to heed Sri Lanka’s requests for “time and space” to address allegations of international crimes with a homegrown solution. Groups of families, spread across Sri Lanka’s northern and eastern districts that were the site of the nearly[Read More…]
On September 22, 1995, a SLAF aircraft bombed the Nagarkovil Maha Vidyalayam schoolyard crammed with 750 children on their lunch break, killing more than 30 – of whom 12 were six or seven-year-olds – and injuring 150 others. The overall death toll from the raids reached 71. The bombing occurred just hours after the Sri Lankan government imposed press censorship[Read More…]
The Sri Lankan government’s failure to establish an accountability mechanism for violations of International law means that referral to the International Criminal Court or the creation of another international mechanism “would be fully warranted,” said the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), in a statement to the UN Human Rights Council. The primary reason for the call for referral to ICC[Read More…]
Unprecedented flooding—arising from and demonstrably tied to climate change— continues to ravage Pakistan, with the official death toll rising by more than 250 since last week. 1,391 people are now reported as having perished due to the floods, which have inundated a third of the impoverished South Asian country. A further 12,700 have been injured. On Friday, Pakistan’s National Disaster[Read More…]
On September 9, 1990, the men, women and children from Saththurukondan and surrounding villages, on the outskirts of Batticaloa, were taken to an army camp by Sri Lankan soldiers, where 185 Tamil men, women and children from Sathurukondan and surrounding villages were slaughtered by Sri Lankan soldiers. The mass killings, which were carried out during the presidency of the UNP’s[Read More…]
The culture of impunity has matured and has become endemic among the police and the security forces of Sri Lanka. Increasing Militarisation in the North and East of Sri Lanka and A Culture of Impunity in Sri Lanka The Sri Lankan military enjoys total impunity for human rights violations. To this day, almost no one has been held accountable for[Read More…]
An Indian comedian did an experiment recently that tells us tales about people and their vituperations. The experiment was brilliant: Prime Minister Modi tweeted a standard-world-leader note of sorrow to those affected by the floods in Pakistan. The comedian tweeted largely the same thing under his own name. And? You guessed it. He got a torrent of hateful responses from[Read More…]
Skyrocketing prices of tomatoes, potatoes and onions are putting food out of reach in flood-ravaged Pakistan, raising the specter of inflation hitting 30% that may spur more monetary tightening, said a report. The Bloomberg report said: The South Asian nation already reeling from dwindling currency reserves and the fastest inflation in almost five decades faces a food shortage after torrential[Read More…]
Tamil Eelam is the historical homeland of the Tamil nation of the island of Ceylon (today known as Sri Lanka). In ancient Tamil literatures, the island was referred to as Eelam. Tamil Eelam is the modern collective name for the Tamil-speaking territories of the precolonial Tamil kingdoms and principalities that existed in the districts of Jaffna, Killinochi, Mullaithivu, Mannar, Vavuniya,[Read More…]
At the UNHRC 51st Sessions due to commence on September 12, 2022, the members are expected to debate the final draft Resolution on accountability, justice and reconciliation in Sri Lanka to be presented by the UNHRC High Commissioner including her oral statement on the first day on 12th September 2022, this being the first item in the agenda. The question[Read More…]
Sri Lanka has to face the UNHRC Session in September 2022 and submit its report on human rights, accountability and justice and other Recommendations mentioned in the UNHRC Resolution 46/1 of March 23, 2021. This 46/1 Resolution, titled “Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights,” was adopted by the UNHRC, in Geneva, on March 23, 2021, during the 46th Sessions. By[Read More…]
Buenos Aires was rocked again last week by massive protests against austerity measures imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Structural reforms with austerity have resulted in soaring inflation, currency depreciation, poverty and inequality that is eroding Argentine society and economy, while enabling bail out of private lenders and vulture funds like BlackRock. Argentina is now on its 21st IMF[Read More…]
30 to 33 million persons are reported to be seriously affected by floods in Pakistan, a country with a population of 220 million. Due to this a national emergency has been declared in Pakistan. The previous worst floods in Pakistan were recorded in 2010 when nearly 20 million people were affected, causing damages estimated at $10 billion. This was followed[Read More…]
Politics in Pakistan is again creating turmoil. Media reports said: Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s close aide and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader, Shahbaz Gill’s room at Parliament Lodges was raided by police contingents in the presence of Gill who was brought to the location amid strict security measures. The police team led by the senior superintendent of police (SSP) found[Read More…]
Genocide is the deliberate and organized killing of a group or groups of people, with the intention of destroying their identity as an ethnic, cultural, or religious group. May 18th- A Day which can never be forgotten for generations to come in the lives of Tamil. This day of Gore at Mullivaikal will reverberate. The Cry of the lost souls[Read More…]
Sri Lanka’s extent of compliance with the Recommendations of UNHRC Resolutions passed against it since 2012 particularly No. 30/1 of October 01, 2015 to 46/1 of March 23, 2021 raises concerns to the affected Tamils in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has abysmally failed to implement the core Recommendations and has ignored the pivotal Recommendations dealing with accountability, justice, reconciliation and[Read More…]
On 5 September 1990. Sri Lanka army units arrested 158 Tamil civilians who sought shelter in the temporary refugee camp inside the premises of the Eastern University during military operations in the area. All of of them were tortured and killed, according to a one man commission that investigated the massacre three years later. Although the commission named several perpetrators[Read More…]
Freedom Colonized or European Systematic Terrorism European went to West Asia pretending to be businessmen and fostered political intrigues and treachery to become the ruler of the Sub-Continent. The conquest and looting of Moghul India in 1857 transformed Britain into “Great Britain.” British and French for a while competed for military and political influence to pave the way for ultimate[Read More…]
[This article is based on the discussions with activists of the Janatha Aragalaya and concerned Sri Lankan citizens. It is a humble contribution towards ongoing debates within the movement. As the French proverb goes: “De choc des opinions jaillit la vérité” – Truth arises from a conflict of opinions.] With the deepening crisis of the world capitalist system, we[Read More…]
Hundreds of Tamil mothers on August 12 took out a rally in Sri Lanka’s northern Kilinochchi district to mark 2,000 days of their relentless struggle, seeking truth and justice for their loved ones forcibly disappeared during and after the civil war. A whole bunch of Tamil moms rallied in Sri Lanka’s northern Kilinochchi district on Friday to mark a 2,000-day[Read More…]
Today, there are believed to be approximately 200 Tamil political prisoners, some of whom have been detained for over a decade. These arrests were under the widely criticized PTA which facilitates detentions without charge. Sri Lanka had vowed to repeal the draconian legislation as part of the GSP+ agreement and the UN Human Rights Council Resolution 30/1. However, the Sri[Read More…]
The massive debt crisis has affected the lives of nearly all classes in the society, specially the poor and middle, in Sri Lanka is not new. The loans given lead to a debt trap which is the root cause of our situation. Sri Lanka’s foreign debt has reached US$ 52 billion and debt servicing last year was six billion dollars[Read More…]
Sri Lankans had been protesting for months over the country’s economic crisis that has led to a severe shortage of many essential imported items like medicines, fuel and cooking gas. Wickremesinghe’s predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country after protesters stormed his official residence and occupied many key state buildings including the president’s office and prime minister’s office and official residence.[Read More…]
On 4 August 2006 17 Action Against Hunger staff were murdered in Muttur, Sri Lanka. They were assisting communities suffering the impact of the 2004 tsunami, as well as the ravages of war, when they were shot dead. Still now their killers have never been brought to justice. During the three days following the killings, from 4th to 7th August,[Read More…]
To quote Ahilan Kadirgamar, a political economist at the University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka, the uprising is “a revolt and not yet a revolution, because it doesn’t want to change fundamental social relations… or property relations.”1 As was the case with the massive upheaval in Egypt in 2011 (https://multiracialunity.org/2021/02/24/revolt-in-india-does-a-seismic-struggle-guarantee-systemic-change/, https://multiracialunity.org/2021/03/18/revolt-in-burma-does-a-seismic-struggle-guarantee-systemic-change/), without a program to challenge capitalism or an organization to[Read More…]
It is a universally accepted principle that people living in a democratic land should be treated as equals, irrespective of language, ethnic or religious differences. But in Sri Lanka democracy is being crushed by the tyranny of the majority – the Sinhala Buddhist representatives – in Parliament… Sri Lankan military has been building Buddhist statues and temples illegally on private[Read More…]
The Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord was an accord signed in Colombo on 29 July 1987, between Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President J. R. Jayewardene. The accord was expected to resolve the Sri Lankan Civil War by enabling the thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka and the Provincial Councils Act of 1987. The Peace Accord[Read More…]
Sri Lanka’s former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa is expected to return to the country from Singapore, a Sri Lankan lawmaker says. Cabinet spokesperson Bandula Gunawardena told reporters on Tuesday that G Rajapaksa was not in hiding but the date of his return was not known. The former president fled Sri Lanka after mass unrest over an economic crisis. Many protesters say[Read More…]
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe won the presidential elections conducted by the Parliament on Thursday after Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled abroad amidst intense agitation over the economic crisis. He will serve the remaining tenure of Gotabaya Rajapaksa till November 2024. Ranil Wickremesinghe is a Sri Lankan Politician who is also currently the 9th President of Sri Lanka since July 21,[Read More…]
Digital technology has demolished the borders between different countries without any war or confrontation. The same technology has come to the rescue of those families living across the Indo-Pak border who were separated during the partition of the subcontinent in 1947. More relief has come to those thousands of divided families in the Kashmir who have never been allowed to[Read More…]
(This article is based on a talk delivered at the online session organised by International Solidarity with the People’s Movement in Sri Lanka on a 23.07.2022) The people’s movement in Sri Lanka has entered into a deadlock with the ‘(s)election’ of Ranil Wickremesinghe as President. Within hours of him assuming office, a mid-night crackdown on the Galle Face protest camp[Read More…]
“But to watch cricket, there has to be a country left for us to watch it in, no?” A fan at the Galle Test Match that ended with an innings victory for Sri Lanka. July 11, 2022 Spirits were high on July 11 when the Sri Lankan cricket team beat the visiting Aussies by an innings even though the country[Read More…]
The Coalition for Economic Democracy in Sri Lanka (CEDSL) is a group of concerned academics, activists, agricultural, fisheries and industrial workers, students, business persons, trade unionists, and professionals based ‘in country’ and overseas, including the diaspora, who uphold the values of economic rights and justice in public policy making. In the wake of two years of economically-devastating Covid-19 lockdowns, quantitative[Read More…]
Sri Lanka was braced for more unrest after newly appointed president Ranil Wickremesinghe vowed to crack down on the protests that toppled his predecessor, condemning them as “against the law”. Speaking after being MPs picked him as successor to Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Wickremesinghe made it clear he would not tolerate those he perceived to be stirring up violence. “If you try[Read More…]
Sri Lanka’s ethnocratic political structures and history of atrocities, and thereby the root causes that ultimately led to the present crisis. This will only lead to further instability, violence and economic collapse. There have been many moments in Sri Lanka’s history when governments have had the opportunity to change course and address the root causes of the island’s conflict, but[Read More…]
Gotabaya’s election as the President of Sri Lanka in December 2019 is unique as it exposes and endorses the underlying political ills of Sri Lanka namely racism, communalism, majoritarianism and Sinhala/Buddhist hegemony. His victory has cemented the paths of polarization and created separatist and segregating tendencies among the usual peaceful Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslim communities. This article briefly mentions the[Read More…]
The Sri Lankan government may have won the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in the north-east of the country, but another protracted struggle is looming on the horizon, that of winning democracy and development back from the clutches of militarisation. In the meantime, for those in the north (and the east) struggling to recover socially, economically and[Read More…]
The mighty nationalist leaders from the Rajapaksa family in Sri Lanka looked helpless and cowardly when he was humiliated at the airport as he tried to flee abroad to protect himself from the agitating people who protested at the airport. Still, he used his powers as the arm forces followed it ‘dutifully’, knowing fully well that it was actually a[Read More…]
Sri Lankan protesters have vowed to continue their struggle for a complete change of the system by abolishing the presidency, as the popular uprising that ousted Gotabaya Rajapaksa as president marked the 100th day on Sunday. The anti-government protest began on April 9 near the presidential office and has been continuing without a break. “We will continue our fight till[Read More…]
Gotabaya Rajapaksa is a Sri Lankan politician and former military officer who served as the eighth President of Sri Lanka from 2019 until his resignation on 14 July 2022. Gotabaya Rajapakshe is believed to have directly overseen the country’s police and military, which have been accused by the UN, human rights groups and Sri Lanka’s own investigative agencies of crimes[Read More…]
by Ishika Jaiswal & Dr. Bimal Jaiswal India and Bangladesh are the two exceptional economies in South Asian region. Both the nations have number of similarities and both want to achieve remarkable economic growth in the shortest span of time possible. To attain this objective, both the economies are endeavouring altogether in certain sectors and sub-sectors. However, there are some[Read More…]
The fall and ignominious retreat of Sri Lanka’s Gotabaya Rajapaksa has enlivened one distinct possibility. Having formally resigned as Sri Lankan President, a point made via email from Singapore, those wishing to see him account for war crimes may get their wish. There have been various efforts in train regarding a man who ruthlessly concluded his country’s civil war in[Read More…]
Most of the myths regarding the history of Sri Lanka originate from the Mahavamsa. And so, Sinhalese Buddhist nationalists maintain that they are the Buddha’s selected people, and that the island of Sri Lanka is the Buddhist promised land At the opening of the nineteenth century, the existence of an historical record called the Mahavamsa, or Great Dynasty, was known[Read More…]
Sri Lanka politicians are trying to settle popular unrest as parliament plans to meet tomorrow after the official resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was made today. Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said he expected to elect a new President through Parliament within 7 days in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. The Speaker said in terms of the Constitution Prime[Read More…]
On Thursday, the Sri Lanka government announced a curfew in the capital Colombo and its suburbs that would run until 5am on Friday. To stop demonstrators from accessing the Parliament on Thursday, the Sri Lankan Army stationed tanks close to the building. Troops in green military uniforms and camouflage vests arrived by armored personnel carriers on Thursday to reinforce barricades around[Read More…]
The staggering rate of unemployment among university graduates in Bangladesh, and the difficulty faced by employers in securing a skilled workforce, pose a conundrum for the country’s development journey, with implications regarding productivity, growth, social welfare and integration in the global value chain. A World Bank study found that, more than a third of university graduates remain unemployed for one[Read More…]
Tamil nationalism is the ideology which asserts that the Tamil people constitute a nation and promotes the cultural unity of Tamil people. Sri Lankan state violence, persecution, and discrimination from the 1940s to 70s pushed Eelam Tamil leadership to answer the Tamil national question, manoeuvring through a maze of democratic and diplomatic methods in an attempt to achieve only a[Read More…]
Most counts estimate that over 100,000 civilians died during the conflict, though accounts of the final stages of the war, when the Sri Lankan government defeated the Tamil Tigers militia in 2009, vary significantly, with the United Nations estimating the total casualties to be somewhere between 40,000 and 70,000 over a five-month period. Apart from that the death toll during[Read More…]
Sri Lanka’s opposition parties are trying to cobble together an all-party government and pick candidates who can take over after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe agreed to step down, giving in to popular pressure in a country struggling to pay for essentials. Sri Lanka has been plunged into a political vacuum after an economic crisis sparked widespread protests[Read More…]
On 9th July 1995, the Sri Lankan Air Force bombed the St Peter’s Church in Navaly and the nearby Sri Kathirgama Murugan Kovil, which were both sheltering displaced Tamils from army bombardment. A total of 13 bombs were dropped on the sheltering shrines, killing 147 on the spot with many more succumbing to injuries later. The victims included men, women[Read More…]
Sri Lanka’s opposition political parties are trying to agree on a new government a day after the country’s president and prime minister offered to resign in the country’s most chaotic day in months of political turmoil, with protesters storming both officials’ homes and setting fire to one of the buildings in a rage over the nation’s economic crisis. Sri Lankan Army chief General[Read More…]
On 14th of August 2006, the government forces deliberately bombed a girl’s orphanage killing 60 girls and wounding 120 who were between the ages of 15 and 18 In the Cenchcholai complex in Vallipunam in the Mullaithivu district hundreds of female students in the age group of 17-20 were gathered on 10 August 2006 for a weeklong training in leadership[Read More…]
The incident occurred in two different series of actions: the first on 25 July 1983 when 35 Tamil prisoners were attacked and killed by Sinhalese inmates. The second massacre was two days later when Sinhalese inmates killed another 18 Tamil detainees and 3 prison deputies. ‘It is the massacres in the Welikade gaol which are attracting the most attention. There[Read More…]
This July marks the 39th anniversary of what became known as Black July. The riots of July 1983 in Sri Lanka would forever alter the course of ethnic tensions in the country, and would lead to the movement of Tamils out of Sri Lanka and into countries like Canada in increasingly dramatic numbers. The riots also marked a decisive shift[Read More…]
The mothers, fathers, relatives of the missing are on the streets for more than 1950 days in a sit-in protest demanding to know the whereabouts of their loved ones. They are holding EU, US & UN Flags and the pictures of their loved ones missing Since the end of the armed conflict, the families of the disappeared have participated in[Read More…]
Nepal has decided to shun the U.S. State Partnership Programme (SPP). Media reports said: The Nepal government has decided to not forward the US’ state partnership programme (SPP). The meeting of the Council of Ministers held on Monday took this decision. The Cabinet also decided that every government agency needs to make communications on diplomatic relations via the Foreign Ministry. The government made the decision[Read More…]
The opening statements of Human Rights Commissioner and Core Members (UK, Canada, Germany, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Malawi) sum up Sri Lanka’s hollow and dismal performance and the disappointing compliance of Human Right Council’s Resolutions and Recommendations issued against Sri Lanka since October 2015. The Commissioner of Human Rights “called on Sri Lanka to focus on deeper institutional reforms to[Read More…]
In historic flood in many parts of Bangladesh and Northeast India hundreds of people have died and millions are stranded. About 4 million people were marooned in the northeastern Sylhet administrative division in Bangladesh, which is about a quarter of its population. In India North East state of Assam is worst affected where heavy rains are continuing for over two[Read More…]
The Tamil homeland has been subjected to decades of Sinhalisation but since the end of the armed conflict, there has been a rise in the establishment of Buddhist temples and Sinhala settlements through the appropriation of Tamil land. The government has used it’s departments such as the archaeological and land survey departments to alter the demographics of the North-East. Rise[Read More…]
A UN survey entitled “Humanitarian Needs and Priorities—Food Security Crisis Sri Lanka” issued on June 9 painted a tragic picture of the social devastation being inflicted on workers and the poor by Colombo’s ruling elite and the capitalist system. “Sri Lanka is experiencing a multidimensional crisis, compounded by food insecurity, threatened livelihoods, shortages of essential medical items and rising protection[Read More…]
The idea of “self-determination” continues its hold on the hearts and minds of peoples yearning to breathe free. Kosovo, for example, established its independence in 2008, making it the world’s second-youngest country (after South Sudan, officially established in 2011). The landslide winner of Kosovo’s parliamentary elections in February 2021 was the Self-Determination Party (Vetëvendosje), which made Kosovo a rare Muslim-majority,[Read More…]
Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) Campaign: Stopping GOSL Genocide Against the Tamils Presentation at Second International Conference on Tamil Nationhood and Genocide in Sri Lanka. Ottawa, Canada, 5-7 May 2018 The Sinhala-Buddhist Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) has inflicted outright genocide against the Eelam Tamils in flagrant violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention to which it is a contracting party. For[Read More…]
The Tamils are an ancient people. Their history had its beginnings in the rich alluvial plains near the southern extremity of peninsular India which included the land mass known as the island of Sri Lanka today. The island’s plant and animal life (including the presence of elephants) evidence the earlier land connection with the Indian sub continent. So too do[Read More…]
Since independence in 1948, the GoSL has tried to weaken (or outright deny) the concept of the “Tamil homeland” by engaging in processes of demographic change and repression through the three strategies that advance Sinhalization: land acquisition, militarization, and Buddhisization. Using these methods, the GoSL also seeks to strengthen a Sri Lankan identity, rooted in Sinhala-Buddhism (with a foremost place[Read More…]
The Galle Face protests which commenced on April 9th 2022 cannot be described as a mass uprising by the majority of the Sri Lankan population representing all sections of the communities particularly the middle and upper class sections besides the minority communities, the Tamil and Muslims. It was necessitated and forced upon on the low wages earning working population who[Read More…]
Imran Khan, a cricketer-turned politician, former Prime Minister of Pakistan is found openly alleging the US administration for the fall of his elected government. In his interview to numerous national and international TV channels, he claims that his visit to Russia amid the Ukraine crisis in the month of February, 2022 was not fully digested by the US administration. On[Read More…]
“Hospitals are supposed to be sanctuaries from shelling, not targets,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “While doctors and nurses struggle to save lives in overcrowded and under equipped facilities, Sri Lankan army attacks have hit one hospital after another.” The Sri Lankan armed forces have repeatedly struck hospitals in the northern Vanni region in indiscriminate artillery[Read More…]
A Nation, its Freedom and Future in Crisis For long, Pakistan portrays a hybrid political culture – part human and part vulture overwhelmed with traditions of neo-colonialism, elite control, neglectful of people’s care, political change and elite systematic corruption to undermine the national freedom, security and sustainable future. Suspicious and paranoid political elite imply dogmatic scenarios and management concepts to[Read More…]
Global Kairos for Asia-Pacific Palestine Solidarity (GKAPPS) calls for respect for human rights, an end to political instability and, the re-building of Democracy in Sri Lanka Global Kairos for Asia-Pacific Palestine Solidarity (GKAPPS) is a collective of Asian Christian Theologians working in partnership with scholars and human rights activists of different faiths to express our radical solidarity with the people[Read More…]
According to Article 7, paragraph 2(i) of the Rome Statute[1], an Enforced disappearance is defined as “…the arrest, detention or abduction of persons by, or with the authorization, support or acquiescence of, a State or a political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge that deprivation of freedom or to give information on the fate or whereabouts of those persons,[Read More…]
On midnight 31st May 1981, the Jaffna Public Library, famous for being the crucible of Tamil literature and heritage, was set ablaze by Sri Lankan security forces and state-sponsored mobs. The burning has since been marked by Eelam Tamils as an act of genocide. This was one of the most heinous ethnic-based book burnings of the twentieth century. The library[Read More…]
The government of India shut down the consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif, the biggest city in the north of Afghanistan, considering a threat to the embassy staff from the Taliban which took over the reins of the government on 15 August, 2021. It is a fact that there is a perception among the international community including Indians that the Taliban would commit[Read More…]
Sri Lankan PM Mahinda Rajapaksa, center, who resigned on May 9, seen with his younger brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who three days before in a Cabinet meeting, pressed for the resignation, so as to buy an elusive peace. Colombo has been a witness to terrorist bombings and assassinations, but not to the scenes of mass violence, that unfolded on May[Read More…]
There cannot be any plausible reasons to deny the fact of a genocidal agenda initiated by the Sri Lankan Governments immediately after the independence in 1948 against the Tamils living in the North and East. Sinhala majoritarianism, communalism and later adding Buddhism provided the keys to open up and launch several discriminatory measures which commenced from Sinhala Only Act of[Read More…]
The economic and political turmoil in Sri Lanka has turned worse with the people’s protests assuming violent bouts, snowballing across the island nation. Predictably, the ruling Rajapaksa family has become the principal target of attacks, and there are reports that Mahindra Rajapaksa—who resigned as prime minister—and his family had to flee from the capital even as President Gotabaya remained[Read More…]
This uprising in Sri Lanka has brought the family rule of Rajapakshas’ to its knees before the angry and hungry crowds who once brought them to power. The unique beauty of this uprising is the participation of people from all walks if life irrespective of their race, religion or region, people from north to south and east to west are[Read More…]
Life, of individual and of class, doesn’t move without contradictions. And, people’s life doesn’t sit immobile. Life and contradiction, thus, is inseparable. Dynamics in people’s struggle moving on the matrix of class contradictions is complex. Individual ideology and culture, economy, fairy tales and musical instruments and life within home and in production places and markets cannot escape contradictions with respective[Read More…]
Genocide of 147,000 Tamils – Tamils demand justice from UN, UNHRC, UN Security Council and the International Community. May 18, 2021, marks the 13-year anniversary of the end of the 26-year armed conflict between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE); Tamils all over the world [more than 82 million] will remember the Mullivakkal[Read More…]
The Tamils are an ancient people. Their history had its beginnings in the rich alluvial plains near the southern extremity of peninsular India which included the land mass known as the island of Sri Lanka today. The island’s plant and animal life (including the presence of elephants) evidence the earlier land connection with the Indian sub continent. So too do[Read More…]
Immemorial February 21 produced significant political literature. The literature is evidence of political, and to be definite, class position of concerned parties; be it a group or political party, a faction or a political trend or establishment. The communist party in this land, brutally assaulted by the neo-colonial state of Pakistan, had not forsaken its fundamental position – a society[Read More…]
The world is littered with wreckage of many countries that fell prey to colonialism’s and imperialism’s ruthless march. All superpowers have hegemonic goals. One can only hope that such goals are achieved with minimum damage to vulnerable targeted countries and with minimum blowback that may make such policies and actions a spectacular failure. The U.S. way of colonizing other nations[Read More…]
Pakistan has been rocked by demonstrations throughout the country since the ouster of former Prime Minister Imran Khan from power. This development has been a surprise not only to Khan’s detractors, but to Khan’s supporters as well. The size of these rallies has been astonishing. What they have also demonstrated is that the Pakistanis who have been outraged by recent[Read More…]
When things deteriorate very rapidly in any country , there is a tendency—and a temptation– to discuss the situation more in terms of the lead personalities, particularly if these happen to be as colorful as Imran Khan. Yet there is a clear need to go beyond mere personalities and look at some of those problems which appear to be more[Read More…]
Since I am originally from Pakistan and have been teaching interdisciplinary studies (including political science) at City College of San Francisco, I have been following the developments there with great interest and concern, both from professional and personal points of view. For brevity and clarity, I am itemizing my impressions as follows: From the reports available so far, it seems[Read More…]
Politics of the Few Criminals waits for Dark Future The lingering suspicion unfolds a reasoned impression that Imran Khan – the hurriedly ousted PM’s failure is the net success of the nine skeleton grouped parties – “Democratic Front.” This Front is not formed by the people but by the few discontented figures eager to grab political power by any means.[Read More…]
Letter to the Prime Minister on involving the CPSEs with a good track record in investing in Sri Lanka in the context of the economic crisis faced by that country To Shri Narendra D Modi Prime Minister of India Dear Shri Modi, I welcome the timely help being provided by India to Sri Lanka at this crucial hour,[Read More…]
Pakistan came into existence in 1947 after the partition. When Pakistan and India came into being, massive migration took place. People from Pakistan moved to India and vice- versa (Stump, 2008). As everyone knows that Pakistan is a Islamic country and its rules and regulations are based on Islamic constitution. Hindus including Dalits in Pakistan are in minority. According to Prof Saswati Sarkar, based[Read More…]
Sri Lanka’s past 74 years of political history since independence in 1948 is marked with rules by eighteen Prime Ministers and by seven Presidents from 1978 after the late J.R. Jayawardene introduced the powerful executive system of government which has now grown like a banyan tree with roots and branches encompassing the Rajapakshes’ family and pedigrees. The Presidential powers have[Read More…]
Pakistan’s opposition is trying to overthrow Prime Minister Imran Khan with a no-confidence motion. Khan says the US sent him a threatening letter and he has proof of foreign funding for a regime-change operation, aimed at reversing his independent foreign policy – like his alliance with China and Russia and support for Palestine. While the world’s attention is understandably focused[Read More…]
Sri Lanka’s defiance and delaying tactics in implementing its own undertakings and several UNHRC Resolutions by demanding extensions and lame excuses to implement these in good faith and in time. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michele Bachelet mentioned some of the incidents under the section on “Impunity in emblematic cases” in her annual report to the UN Human[Read More…]
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Madam Michael Bachelet’s Report on Sri Lanka submitted on 24th February 2022 for discussion is fully welcome which is also endorsed by the Sri Lankan Tamils and Tamil politicians due to its frank and forthright exposure with no mincing of words. This article analyses some of her recommendations and observations to justify and support[Read More…]
Justice Delayed is Justice Denied, Action Speaks Louder Than Words TO THE ATTENTION OF: UNITED NATIONS, UNHRC, SECURITY COUNCIL AND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY It is a high time and urgent need for the United Nations, UNHRC, ICC and the International Community to find remedial justice to the oppressed Tamils in Sri Lanka. The following facts prove beyond doubt that there[Read More…]
Foreign Minister G.L. Pieris’s speech at the 49th Session of UN Human Rights Council in Geneva is impeccably laced with web of lies and littered with hollow and empty promises and empty undertakings having been cleverly woven to cover up the truths and mislead the United Nations, UNHRC and International Community. Undoubtedly there will be few buyers of his labored[Read More…]
On December 10, 2021, the Biden administration imposed sanctions on Bangladesh’s elite paramilitary force, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and seven of its current and former officials accusing of human rights abuses and abductions. Even though US-Bangladesh has been enjoying a cozy relationship since the birth of Bangladesh, this sudden human-rights related sanctions have raised concern in the South Asian[Read More…]
Whether or not Sri Lanka cooperates with the international investigation, the OHCHR will proceed with its work as mandated and present its report to the Human Rights Council [HRC] The HRC will discuss the Report [Sri Lanka will have the right to respond] and decide on whether it will be adopted or not. If the Report is adopted and there[Read More…]
The much widely criticized PTA of 1979 described as draconian is doomed to live as long as Rajapakshas hold the reins of power in Sri Lanka. The demise of it by repealing will certainly ring the death knell of any designs of dictatorship in Sri Lanka and their hold on power. PTA -1979 was legislated as a result and consequence and aftermath[Read More…]
by Dr. Prashant Kumar Choudhary and Madhubrota Chatterjee Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis in the past fifty years; its economy has registered the lowest GDP per capita annual growth -4.1% in 2020, which is lower than its previous worst economic downturn of 2001 (GDP per capita annual growth was -2.25%). It is not the case that its[Read More…]
Sri Lanka is a democracy only in its most slovenly application, and even if it is a full, blazing beacon of a democracy, the category offers no protection or excuse for what that “democracy” so gruesomely did to Tamils by using banned cluster bombs and phosphorous to wipe out the Tamils trapped inside the war zone. Most unfortunate for all[Read More…]
Genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka, including structural genocide, commenced in 1948 soon after the independence. As defined in the United Nations Genocide Convention of 1948, genocide includes “killing members of the group, or causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group, with intent to destroy in whole or part of a said national, ethnical, racial or[Read More…]
Genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka. UN Failed to apply R2P and protect the Massacre of 147,000 Tamils It is very sad that United Nations an international institution particularly was initiated to protect the civilians during the conflicts and other matters affecting the civilians failed from in its duty by ignoring the genocide in Sri Lanka. Several UN agencies, along[Read More…]
In the March 2022 UNHRC Sessions Human Rights Commissioner Her Excellency Michael Bachelet is expected to present her oral Report on progress made by Sri Lanka in respect of various UNHRC Resolutions passed since 2015 This Session is particularly crucial for the victimized Tamils who have pinned their hopes only on UNHRC and the United Nations to deliver justice[Read More…]
Postcolonial Sri Lanka has become worse than it was during the colonial period. The sad history of February 4th – the day of independence to the Sinhalese has turned out to be a BLACK DAY to the Tamils. The Citizenship Act of 1948 – 49 and the state sponsored settlements of Sinhala people in the areas where Tamils were dominant[Read More…]
Throughout the centuries from the dawn of history, the Sinhalese and Tamil nations divided between themselves the possession of Ceylon, the Sinhalese inhabiting the interior of the country in its southern and western parts from the river Walawa to that of Chilaw and the Tamils possessing the Northern and Eastern parts. The Tamil Kingdom was overthrown and conquered by the[Read More…]
“A people who are subjugated by an alien people have the inherent right to free themselves from such alien subjugation” It is the right which is the right of self determination – A right which has today become a peremptory norm of general International Law. Eelam Tamils deserve to demand this right due to the following justifiable and reasonable reasons.[Read More…]
India’s Minister of State for External Affairs Shri V. Muralidharans’s following statement on July 31, 2021 in the Rajya Sabha is timely, fitting and correct which also alludes to the nagging and continuing unsolved problems being faced by the Tamils in Sri Lanka. “India believes that delivering the legitimate aspirations of the Tamil community is in the best interest of[Read More…]
The 1987 13th Amendment, a conceived and delivered baby of India under the Indo/Sri Lanka Accord of 1987 for adoption by Sri Lanka has been lying in the constitution of Sri Lanka partly implemented and mostly ignored by the Sri Lankan Governments since then. This 13th Amendment is now activated and given new life and blood by the Tamil leaders[Read More…]
Pakistan, ostensibly created to safeguard the interest of the Muslims of India, but in actual fact to save the Muslim landowners of West Pakistan from land reforms which were on the plank of Indian National Congress platform, had a large impact of the more reactionary of the Muslim clerics. Main-stream Maulanas, not recognizing nationalism as a driving force in Islam,[Read More…]
Irony of Historic National Freedom and Unspoken Tyranny of Imperialism Do nations and civilizations grow out of the moral mire of military conquests, killings of innocent people, political cruelty and subjugation by imperialism? For more than 800 years, India as a Moghul Empire was an economically well integrated and politically viable entity and west European had strong trade and political[Read More…]
How Nixon and Kissinger failed to respond to urgent need for course-correction from their own senior diplomats This year events relating to the liberation of Bangladesh have been recalled time and again as Bangladesh has completed 50 years as a nation. On March 26 Bangladesh celebrated its 50th freedom day as the first announcement of its freedom was made on[Read More…]
There is no dearth of promises and undertakings dished out by the successive Sri Lankan Governments and their opportunistic political leaders since 1948 whose sole intention and aim is to capture the political power at any cost to the interests of the nation and its people. Former President J.R. Jayawardene heralded this practice and habit with the slogan and[Read More…]
Some facts for some ‘secular protestors’ Bangladesh is so near and so far, and the border, though we hear it is very porous, is also very opaque or even illusive or hallucinating, thanks to the almighty media, especially the ‘social’ media like Meta-FB, WhatsApp-University, etc. If asked what happened there most will perhaps reply attack on Hindus, on Durga Puja[Read More…]
Within hours, Bangladesh will begin celebrating that hour of victory – December 16, 1971 – that marks one of the glorious moments in the Bangladesh people’s history of bravery, struggle, sacrifice, setbacks, torment and triumphs. Half a century has passed since that victory of defeating a neo-colonial state – Pakistan. On December 16, 1971, The Bangladesh people heroically compelled the[Read More…]
Before the colonial rule by the Portuguese, Dutch and British there were three sovereign regions in Sri Lanka [Ceylon] The Kingdom of Jaffna in the North [Tamil Kingdom] Kingdom of Kandy in the central highlands and Kotte in the Southwest [Sinhalese Kingdoms.] The Portuguese and Dutch ruled these regions as separate units, the British in 1833 for their easy administration[Read More…]
In the life of a nation, perhaps, the first fifty years ought to be regarded as marking the rites of passage through adolescence. India can congratulate itself for helping navigate Bangladesh through a difficult childhood. Parentage of a precocious child isn’t easy and Bangladesh can be opinionated, while figuring out its own pathway. India hasn’t always been an indulgent guardian,[Read More…]
Most wars are not justified. However 50 years ago, as India prepared for war during the greater part of 1971, these preparations were well justified, and were in fact necessary to prevent a higher loss of human lives. Pakistan under Yahya Khan had chosen to suppress the democratic aspiarations of the people of its eastern wing in a most cruel[Read More…]
The recent meeting of Tamil National Alliance {TNA] with the United States “{US] State Departments second rank officials provides a welcome relief and hopes kindling opening and as a light at the end of the tunnels of accountability, justice and reconciliation for the Tamil people. US, as a sponsor of the all important UNHRC Resolution of 30/1 and other Resolutions [Read More…]
Crises deluge this region considered a sub-continent in Asia. The questions are: (1) Which crises? (2) Whose crises are these? (3) At which stage are these crises? A question, also, encounters a part of the progressives: Are the endeavors for a revolutionary change going through a crisis? The first three questions – which and whose, and which stage – help[Read More…]
Tamil Nation existed until the British conquered Sri Lanka [then called Ceylon] and amalgamated the Sinhala Nation in the South with the Tamil Nation in the North and East in 1833. Before that Jaffna Kingdom was ruled by Tamil Kings. There are several historical records to prove this fact. The British in 1948 gave independence to Sri Lanka [Ceylon] without[Read More…]
Tens of thousands of supporters of Sri Lanka’s main opposition party rallied in the capital Colombo to protest the nation’s economic woes. This is the first major campaign against Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government since it swept to power last August. Defying heavy sporadic rains, tightened Covid-19 guidelines and court orders, supporters of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya — led[Read More…]
Image of the recent destruction of Hindu Temple in Comilla, Bangladesh. Source: The Free Press Journal Image of destruction of Muslim properties during the 2020 anti-Muslim riot in Delhi, India. Source: Al Jazeera In Bangladesh, former East Pakistan where bulk of Pakistan’s Hindus belonged once, violence against its minority, mainly the Hindus (9% or 14.7 million of its total population[Read More…]
North and East Tamils traditional & historical homeland In Sri Lanka for the last 72 years, the intent and goal of all Sri Lankan Governments and Buddhist Clergy [without exception] have been to secure the Island as a SINHALA BUDDHIST STATE. The current Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapakshe is latest and very active leader who is determined to achieve this[Read More…]
Condemn the firing on fishworkers by Pakistan’s maritime security agency that resulted in the death of Shridhar Ramesh Chamre –Put an end to the violence inflicted on fishworkers by armed forces On Saturday, the 6th November 2021, around 4 pm off the coast of Gujarat, Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) troops converged on two Indian fishing boats. The Pakistan government[Read More…]
President Gotabaya’s latest Presidential Task Force headed by a convicted, jailed and pardoned Gnanasara Thero who is the founder of Bodu Bala Sena {Peoples’ Power Force] is entrusted to “Make a study of the implementation of the concept of “One Country One Law” within Sri Lanka and prepare a draft Act for the said purpose, to study the drafted Acts[Read More…]
In the early days of World War II, activism was in a state of suspended animation on the political front in India. Nearly the whole of the Congress leadership was in jail and their followers were lying low. British forces had suffered reverses everywhere; they had been driven out of Europe and thrown out of their far Eastern[Read More…]
The Tamils in Sri Lanka, victims of genocides, the worst during the war between 2006-2009 including structural genocide since 1948 [immediately after the independence from the British] which is still being actively executed by the Sri Lankan Governments have left the Tamils with scars of war, traumatized with heavy feelings of a defeated nation and wounded pride. From the ashes[Read More…]
President Gotabaya Rajapakshe in his speech in the United Nations General Assembly in his ambitious statement said “Fostering greater accountability, restorative justice and meaningful reconciliation through domestic institutions is essential to achieve lasting peace. So too is ensuring more equitable participation in the fruits of economic development. It is my Government’s firm intention to build a prosperous, stable and secure[Read More…]
The last 12 years have affirmed a dark history where Sri Lanka is unlikely to offer a just resolution to the Tamil national question. It continues with its long history [73 years – since independence from the British in 1948] of deception in formulating a just and reasonable solution to the conflict. Since 1948, Tamils underwent continuous genocides involving pogroms, economic[Read More…]
The European Union is currently reviewing the suspension of GSP+ granted to Sri Lanka in 2017. In this respect, one has to consider the unacceptable state of accountability, justice and rule of law in Sri Lanka and how far they have been respected and observed by Sri Lanka as a member of HRC and UN. In this respect, the following[Read More…]
At a time, when Afghanistan is in news everywhere and Taliban’s rule has been interpreted in different ways, the geo equation experiencing a shift from ‘western’ domination, there can be multiple ways of future actions at strategic and diplomatic levels of the region’s power, particularly by China, India, Pakistan, Russia, Iran and others. But irrespective of what is changing or[Read More…]
There is no doubt that unity is the most uttered and much used and abused word by the Tamil politicians and leaders who took control of the political destiny of Tamils since independence in 1948. It is also a history that Tamil leaders and parties on various occasions moved to form united fronts like the Tamil United Liberation Front [TULF][Read More…]
DONOUGHMORE REFORMS OF THE BRITISH TO CEYLON – TOOK AWAY THE TAMIL’S NATIONHOOD AND THEIR JAFFNA KINGDOM It took away the Tamils rights and caused for the Pogroms against the Tamils – like BLACK JULY, GENOCIDE and continuing structural genocide. Sri Lanka [then Ceylon] would not have gained independence from the British without the support of the Tamil leaders it[Read More…]
In common parlance Saviour, – [Called as Messiah in the Hebrew Bible] – is usually regarded “As a liberator or would be liberator of an oppressed people ”. Looking back at the crisis ridden political history and turmoil’s of Tamils in Sri Lanka since 1948 and viewing the current predicament of Tamils “It is not unreasonable to call for a[Read More…]
Nine Chinese citizens were killed after a bus carrying them plunged into a ravine following an explosion in Pakistan’s far north Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, July 14, 2021… When the whole world is lamenting that the US is quitting Afghanistan in ignominy, the Biden Administration is snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. What an audacity of hope! The new QUAD will[Read More…]
President Gotabaya acclaimed as un uncrowned king of Sri Lanka after defeating the Liberation of Tigers in the genocidal war with the assistance of 22 countries particularly from India, Pakistan and China as confirmed by his brother Mahinda Rajapakshae [Gotabaya’s brother] while he was on a visit to India in May 2009 is now facing an unpalatable deafening voices of[Read More…]
The Sinhala/Tamil relations and the ethnic conflict intensified immediately after the independence of the Island on February 04, 1948. The rise of Tamil nationalism is not entirely a new phenomenon but only resurgence. The institutionalization and entrenched structure of genocide of Tamils since independence is the main cause of the conflict that caused the deaths of 70,000 civilians according to[Read More…]
Sri Lanka formerly known as CEYLON is an island country in South Asia. Sri Lanka was historically comprised of two distinctive nations; the country’s history has been written or represented as if it were one nation. However, the two nations, namely Sinhalese and Tamils, have existed in Sri Lanka continuously from historic times, each with its own distinctive religious, linguistic,[Read More…]
Widely seen as a populist with ultra-conservative inklings, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan increasingly appears to reinforce widespread traditionalist attitudes that reject religious tolerance as well as the rights of women and minorities. In doing so, Mr. Khan is aligning Pakistan in religious and social terms closer to Turkey than his country’s traditional allies, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab[Read More…]
At a time when J&K political leaders meeting with PM, NSA is attending meeting at SCO alongwith NSA Pakistan, Ceasire promise has been kept by Pakistan and India, Peace activists getting hopeful that future may belong to a better environment where Peace will sustain. Peace activists have sent a letter to the Ministry of External Affairs with many suggestions that[Read More…]
The recently tabled US 413 Resolution in the US Congress led by Ms. Ross breathes fresh air, confidence and hopes for the Tamils, particularly the victimized Tamils whose grievances which commenced in 1948 reached the climax with the genocidal war crimes committed during the war [2006-2009] However, structural genocide has now taken a strong hold on their lives compounded with[Read More…]
“Hum jo Tareek rahoan mein marai gai,” (We, who were ambushed in dark alleys…) — Faiz Ahmad Faiz.1 During their 200-year rule over India, the British colonizers had, among other self-serving measures, introduced an education system which would inhibit innovation and produce clerks for their administration. In spite of that, the movement for liberty and social justice grew among Indians.[Read More…]
My submission is that the Feudal system, Army, Bureucrats and Mullahs constitue the Evil Quad of Pakistan. What do we mean by feudalism? It has several facets-moral and ethical values, political and economic system ,market economy integrating with it etc. In my view all the above are a composite whole. Moral and ethical values get far more exposure as they[Read More…]
Written by Tridivesh Singh Maini & Karan Bidani Introduction Remittances play an important role in the economic growth of Lower and Middle Income Countries (LMIC). South Asia is considered to be the largest recipient of remittances in the world. More than One-Fifth of the global remittances between 2015-2019 came to South Asia (India received close to USD 360 billion in[Read More…]
President Gotabaya’s compelling necessity to install a military dictator rule is due to many reasons, some of which can be listed as follows:- The military mindset of the President is also an underlying factor propelling and influencing his thinking. He has to put an end to the accusations of UNHRC, UN and other civil groups, namly the commission of war[Read More…]
Monsoon rains are likely to hit India’s southern coast around June 3, largely in line with typical patterns, the state-run India Meteorological Department said in its latest revised forecast on Sunday. Earlier in the day, the weather office had said the start of the monsoon would be on May 31. The leading edge of the southwest monsoon advanced across central[Read More…]
The problems Pakistan has faced over time. Here they are in brief: 1-The population explosion. 2-Education and health care. 3-Unemployment. 4-Water and Electricity. 5-Public works. 6-Discrimination against ‘other’ sects, non-Muslims, ethnicities. 7-Fully 75% of the budget goes to Defense’ and interest on loans. 8-Early Blunders. 9-The Genesis of the Evil Quad. -Population Explosion-Again from 35 million to 220 million in[Read More…]
The turmoil in Myanmar had all the hallmarks of a “colour revolution”… The chorus – BBC, Radio Free Asia, western NGOs promoting democracy and human rights… But the operative part hidden from view concentrated on the creation of a “government-in-exile” (a National Unity Government.) The parallels with Syria are striking — “Arab Spring” protests… India is a plausible sanctuary for[Read More…]
World War One brought in massive changes in the world and the Subcontinent too witnessed the shocks of such awful global disorder. After the war in its reactions, some movements like ‘Hijrat’ and ‘Khilafat’ were kicked off which become quiet after Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s historic decision to make Turkey – a secular republic. Besides this, some black laws like the ‘Rowlatt Act’ were also passed to counter the civil rights[Read More…]
Lahore High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan says the army has become a “land grabber group.” His remarks came Wednesday during the hearing of three petitions against the Defense Housing Authority (DHA) Lahore. The Chief Justice directed DHA Administrator Brigadier Waheed Gul Satti to appear before the court along with the record of LHC’s 50-kanal land in possession of[Read More…]
Corruption in the sense of civil and military servants and Public officials and politicians of Pakistan pocketing public funds or taking bribes is too well known and documented by in-country and international agencies, to be worthy of any unusual notice. After all, the country has had the dubious distinction of being on the top of the list of corrupt countries[Read More…]
This article focuses on the performances of Tamil National Alliance [TNA] since its monopoly role in Tamils’ politics and issues from 2010 as endorsed by the late Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam supremo Velupillai Prabaharan. This article analyses the past performance of TNA and the present directionless, compliant, complacent and lack lustre leadership of Tamils who are now left in[Read More…]
It’s more than two months since the Burmese military in a coup on 1 February refused to hand over the power to the National League for Democracy (NLD) after their victory in the November 2020 elections. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the army’s commander-in-chief and Myanmar’s de-facto ruler has justified the coup on grounds of large-scale election fraud, though the elections commission has denied[Read More…]
During about 8 to 9 months of 1971, the Pakistani Army and its local collaborators killed nearly 2.5 million people , raped over 3 lakh women and uprooted nearly 10 million from their homes in Bangladesh ( then known to the world as East Pakistan) in a genocidal crackdown. This was not hidden from the world at all. There was[Read More…]
If a shameful act means an action which is criminal and nauseating; it would be an understatement to describe the attitude of the present RSS-BJP rulers of India towards the demolition of democracy and large scale killing of the people of Myanmar by the military [tatmadaw] junta which took power through a coup on February 1, 2021 after renegading the[Read More…]
Bangledesh has completed 50 years of its liberation from the grip of West Pakistan, now Pakistan. It organized a grand program in which among others India’s Prime minster Narendra Modi was also invited. Modi claimed in his speech there that he had participated in the Satyagrah for Bangladesh’s freedom and was jailed for that. Many have pounced on him, as[Read More…]
It is good that recently initiatives have been taken by both India and Bangladesh to repair damage and prepare the ground for again strengthening close relationship. The geographical conditions of the two countries are such that the case for close cooperation and working and planning together is really very obvious and strong. These factors were strengthened by the unique and[Read More…]
When Banglabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rehman , the first President of Bangladesh, also called the Father of the Nation and revered by millions as such, was assassinated on August 15, 1975 as a part of the wider efforts to overthrow his popular government, there were some additional aspects of this murder most foul which shocked the world. All the family members[Read More…]
In September 1994, a few Indian and Pakistani social activists and professionals gathered together in Lahore, and came out with a statement stating their intention to set up a forum through which interaction could be established between the common people of the two countries. This led to the formation of the Pakistan-India-People’s – Forum -for- Peace-and-Democracy (PIPFPD). This article is[Read More…]
On its 50th Independence Day ( March 26) Bangladesh can take well-deserved pride in the advancement in terms of several important development indicators achieved in the middle of many-sided difficulties. It is in addition also a time to recall many courageous contributions of recent decades, as courage has been much in need in several troubled phases of this land and[Read More…]
Sheikh Mujibur Rehman was not just the first President of Bangladesh. Called Banglabandhu and Father of the Nation, he had played a very courageous role in resisting domination and repression of his people, leading the Awami League to victory in 167 out of 169 seats parliamentary seats contested n 1970-71, then being imprisoned, and returning to his beloved people only[Read More…]
In his weakened post-1965 war state, Ayub could never hope to withstand the combined onslaught of East and West Pakistan. The campaign against him, led initially by students and industrial workers, had caught the imagination of the people. This was the last time people of the two wings were to unite on one platform. In a desperate attempt[Read More…]
“A nation at peace and a region in harmony are thus essential prerequisites for attainment of national security in the true spirit. No national leaders of today can ignore these factors,” said Army chief Gen Bajwa, marking a significant iteration of Pakistan’s latest security policy. “…, it is an almost universally acknowledged fact that the contemporary concept of national security[Read More…]
Scottish historian Sir William Hunter (1840-1900) wrote in 1871 that “a hundred and seventy years ago (In 1700), it was almost impossible for a well-born Musalman in Bengal to become poor; at present it is almost impossible for him to continue rich.” (Ref: Iftekhar Iqbal, World Congress of Economic History, Helsinki August 2006). If Sir Hunter were to make the[Read More…]
Pakistan’s army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa called on Thursday for arch rivals India and Pakistan to “bury the past” and move towards cooperation. He expressed that the U.S. had a role to play in ending regional conflict. The Pak general’s statement is an overture towards New Delhi that follows an unexpected joint ceasefire announcement last month between the two[Read More…]
An Overview Corruption in the sense of civil and military servants and Public officials and politicians of Pakistan pocketing public funds or taking bribes is too well known and documented by in-country and international agencies, to be worthy of any unusual notice. After all, the country has had the dubious distinction of being on the top of the list of[Read More…]
Sri Lanka’s contemptuous stand regarding the UNHRC Resolutions 30/1. 34/1 and 40/1 as rejected by it has come under discussion in the current 46th Session of UNHRC which is expected to pass a final Resolution against Sri Lanka. A zero draft Resolution has been drafted by the Core members with the UK playing the leading role. This follows after the Human[Read More…]
In the middle of several increasing problems, a good news that emerged recently is that tensions of India with several neighboring countries is reducing. In fact everything is to be gained by increasing cooperation among all countries of the region. However, while there are so many areas where increasing cooperation will give good results, there is one area which should[Read More…]
Neighbors are very important. They can be very good and valuable friends who can prove to be extremely helpful in difficult times. In many difficult situations a distant friend, despite best intentions, may not be able to help as much as a neighbor friend. This is well to remember in times of climate change when the threat of natural disasters[Read More…]
India’s partition was one of the major tragedies of South Asian region. The causes for this are to be seen in the triangle formed by ‘British Policy of Divide and rule, Hindu Communalism believing in Primacy of Hindu nation and Muslim Communalism demanding formation of Pakistan. The falsehood of theory of ‘religion as the basis of Nation state’ was demonstrated[Read More…]
Every conscientious person in the world strives for peace and harmony among the neighbours. Kashmir has been crying for it for decades. They are the worst sufferers of the hostile relations between India and Pakistan. Always terrorized, humiliated, and killed on all sides for the last seventy years, especially those families living across the Line of Control between two countries.[Read More…]
The 46th Session of UNHRC now in progress has generated heated comments and discussions in Sri Lanka and elsewhere among Tamils as well as the Council is readying to pass a final Resolution against Sri Lanka after five tiring years which witnessed 3 Resolutions earlier.[ 30/1. 34/1, 40/1]. It is a distressing fact to note Sri Lanka’s non-implementation of most[Read More…]
Demonstrating for the third week their determination to force the country’s military to return to its barracks, protesters in Myanmar appear to be learning lessons from a decade of protest in the Middle East and North Africa. By the same token, Myanmar’s protesters, in stark contrast to public silence about the military’s brutal repression of the Rohingya minority in recent[Read More…]
The future of the Rohingya people seems uncertain. A predominantly Muslim minority group indigenous to a region on the western coast of Myanmar – historically referred to as Arakan and presently called Rakhine State – the Rohingya are not recognized by the Burmese state. On February 1, 2021, Myanmar’s military – known as the Tatmadaw – staged a coup against[Read More…]
While Imran Khan’s recent speech in Kotli has caused quite a rouse in some political circles in Pakistan, most Kashmiris living across the Line of Control have again pinned their hopes that Pakistan will never back down in helping them to achieve their complete independence from both the countries. Addressing a huge rally in ‘Azad Kashmir’ on the occasion of[Read More…]
Written by Constanze Ruprecht and Bobby Ramakant Growing number of civil society networks for peace, health and human rights from around the world are unifying their call for federal democracy in Myanmar. In a joint statement condemning the Coup d’état in Burma (after an online South Asia Solidarity Forum for federal democracy in Myanmar), over a hundred of these individuals,[Read More…]
On February 1, 2021 the Qatar based TV outlet, Al Jazeera aired a tele documentary, “All the Prime Minister’s Men.” The tele documentary that included several sting operations involving convicted fugitive brothers of the Bangladesh Army Chief, General Aziz Ahmed depicted multiple layers of abuse and corruption – money laundering, extortion, bribery, extra judicial killing, disappearances, and arbitrary arrests of[Read More…]
Fears of a military takeover in Myanmar came true in the early hours of 1 February when the powerful army resorted to a series of measures which included detention of the State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other senior government leaders, followed by the declaration of a state of emergency in the country. The commander-in-chief of[Read More…]
In more ways than one, South Asia has been pushed back to the 1940’s. If we were to take stock of the situation in the entire subcontinent, we can easily find out that we have made little progress and have got stuck in the status-quo mud for the past three-quarters of a century. Besides providing a binding social order, the[Read More…]
The route India took has been bullying and it ultimately isolated India. By treating Nepali politicians as shabby buffoons to be pampered one day and collared another day, India badly exposed itself. A belief got entrenched in the Nepalese mind that we are a dangerous neighbour with evil intentions, undependable and far too self-centred and cynical. Tragically, this was despite[Read More…]
Bhutto fell victim to a delusion, common to all tin pot dictators; he started taking his own bombast seriously and made a critical mistake. He called a conference of all the nuclear physicists of the country and demanded that they produce a workable nuclear device in the next four to five years. The nuclear scientists in Pakistan were, one and[Read More…]
In the 18th century, American legal scholar and politician Alexander Hamilton had famously said that the judiciary is the “least dangerous” branch, having “no influence over either the sword or the purse,”. What he meant was that the judiciary, in those days, was least capable of defending itself against intrusion by other dominant organs of the state. Judicial independence, i.e., the[Read More…]
Engagement with South Asian history often occurs either through the Eurocentric divisions of core and periphery or through the irredentist nation-states’ paradigm. However, South Asian history is a complex one, beyond the linearities of colonial narratives and territorial borders. For example, recent scholarship on Tibet has underscored some complexities of South Asian history. It has been marked with the question[Read More…]
Sri Lanka’s Tamils, victims of genocide perpetrated by the majority Sinhala Governments since independence in 1948, appear to be poised to continue to live with miseries also partly contributed by the rivalries and inactions of the leaders of the Tamils who are busy engaged in election and parliamentary politics disregarding the political mess and lingering problems of the Tamils. 17 Tamil[Read More…]
The ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) suffered a vertical split on December 23, 2020, with the rival factions of the party led by the two chairmen claiming their faction to be the authentic NCP in separate central committee meetings held in Kathmandu, the capital city. The faction led by Co-chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal removed KP Sharma Oli from the post[Read More…]
As K P Sharma Oli, the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) chair and prime minister, in a bid to achieve a majority in the party Central Committee announced a 1,199-member general convention organizing committee a question looms over Nepal – is the Nepal Communist Party is heading towards a split? At a meeting of the Central Committee with the members close[Read More…]
We interviewed a prominent Pakistani physicist and noted peace activist Dr. Abdul Hammeed Nayyar to understand the dynamics of nuclear disarmament between India and Pakistan. Dr. Nayyar taught nuclear physics at Qaid – E- Azam University, Islamabad for thirty years and was a visiting scholar at Princeton University. Dr Nayyar is well known for voicing for education reforms and military[Read More…]
In the modern day academic arena, often the two closely associated disciplines of anthropology and history inform our notion of the past. In the context of modern South Asia or to be more specific postcolonial India, Prof Thapar admits that historians in the postcolonial era did engage in writing history (or build up the past) keeping in mind the nationalist[Read More…]
Media reports from Nepal said: In a dramatic turn of events, Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on December 20, 2020 decided to dissolve the House of Representatives (HoR) and call mid-term polls to be held in two phases. Oli, who has been mired in an intra-party feud with the rival faction of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP), recommended[Read More…]
Top Left: Sheikh Mujibur Rahman giving his penultimate speech on 7th of March 1971 at Racecourse Maidan, Dhaka, (then East Pakistan) Bangladesh); Top Right. Major (then) Ziaur Rahan announcing independence of Bangladesh at Kalurghat make-shift radio station in Chittagong, Bangladesh on 27th March, 1971; Bottom: Mr. Tajuddin Ahmed, Prime Minister of Government-in-Exile of Bangladesh formally proclaiming independence of Bangladesh on[Read More…]
In recent years, tensions mounted between India and Pakistan, two nuclear powers in South Asia. The 2016 Uri attack, the 2019 Pulwama attack on a convoy of vehicles carrying Indian security personnel on the Jammu Srinagar National Highway by a vehicle-borne suicide bomber that led to deaths of 46, and the retaliatory Balakot airstrikes by the Indian air force can[Read More…]
The Global Nuclear Rat Race The past few decades have seen strides being made in all aspects of life – from sticks and stones to weaponry. The extreme case of this phenomenon has been nuclear weapons. The menace caused by nuclear weapons in the past is unforgettable. Images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1945 come to mind, after the United[Read More…]
The fate of the UNHRC Resolutions 30/1 of 2015 and 40/1 of 2019 Sri Lanka’s democracy completely changed and is now ruled by a dictatorial Sinhala Buddhist President elected by the majority Sinhala Buddhist voters. The 20th Amendment to the Constitution has placed him with absolute powers over judiciary, police, election and other independent Commissions which functioned independently without political[Read More…]
The UNHRC Sessions in March 2021 assume a greater political importance for the war victims of Sri Lanka and above all for the relevant roles of United Nations and UN Human Rights Council regarding their commitments to uphold Human Rights, Accountability Justice and Rule of Law in countries which have been subjected to UN and UNHRC Resolutions like Sri Lanka[Read More…]
In the politics of Bangladesh, opposition parties including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party frequently say that massive movement will be carried out to oust the government, whereas the ruling party, the Bangladesh Awami League, repeatedly responds that oppositions’ anti-government movement will be tackled with full strength. Even if no massive anti-government movement was carried out as said and political situation[Read More…]
Good governance, a much talked–about concept in political and development discourse in the contemporary world and closely related to the concept of ‘governance’ that usually indicates the process of decision–making and the process by which decisions are implemented, is obviously crucial to successfully deal with catastrophic situations caused by the COVID–19. But there is a clear paucity of good governance[Read More…]
Sinhalese leaders betrayed the Tamil leaders who fought shoulder to shoulder to gain independence from the British. On February 4th 1048 two million Tamils of Ceylon [now Sri Lanka] exchanged their white masters British for the brown master {Sinhalese] it was like jumping from a frying pan into fire. Sri Lanka would not have gained independence from the British without[Read More…]
An estimated 730,000 Rohingyas had crossed into Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh three years ago in order to flee the persecution in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. Although the Rohingyas, who are currently residing in Bangladeshi camps as refugees, wish to return to their homes in Rakhine State, very little has been done to create a safe environment for their return. The challenges facing the Rohingya people, described by the United Nations as[Read More…]
With a long collective history and geographical proximity, the goal of forming an integrated vision for South Asian countries seems like a natural outcome. The South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC), formed in 1985, was an ambitious move to fulfil the goal of South Asian solidarity. The aim of SAARC was to “strengthen cooperation among themselves to accelerate economic[Read More…]
When the United Nations was created after the World War II, one of its purposes was spelt out in Article 1 [2] of the UN Charter as:” To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principles of equal rights and self-determination of peoples “ And Article 55 of the UN Charter provides that, “With a view to[Read More…]
An unassailable present Rajapakshas Government could rule for another ten years and possibly more if the 20th Amendment finds its way in the Constitution. An entrenched dynastic rule appears to be looming partly contributed by dishevelled and splintered opposition from UNP and United Peoples Action parties along with contribution from the disunitedly wrangling self-centered Tamil political parties numbering seventeen with seventeen leaders[Read More…]
Doha peace talks, held in September of 2020, between the Afghan government and Taliban, led by peace council chairman Abdullah Abdullah and Mullah Baradar Akhund respectively, is a remarkable advancement towards the establishment of peace in Afghanistan, despite the fact that it is still difficult to say about when the ongoing conflicts started with the USA invasion in 2001 after[Read More…]
Ever since Pakistan has signalled its wish to make Gilgit-Baltistan fifth province, not only have Pakistan’s own political outfits been in a state of disarray, but it has reportedly become a major ‘issue of concern’ in India’s military and political leadership. Various aspects of adopting a new military strategy are being deliberated upon. In the border region of Ladakh, where[Read More…]
I don’t know who drew this this rape-map of Bangladesh, but this is a telling geography of rape epidemic which as can be see here, has spread widely and reached every nook and corner of the country. The scrolls on each district which are in vernacular are appeals to the predators from the rape victims – desperate pleas to dissuade[Read More…]
The Universal Declaration for Human Rights [UDHR] was adopted on 10th December 1948 by the United Nations at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris. The UDHR contains thirty Articles. Articles 1 and 2 outline the philosophical claim of the UDHR and emphasise that human beings are born free in equal dignity and are entitled to all rights and freedoms without[Read More…]
Pakistan’s ailing former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday accused the country’s powerful military of political interference, saying in a televised speech from exile in London that the military had rigged the 2018 vote that brought the country’s current prime minister Imran Khan to power. An AP report by Munir Ahmed said: The 70-year-old Sharif has had a long uneasy[Read More…]
An AP report from Kabul said: Afghanistan’s dwindling community of Sikhs and Hindus is shrinking to its lowest levels. With growing threats from the local Islamic State affiliate, many are choosing to leave the country of their birth to escape the insecurity and a once-thriving community of as many as 250,000 members now counts fewer than 700. The community’s numbers[Read More…]
There is no denying of the fact that the Tamils in Sri Lanka have been at the receiving end by the successive Governments in power and targeted in the agenda of GENOCIDE including structural GENOCIDE since the time of independence in 1948. Their history since then is dotted with state discrimination and marginalization aided with legislations like the SINHALA ONLY[Read More…]
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has announced to make Gilgit-Baltistan, a part of the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir, as the fifth province of Pakistan on September 17, 2020, making it the new hot spot in the region. India retorted by saying that ‘Government of Pakistan or its judiciary has no locus-standi on territories illegally and forcibly occupied by it. India[Read More…]
The deep state in Pakistan is no more a mere conglomerate of civil bureaucracy, army, intelligence, and/or other administrative agencies. The ‘state within the state’ has also its predictable partners in religious constituencies across the country. There is a growing concern now if the judiciary is also becoming a partner of the deep state congregation. A few years back, a[Read More…]
by Punsara Amarasinghe & Eshan Jayawardane Sri Lanka has been often portrayed as being in the crossroads of geopolitical encounters with powerful nations throughout its history and its unique geographic location in Indian ocean closer to the Indian mainland, yet distinct from it has made the island’s destiny extremely intertwined with India. Sri Lanka’s own historical identity is the[Read More…]
President Gotabaya’s throne speech on August 20, 2020 as expected does not spring any surprise or disappointments to the minorities particularly Tamils as it is a frank and forthright speech which is crowning Buddhism and Sinhalese and expressing his gratitude to them for their endorsement to his pledges. The two-third majority of SLPP in the Parliament was made possible due[Read More…]
During his stint in power as Pakistan’s prime minister until July 2017, Nawaz Sharif had nurtured cordial working relationship with India’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi. This, along with his role in Kargil conflict of 1999 with India, was precisely the reason why Pakistan’s military establishment turned against him and he was eventually disqualified[Read More…]
Journalists in Jashore, a bordering district in Bangladesh, have observed the death anniversary of slain journalist RM Saiful Alam Mukul, editor of local daily Runner on August 30. It was his 22nd anniversary of death. On July 16, they observed the death anniversary of another journalist Shamsur Rahman, former special correspondent of Bangla daily Janakantho and also stringer of BBC[Read More…]
British imperialism was not accidental but a planned scheme of things to perpetuate its cultural and political dominance over the weak and most vulnerable people of the globe. Its aims were no different in the Sub-Continent of India-Pakistan. The immediate focal aim was to destroy the existing culture of the established Mughal Empire and divide and rule the whole of[Read More…]
In view of the prevalent political deadlock, growth-oriented economic development, or growth-without-development – which is simultaneously stagnating and misleading due to inflated GDP growth estimate by the Government – and the absence of the rule of law and accountability of the government, especially since 2007, Bangladesh finds itself in a political cul-de-sac. Why so? The prevalent stalemate under a one-party[Read More…]
The ongoing peace process provided an opportunity for Afghan factions to unite and undo all the wrongs committed against them in the past 20 years. Unfortunately, the internal strife of Afghanis has again prevailed over this opportunity. Explicitly, compelled by the upcoming election promise, the US wishes to withdraw forces from Afghanistan. China and Pakistan are earnestly pushing the peace[Read More…]
Eidul Azha, a sacrificial festival for the Muslim, is due in Bangladesh on Saturday and many other countries. It is one of the two largest Islamic festivals. The majority Muslim Bangladesh celebrates the religious gala with due festive mood and share sacrificial meats with other Muslims, especially the poor. This year the Eidul Azha knocks the door of the Muslims[Read More…]
Tamils in Sri Lanka especially in the North and East are now living between the devil and deep sea. Heavy presence of the military [to the ratio of one soldier to every four civilians 1: 4] and on the other side they are scared of the Covid-19. The President is determined to hold the election on August 05, 2020 without taking[Read More…]
The forthcoming general election on August 5th 2020 is crucial for the Tamils for their survival as a race and lives with respect, equal rights and dignity, and as a nation in Sri Lanka as Rajapaksas. Ranil Wickermasinghe. Sajith Premadasa and Buddhist clergy are openly advocating and moving to establish a Sinhala Buddhist unitary state in Sri Lanka. The Tamils[Read More…]
Although neither the puppet and illegitimate government of Sheikh Hasina nor the pro-Indian Deep State, which has been running Bangladesh for the last twelve years, gathered enough courage to broadcast or publish the transcript of the video interview of Lt General (ret) Chowdhury Hasan Sarwardy with a US-based journalist, Kanak Sarwar, on 14th July, yet the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) department[Read More…]
Bangladesh since its birth has gone through too many intra-military and intra-civilian conflicts to mention in one breath. As on 14th July, Bangladeshi Lt General (ret) Chowdhury Hasan Sarwardy revealed in a bold and candid video interview from Dhaka with Kanak Sarwar, a Bangladeshi American journalist in New York (who fled the country of his birth and now lives in[Read More…]
Waiting for Godot is a play written by French playwright Samuel Beckett, which I watched on the television several years back. In the play- two characters- Vladimir and Estragon- were seen engaged in a variety of discussions and encounters while waiting for Godot, who never arrives. The play premiered in Paris on 5th January in 1953. Relative and colleagues of[Read More…]
From some of the heaviest rains in a decade that has created monsoon flood, a third of Bangladesh is already underwater, and at least 1.5 million people are already affected, marooned or have left their homes for higher ground along with their cattle and other belongings with villages and roads flooded. Almost four million people have been hit by this[Read More…]
Torrential rainfall for the past three days has triggered floods and landslides in different parts of Nepal, claiming more than 40 lives and displacing thousands of families in western Nepal. Narayani and other major rivers have swollen due to the continuous downpour. Meteorological Department on Friday had forecast that the monsoon rains would last for another three days. Twenty-seven[Read More…]
Gotabaya Rajapakshe the first time President, an Army veteran has proved himself as guardian of Sinhala Buddhist heritage and champion of the Armed forces. He openly and loudly said NO to Tamil political party TNA} for devolution or power sharing and the full implementation of the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord of 1987. In his vocabulary devolution has become a bad[Read More…]
Taranidhi Regmi, 37, of Morang, lives in Kathmandu and runs Sunbarshi bookstore in Dhapasi and delivers literary books to about 90 bookstores across the country within two or three days of its publication. When Covid-19 started to linger a month ago, he posted a photo of himself milking a cow in his home on his Facebook page. During this time,[Read More…]
We know things are not going well in regards to India’s relationship with China. On 5th/6th May, China captured around sixty square kilometre of Indian territory in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh, which is strategically important to all the three countries in the region, China, India, and Pakistan. On 14th/15th June, around twenty Indian soldiers, including a colonel, were literally[Read More…]
In a text message, mobile phone operator Robi asked me, other users as well, to stay with it saying that the government has imposed 15 per cent taxes on talks. National Democratic Front’ president Dr MA Karim and general secretary Brigadier General (retired) M Jahangir Hussain in a joint statement rejecting the national budget for the fiscal year 2020-2021, saying[Read More…]
Co-Written by Abhay Jain and Sandeep Pandey Unable to resolve its border disputes with Pakistan and China, India has now managed to create a dispute with Nepal in the process of building a road to Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet through areas which are claimed by Nepal. History has taught us that such disputes will require disproportionate attention and resources and[Read More…]
Alarm bells are ringing and heard from various quarters about the direction of Sri Lanka being piloted by the military machine of Rajapakahe’s clan led by the military mindset President Gotabaya Rajapakshe who has a penchant to in tolerate criticism and opposition from any source and not hesitating to eliminate them by any means. President Gotabaya was not involved in[Read More…]
Dear Dr. Momen: I write this to draw your attention to your recent interview with an Indian weekly The Week , published on May 31, 2020, which all of our common friends and other Bangladeshis at home and abroad have found very gratuitous, objectionable, as it grossly undermines truth, and tarnishes the image of Bangladesh, which you represent as the[Read More…]
Rohingya people, who have no identity of their own, are now facing another danger. Pandemic COVID-19 took away one of the Rohingya, who took shelter at a camp at Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh on the wake of genocide in their own land in Myanmar. United News of Bangladesh reported that the man died from coronavirus infection while undergoing treatment at[Read More…]
This is Part-5 of a series of articles on a crisis in India-Nepal relations. Part-4 was titled India-Nepal Border Dispute : The International Ramifications. It mainly dealt with attempts made in vain to topple a communist regime, the NCP-Oli-led Nepal govt, and the international context and import of the still unfolding controversy. This one, Part-5, focuses on US hegemonic role[Read More…]
This is Part-4 of a series of articles on a crisis in India-Nepal relations that led to mutual allegations of a cartographic war, and smacked of being a part of cold war against China. It is a still unfolding controversy, being reported and analysed exclusively for the readers of Countercurrent.org. Part-4 now being published, deals with the international context and[Read More…]
(This is part-3 of an article on India Nepal relations. Part-1 and Part 2 were published on May 24 and 26 respectively.) In Nepal, despite apparent unanimity, the new map adopted and announced got stuck up as a Constitutional Amendment was needed, which required two-thirds majority. Two parties, Nepali Congress and a Madhesi-based new party created some obstacles, though[Read More…]
(This is Part-2 of a two-part Report; this one deals with various dimensions of the issue. Part-1 was published on May24, with the title, India-Nepal Border Issue Raked Up, Relations Strained Once Again.) Even as Covid-19 health crisis, and its cascading effect on the economic crisis — both are aggravating in India — are upsetting Modi Government’s claims and calculations[Read More…]
(This is Part-1 of a two-part article) “ We remain committed to resolving the border issue,” said Anurag Srivastava, India’s Official Spokesperson. “If the coronavirus was an obstacle for negotiations between friendly nations, then we were surprised that it wasn’t an obstacle for this decision (inauguration of the link road). ..This wasn’t the time to create unnecessary controversy which can[Read More…]
The pandemic Covid-19 which originated in Wuhan province, China sometime in December 2019 made its cruel impact as a global deadly disease in January 2020 declared as a pandemic on March 11, 2020. It then spread to other countries causing fear, panic and deaths. Currently more than 3.5 millions have been infected with about 240,000 deaths reported. Sri Lanka reported[Read More…]
While the number of reported cases of the new coronavirus in India and Pakistan remains in the low thousands, but concerns are growing about the capacity of healthcare system to deal with the potential threat in both countries. In both countries, it seems to be a major test for the Narendra Modi led government and power less PM of Pakistan,[Read More…]
“Dance on broken glass; Build castles with shattered dreams Wear your tears like precious pearls. Proud. Strong. Unshakable.” –Anita Krizaan At such a time as ours, I can identify with the first three lines, but not the last three. As I read the poem, I utter instead, “Ah, what dark tunnels are we crossing?” I can’t believe that it has[Read More…]
Hotchpotch is my favourite food. But hotchpotch in service is not good, rather more than bad. In combating COVID -19, hotchpotch is seen everywhere in Bangladesh. Theft of relief materials by ruling Awami League men has become a regular phenomenon in the country. Shortage of testing kits for COVID -19 is another problem. American national Sally Dugman, who is noted[Read More…]
Introduction There have been a series of peace attempts to solve the civil war by political arrangements until the Rajapaksa regime decided to declare war against LTTE in 2006. The first peace rounds marked by Bandaranaike and Chelvanayagam in 1957. The Senanayake- Chelvanayagam peace talks in 1965 followed by Round Table conference 1983, All-Party conference 1984, Thimpu Bhutan talks 1985,[Read More…]
The cloudy Tuesday’s dawn brought nothing- no rain, no nor’wester, but a smiling morning – a sunny day. Nor’wester is a seasonal storm in Bangladesh, the West Bengal in India as well. It sweeps over the region in Baishakh, the first month of Bangla calendar. Very often, it comes on the first day of the month. Defying hassles Bangla speaking[Read More…]
President Gotabaya’s pardon of a convicted criminal and let him loose and prowl free on the streets is only a licence and encouragement for him and other similar minded criminals to embark on a revengeful killing spree emboldened due to the guarantee of state protection and impunity. The prosecution of Sunil Ratnayake managed to miraculously wade through the many pitfalls[Read More…]
Spring, the best season, is twinkling Bangladesh. Mango pods adore trees here and there across the country. Hopes are pinching dreams for big profit. In this flashy season optimism of Bangladeshis has been grabbed by a scare – COVID -19. Yes, ruling of coronavirus has been started the country. It has already occupied several places of the delta country- Bangladesh.[Read More…]
Contrary to the common belief that Government of Bangladesh has been least prepared and that its responses to COVID-19 have been ad hoc and impulsive, it is important to note that the government did have an elaborate plan, ‘National Preparedness and Response Plan for COVID – 19’ and that the Plan was prepared under the guidance of the Directorate General[Read More…]
President Gotabaya Rajapaksha’s pardon and release of former Army Sergeant Ratnayake who was sentenced to death in 2015 for the brutal murder of 8 Tamil civilians including children in December 2000 is an expected act from an alleged war criminal Gotabaya as he is only fulfilling his election pledge made in October 2019 when he promised “That all military[Read More…]
The Sri Lankan state which co-sponsored United Nations Human Rights Council Resolutions 30/1 in September 2015 failed to bring transitional justice or progress on substantial issues but bought time and space, now after so many Resolutions and delays unilaterally withdrew from the co-sponsorship. Lack of political will is shown by both the consensus path Wikramasinghe-Sirisena regime and current confrontational path[Read More…]
With COVID-19 virus declared as a pandemic, spreading across countries including South Asia, people are being advised to live in isolation. Claiming more than 6500 deaths worldwide and more than 1.67 lakh confirmed cases and counting, the novel virus has affected every sector and thus demands coordinated action. In the wake of this medical emergency, it is the wit of[Read More…]
Late President JR Jayewardene of Sri Lanka after allowing and being complicit in the massacres of Tamils in the 1977, 1983 pogroms and justifying them as a normal reaction of Sinhalese to take revenge on innocent Tamils, hurriedly passed the 6th amendment to the constitution in August 1983 to stifle the voice of Tamils. The amendment’s important sections are under:- Article. 157“No[Read More…]
Bangladesh has seen an increase in terrorist activity in recent years, including attacks on foreigners, activists and religious minorities. Perpetrators of these attacks have included people from privileged backgrounds. News reports indicate they were all motivated by the idea that Islam is under attack by secularists and must be defended. This is significant in a country that was founded in[Read More…]
Old debate centering army in Pakistan politics has reemerged following remarks by the country’s Prime Minister Imran Khan. A report in Pakistan’s leading daily The Dawn said: “Opposition parties have taken exception to the reported remarks of Prime Minister Imran Khan that the army knows who is corrupt in the country, terming the statement ‘irresponsible’.” The report by Amir Wasim[Read More…]
It is election year for Sri Lanka. A general election has to be held before August 5th 2020 for a new Government to rule the polarized and divided country of majority Sinhalese and minorities with Tamils and Sinhalese politically pitted against each other for the last 72 years. This election is unique and historical as the President Gotabaya and his[Read More…]
The Mass Uprising of 1969 In the book A Soldier’s Debt (ASD), the author thought Neil Armstrong’s landing on the moon was the greatest event of 1969. He then quickly added the following lines: “One hundred and twenty-five thousand miles below that historic moon walk, the Bengalis of East Pakistan started a renewed but aggressive, at times violent, march for their rights. It[Read More…]
This is my eyewitness account of events, which took place in erstwhile East Pakistan, exactly 51 years back in January-February 1969. Although not fully comparable with what 1789 signifies for France, yet 1969 signalled the beginning of some revolutionary changes in the history of Pakistan. It witnessed the end of Ayub Khan’s decade of “guided democracy”, and the end of[Read More…]
There is no denying of the fact that Tamils in Sri Lanka have been at the receiving end since 1949, when power was transferred to the majority Sinhala Government. Successive Sinhala Governments continued and still continue the marginalisation of minorities to achieve their goal of a SINHALA-BUDDHIST STATE. Peaceful protests, non-violent and violent campaigns were ruthlessly crushed by the 99%[Read More…]
A Japanese adage rightly says that “A close neighbor is better than a distant relative”. A country can change its friends but altering neighbors is simply out of the question. Neighbors either they are belligerent or peaceful; the state ought to take a proactive and inclusive foreign policy for a conducive environment. Pakistan and India, thus, are fortunate; both states[Read More…]
Persecution of minorities is a perennial problem in the South Asian region. Muslims in India, Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh, Tamils in Sri Lanka are under the dark shadow of majoritarianism. Countries in the region seem to have found new interest in the minority questions of neighbours; and the issue has got new dimension. Nowadays, the heads of the two[Read More…]
“Injustice in the end produces independence.”–Voltaire The people of East Bengal, who are majority Muslims, suffered injustice for ages. After the fall of Plassey in 1757, they came under the wrath of the British and its Hindu surrogates. When the British left in 1947, partitioning India on religious divide, East Bengal became part of Pakistan, their condition was no[Read More…]
Taking into consideration the statements by the Sri Lankan President and the top officials regarding justice to the Tamils seems to be a deadlock. The only way out from this is to initiate a UN sponsored referendum in the North and East of Sri Lanka, for which the co-sponsored countries of the UNHRC Resolution 30/1 and other member countries in[Read More…]
As late as the 16th century, the Chinese indigenised “mandarin”, a variant of Sanskrit “mantri”, Malay “mantiri” via Portuguese “mandarim”, which stands for minister, counsellor, or a very high government official. Chinese mandarins were highly educated, well-groomed, powerful, and influential people having sharp intellect and immaculate mannerism. Their attire, mannerism, and language represented the mainstream of Chinese high culture encompassing[Read More…]
The Singapore success is attributed to their leader LEE KUAN YEW developing a society where each race appreciate and respect that of others, encouraged to preserve its unique culture and traditions, let alone that of the majority. It’s fostering such an approach for a multi-race society enabled them to go forward. LEE KUAN YEW was the first Prime Minister of[Read More…]
The Supreme Court of Pakistan Thursday (Nov 28) limited the three years extension in the term of Army Chief of Staff General (COAS) Qamar Javed Bajwa to six month. A three-member court bench led by the Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, who retires in less than one month, on Wednesday (Nov. 27) suspended Prime Minister Imran Khan’s August 2019[Read More…]
The island nation: Sri Lanka began to increasingly feature in discussions on the Indo- Pacific geopolitical environment in recent years, particularly in the light of Chinese led Belt and Road Initiatives (BRI) and as a nation which has been occupying a strategic location astride the Indian Ocean lines of communication. Sri Lanka has been attracting the interests of major powers[Read More…]
Co-Written by Punsara Amarasinghe and Eshan Jayawardane Civilizational influence in shaping national political consciousness is an indispensable factor that one cannot deny or completely abandon albeit how rationalized or tries to be radical he is. The Oath ceremony of the president of the US is traditionally culminated by pledging alliance to the US constitution and God and the people in[Read More…]
The Presidential election on November 16, 2019 will usher in a new President, either Gotabaya Rajapaksha or Sajith Premadasa. Intensive campaign with promises suiting the locations and people are pouring from candidates to woo the voters, particularly Tamils by Sajith Premadasa. The promises thrown before Tamils will have a short life span as their deaths will be a certainty once[Read More…]
The cat is finally out of the bag. The secretly well-kept decision of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to back Sajith Premadasa of the United National Party is now disclosed 10 days before the election, after playing the hide and seek and cat and mouse games. TNA leadership particularly Sumanthiran and Sampanthan have been making often confusing and conflicting statements hiding[Read More…]
This is a review of an academic article by Ali Gowher (aka Gowher Rizvi), who is the International affairs Adviser to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh. I strongly believe Rizvi’s partisan vies and unsubstantiated assertions have marred the quality of the academic exercise. Had Mujib’s Soviet-style one-party dictatorship (the BAKSAL regime) survived a decade or so, what is Bangladesh[Read More…]
Whither the BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party)?Let’s Still Identify with It, the Largest Political Party of Bangladesh, to Confront the Ongoing BAL (Bangladesh Awami League) Brutality on All Fronts “To be, or not to be, that is the question.” That is how the 30-yr old Prince Hamlet of Denmark is deeply and frightfully pondering over whether to continue to live a[Read More…]
Pakistan on Monday (Oct 7) established the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority to speed up the delayed projects as Prime Minister Imran Khan arrived in Beijing The establishment of CPEC Authority was aimed at accelerating the pace of CPEC related activities. Multi-billion dollar CPEC was launched in 2015 and several projects under the first phase are close to completion.[Read More…]
Amid rising tension over Kashmir between the two nuclear neighbors, India and Pakistan, a new US study examines how such an hypothetical future nuclear conflict would have consequences that could ripple across the globe. A nuclear war between India and Pakistan could, over the span of less than a week, kill 50 to 125 million people that is more than[Read More…]
by Zia Mian, Abdul H. Nayyar, Sandeep Pandey, M. V. Ramana On September 27, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan will address the United Nations General Assembly in New York. This appearance will come at a time of great concern about the increasingly hostile relationship between their two countries. At the heart of[Read More…]
One may or may not like cricket – not the worm, but the game – or even, could be someone like a typical Frenchman or woman who doesn’t understand the game, or pretends he/she doesn’t have any clues as to what British men (and now women too) do with a ball, two bats, and six sticks, inserted into the[Read More…]
President Maithripala Sirisena on Monday [August 18, 2019] named a General accused of war crimes as Commander of the Sri Lankan Army, sparking concern over the appointment that the UN later termed “deeply troubling”. What the United Nations is saying? “I am deeply troubled by the appointment of Lieutenant-General Shavendra Silva as Commander of the Sri Lankan Army, despite the[Read More…]
Amid mounting tension over India’s annexation of Kashmir, Pakistan has successfully carried out the night training launch of a surface to surface ballistic missile. The missile “is capable of delivering multiple types of warheads up to 290 kilometres”, said military media spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor via a tweet, which also included a video of the launch. The missile is[Read More…]
Indo-Pakistan relations have almost never been all-smooth, least of all since the 1990s if not earlier, post the worsening of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. This was also the decade when collective efforts for people-to-people contact gained pace, with peace activists on both sides of the border coming together at forums like the Pakistan India People’s Forum for Peace[Read More…]
The specter of nuclear war haunts tensions between India and Pakistan, and the disputed territory of Kashmir could provide the spark that lights South Asia’s nuclear fuse, warns Strafor, a geopolitical intelligence think tank that provides strategic analysis and forecasting to individuals and organizations around the world. With passions again running high in Kashmir, the stakes for the region and[Read More…]
As far as Tamils are concerned the forthcoming elections [Presidential and Parliamentary] is not going to solve any of the burning problems faced by the Tamils since independence, in 1948. Since independence Tamils and Tamil leaders were betrayed, cheated by the two major political parties United National Party UNP and Sri Lanka Freedom Party [SLFP] As far as Tamils are[Read More…]
Has civilization taught us to be more friendly towards one another? Asked Bertrand Russell, the British philosopher and intellectual and explains further: …Within the herd we are more friendly to each other than are many species of animals, but in our attitude towards those outside the herd, in spite of all that has been done by moralists and religious teachers,[Read More…]
Post independence Sri Lanka brought in several official dispositions that gave preference to the Sinhalese majority. The Sinhala Only Act introduced by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) government of S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike in 1956, for example, recognized Sinhalese as the only official language of the country. The 1950s also saw the launching of several development projects by[Read More…]
The U.S. is reopening the military aid plug to Pakistan within a week of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan meeting Donald Trump, the President of the U.S. The Pentagon is notifying its decision to approve $125 million technical and logistic support for Pakistan’s F-16 fighter jets. The aid resumption, made at the “request” of Pakistan, was disclosed by a Pentagon[Read More…]
The government of Bangladesh under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed keeps rattling the growth at 8-9% over the past few years, but the statistics do not tally with the global benchmarks, which find the actual number lower by up to 2 points. The lower figure may still look impressive, but the existence of glaring discrepancies in the development calculations rarely meet the[Read More…]
There are hardly two opinions that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Banks were implementing predatory economic policies of the West. The poor countries are now in the IMF and World Bank debt trap. The rise in debt has been swelled, with external sovereign loans to developing country governments more than doubling from $191 billion per year in[Read More…]
Co-Written by Punsara Amarasinghe & Prof.Sanjay Rajhans When Indian national Mr. Kulbushan Jadhav was arrested in 2016 by Pakistan alleging him as a RAW operative andthe reaction came from New Delhi was based on their interest in providing consular access to Mr. Jadhav and strongly denied any espionage link. Nevertheless the judgment given by a military tribunal in Pakistan[Read More…]
Torrential monsoon rain induced floods, landslides, collapse of buildings and houses, lighting, etc. have already taken a heavy price in the South Asia region. The disaster has created havoc in the life of the people in regions of Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bangladesh. Severe floods and lightning have claimed the lives of more than 650 people across India, Nepal, Bangladesh[Read More…]
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Wednesday (July 17) rejected India’s request to ‘acquit, release and return’ of its national Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was sentenced by Pakistan on charges of espionage, however, asked Pakistan to provide him consular access. President of the ICJ Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf from Somalia read out the operational part of the decision in a[Read More…]
A NOTE FROM THE NO FIRE ZONE [Book by Kass Ghayouri] Dr. Varatharajan who was on duty inside the ‘NO FIRE ZONE” during the genocidal war laments: “That night I cried, Tamil civilians died, Dead bodies I eyed, I did not have pride, There was no war guide, Tamils forced to hide, The Sri Lankan army lied, Took[Read More…]
Co-Written by Punsara Amarasinghe & Eshan Jayawardene The predictions made by larger number of academics based in Delhi, Mumbai and Calcutta about Indian General elections vouching that NarendraModi would not get his second term as prime minister were shattered in reality as Modi could uphold his strong position better than the previous time resulting a steeping success of his Bharatiya[Read More…]
On the invitation of Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani arrived in Pakistan on 27th June for a two-day visit aimed at strengthening ties between the two countries. The premier of Pakistan and President Ghani held a one-on-one meeting, in which an overall regional situation and matters pertaining to bilateral cooperation in various sectors, were discussed.[Read More…]
The United States on Tuesday (July 2) declared Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) as a global terrorist organization. The US State Department said it was classifying the BLA as a global terrorist group, making it a crime for anyone in the United States to assist the militants and freezing any US assets they may have. “The BLA is an armed separatist[Read More…]
“Civilizations as yet have only been created and directed by a small intellectual aristocracy, never by crowds. Crowds are only powerful for destruction.” — Gustave Le Bon “Mass politics occurs when large numbers of people engage in political activity outside of the procedures and rules instituted by a society to govern political action. Mass politics in democratic society therefore is[Read More…]
The Islamic State group in Afghanistan is a “very worrisome” threat to the United States, Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, said. He also added “ISIS in Afghanistan certainly has aspirations to attack the United States.” On 13th of June, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device near a police vehicle in the capital of eastern Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, killing at least[Read More…]
The government of Pakistan on Friday (June 21) appointed an 11-member Commission of Inquiry to determine if increase in external debt between 2008 and 2018 was justified by infrastructure development program or misused by public office-holders of the last two governments of the Pakistan Peoples’ Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. Headed by Deputy Chairman of the National Accountability Bureau[Read More…]
Tamils have little interest in reconciliation without resolution of the political issues. Proper reconciliation can come only after a political solution is found… With successive Governments refusing to acknowledge, let alone address the political issues that lie at the core of the conflict, the alienation of Tamils will remain high. In the circumstances, reconciliation remains a distant dream. An internationally[Read More…]
Pakistan’s self-exiled leader Altaf Hussain was arrested on Tuesday (June 11) from his residence in London. He was arrested in an early morning raid by a team of the Scotland Yard. The arrest has sent shockwaves across Pakistan as Hussain once ruled Karachi, the country’s commercial capital, with an iron fist, shutting down the entire city in mere seconds with[Read More…]
Former president of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari was arrested Monday (June 10) by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in mega money laundering case. Asif Zardari was taken to NAB office in Rawalpindi where he was shifted to cell no 2. The former president will be presented before the accountability court on Tuesday where the NAB will appeal for his remand.[Read More…]
Pakistan’s Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has signed death warrants for two army and one civil officer on charges of espionage and leakage of sensitive information to foreign agencies prejudicial to the national security, the army announced Thursday (May 30). Lieutenant General (retd) Javed Iqbal Awan was awarded 14 years rigorous imprisonment by the Field[Read More…]
On 14 and 15 May 2019, revenge violence broke out in a number of towns in Sri Lanka against Muslim shopkeepers by Christians motivated by the Easter Sunday attacks on three Christian churches, two Roman Catholic and one Protestant. The Easter church attacks were carried out by a recently formed militant Muslim militia most of whose members have now been[Read More…]
The people have to pay dearly and long for the sins and crimes of their leaders – Lee Kuan Yew, former Prime Minister of Singapore. After appointing an ex-IMF official as Finance Minister and another ex-IMF official as State Bank of Pakistan Governor, the government of Pakistan has assured the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of increasing electricity and gas prices[Read More…]
Easter is the day when it is said, the Christ resurrected again. Devotees celebrate because they believe the Christ was crucified for them. Whether he is a myth or reality, it does not mean but one fact is clear, the life of Christ is inspiring and suggest love conquer all. As I thought of calling friends, the events and devastation[Read More…]
Co-Written by Punsara Amarasinhe and Eshan Jayawardane Man’s association with faith is the most inexplicable thing in the world which gives no clues of comprehending its very nature. Even the most powerful men in world history were known to be shaky and crumbled before the creed they ardently believed. In the annals of Roman history we find emperors like Hadrian[Read More…]
It’s still the most dangerous border on Earth. Yet compared to the recent tweets of President Donald Trump, it remains a marginal news story. That doesn’t for a moment diminish the chance that the globe’s first (and possibly ultimate) nuclear conflagration could break out along that 480-mile border known as the Line of Control (and, given the history that surrounds[Read More…]
The glorious War for Liberation in Bangladesh turned powerful with the participation of people – the downtrodden, the exploited. They came from poverty-ruled rural areas; they came from machine shops chained to capital; they came from educational institutions – teachers and students primarily identifying with the aspiration of the exploited. To this huge human spirit, the bell of liberty was[Read More…]
In our generation, perhaps rarely any of one might have read it or heard about it. In my small collection of biographies, there is a purple coloured hardbound, with pagesturned to smoke yellow biography published eighty-eight years back by George Allen and Unwin Limited, 40 Museum Street, London. It has a foreword by father of Indian Nation Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.[Read More…]
(The fourth Chinese veto in preventing declaration of Masood Azhar as a global terrorist is not only a rebuff but the signal of an additional factor in the very basic Kashmir problem!) The recent incident in Pulwama which drew condemnation from all over the world was attributed by the Indian authorities to Masood Azhar, the head of the Jaish-e-[Read More…]
How many of us remember the post emergency era famous quote that “Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee can win election from any constituency in Pakistan”; whilst he was the foreign minister in Sri Morarji Bhai’s cabinet in 1977? Remember that India had just won a conclusive war in 1971 courtesy of Mrs. Indira Gandhi’s government. The wound of Bangladesh’s creation by[Read More…]
The Oxford Dictionary defines shame as “a painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behaviour”. It could be self-inflicted, or an act committed by others leading to a loss of self-respect or self-esteem. “Shame on you” is something no respectful human being wants to hear from anyone. Self-respecting victims of shame sometimes kill[Read More…]
A dark and menacing cloud of a possible war that had been hanging over India and Pakistan in the last few days was leading to despair and fatalism not only in India and Pakistan but almost all over the world due to the nuclear arsenal the two countries possess. Ian Helfand, a US physician associated with the International Physicians for[Read More…]
(People raising a pitch for going to War probably forget that any conflict now in the sub-continent would be the last War for this entire region!) It is an established fact of the world history that wars have never solved any problems but have on the contrary destroyed civilisations. The sub-continent has witnessed three major wars in last 70 years[Read More…]
Political atmosphere in the country rapidly changed after 14th Feb Pulwama terror incident. Warlike situation emerged and war mongers had a field day. War hysteria was created in Pakistan as well as India. There was air strike on terrorist training centre of Jaish-e-Muhammad at Balakot by Indian Air Force. Next day, Pakistan too launched air strike crossing Indian territory. Indian Air Force[Read More…]
The Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP) notes with grave concern the ongoing conflicts between neighboring India and Pakistan, both armed with nuclear weapons together with all the three delivery platforms ensuring a “second strike” capability in case of being hit by a “first strike”. To recall, the present phase was triggered by an abominable suicide blast – following[Read More…]
The role of Pakistan and Afghanistan in the region has become more important with the announcement of CPEC. The upcoming hub of Gwadar is all set to change the shape of international trade in South Asia. In order to resolve key issues and to bring peace in Afghanistan, Pakistan consistently been holding dialogues with Taliban on the request of Trump.[Read More…]
India and Pakistan seem to have just got over playing “War War” on the February 26 and 27, 2019 testing aerial capabilities of each other and in the end declaring victory. In the absence of hard evidences and credible sources, both the sides have sold their own version of the story to save their faces and let the people make[Read More…]
Whole thing started with Pulwama in Kashmir in Indian Kashmir where a suicide bomber attacked an Indian army convoy and killed 40 soldiers. The incident has happened in the wake of upcoming general election in India which also coincides with Modi’s plummeting popularity that have made some people looking at this sad incident beyond the obvious. There is nothing more[Read More…]
It’s ironic that I found out about India’s air strikes across the line of control, inside Pakistani territory, from a friend in New Delhi. Surbhi Dewan and I were texting each other, late at night on Monday, February 25, about the passing of her grandmother, Leela Dewan, one of the beautiful women who shared their testimony about the partition of[Read More…]
Early morning on Friday, I was eagerly waiting to read ‘Dastavez’ published in “Roznama Rashtriya Sahara”, Urdu. I was shocked to find a sentence added to my original draft in the published copy, calling surgical strike ” necessary” Dastavez is published every week on Friday in almost all editions of Roznama Rashtriya Sahara. For last one year, I have quite[Read More…]
Dear Gowher: In hindsight, I think I should have written this letter ten years back, days after you became the International Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. I am sorry, I failed miserably to perform my duty as a friend towards a very good old friend on time. I should have advised you what I thought and still[Read More…]
Further to the recent tensions between India and Pakistan, the appeal below is being released today on behalf of more than 500 Indian signatories from many different walks of life – students, teachers, economists, journalists, lawyers, industrialists, writers, actors, choreographers, photographers, physicists, homemakers, retired bureaucrats, diplomats, judges, the armed forces. This flood of endorsements was received within less than 24[Read More…]
Last night my 11 year old son asked me, “Abba, if war breaks out between India and Pakistan can we go to some other country? What will we do if they drop a nuclear bomb?” I told him that it’s not possible to go to another country. They won’t accept us. However, I assured him that there will be no[Read More…]
Escalating tensions between the two nuclear armed South Asian neighbours, Pakistan carried out an air strike inside India in retaliation to the air strike carried out by India in Balakot yesterday. In the ensuing air battle an Indian Airforce Pilot was captured by Pakistan. Pakistan claimed that they shot down two Indian fighter jets. They claimed that one of the[Read More…]
The air strikes in Balakot, Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, by the Indian Air Force Mirage 2000 fighter jets set in motion waves of jubilation in India and a deluge of anger and war cry in Pakistan. Launched in the early hours of 26 February, the ‘surgical strikes 2.0,’ as it has been characterized by the Indian media, came in less[Read More…]
All of Tamatarland was in great turmoil. There had been a vile attack on its security forces by a suicide-bomber, who had sneaked past dozens of heavily guarded checkpoints and murdered over two dozen Tamatarland soldiers. It was later claimed the culprit was a local Muli, trained and sent by Mataristan, the neighbouring and enemy nation. Not surprisingly, Tamatars across[Read More…]
The news that the Indian Air Force (IAF) has launched an airstrike on the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camps crossing the Line of Control (LOC), in the wee hours of Tuesday, was well-received by those anxiously waiting for military action in the wake of the Pulwama incident. The “befitting reply” from IAF came 11 days after JeM, a Pakistan-based militant group,[Read More…]
Notwithstanding the claims and counter-claims of India and Pakistan, one thing is now acknowledged from both sides that the Indian Air Force planes entered the Pakistani territory and returned back safely. That is pretty embarrassing for the Pakistani authorities – both the Prime Minister Imran Khan who, only a few days back, promised retaliation and the Army Chief, General Qamar[Read More…]
Raising the spectre of another war between nuclear armed South Asian neighbours, India and Pakistan, Indian airforce carried out air strike across the Line of Control (LoC) today morning. The strike was carried out at around 3:30 this morning by 12 Mirage 2000 fighter jets. The aircraft dropped 1,000 kg laser-guided bombs on a major terror camp across the Line[Read More…]
The Pulwama attack has yet again brought India-Pakistan relations to a new low. The hopes that the stalled dialogue will resume after Indian elections appear to be remote now. Unless there is a global pressure on both countries to resolve Kashmir issue peacefully through negotiations, it seems that both countries are heading towards a major showdown. And in this atmosphere[Read More…]
Saturday morning, I woke up to many a disturbing news on the grapevine. From the Masjid door to long waiting at the bakers’ shop for hot loaves of traditional bread, lots of news about frightening rattling of aeroplanes and helicopters from 2 A.M in Srinagar, deployment of hundreds of additional companies’ of paramilitary troops in Kashmir to the mid-night crackdown[Read More…]
Collaboration by: JB Graves, Syed Mujtaba According to Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, “there is almost total impunity for enforced disappearances” in Kashmir. Enforced disappearance are particularly cruel and subversive to human rights in that they usurp the power of democratic institutions by detaining people without causality. States by law require transparency[Read More…]
It may be reading tea leaves but analysis of the walk-up to Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit and his sojourn in Islamabad suggests that Pakistan may be about to fight battles on two fronts rather than just the Indian one in the wake of this month’s attacks in Kashmir. Prince Mohammed’s expressions of unconditional support for Pakistan coupled[Read More…]
Many treaties and agreements in international relations are the natural outcome of conflicts and wars between two or more players. In India-Pakistan relations too, the two major agreements signed between them, the Tashkent Declaration (1966) and the Shimla Pact (1972) were the follow-up of negotiations started in the wake of the 1965 and 1971 wars. But the Lahore Declaration, signed[Read More…]
I have been watching silently some ‘fake’ nationalists on social media and news channels for a few days now. I can’t anymore because now things are on a non sense level. First of all, some of these people don’t even know that CRPF is not army. It is paramilitary force which comes under Ministry of Home Affairs. Jawans of CRPF[Read More…]
They have fought wars and played games against each other. They have done everything in their capacity to destroy each other. They are in arms race despite being poor. Apparently they are being exploited by a third party as a result of their conflicts. However they do help each other in election time. If together, they can be growing powers[Read More…]
During Imran Khan’s four-month sit-in and political demonstrations in front of the parliament in Islamabad from August to December 2014, the allegations of election rigging and the demand for electoral reforms were simply a smokescreen. A question would naturally arise in the minds of curious observers of Pakistan’s politics that what prompted Imran Khan to make a sudden volte-face when[Read More…]
Kashmir, a contentious region since 1947, has been claimed by both Pakistan and India; war, skirmishes, treaties, posturing, the UN, and the threat of nuclear war have cycled between periods of tension and cooperation that have perpetuated both the security dilemma and détente. The independence of India and Pakistan gave birth to regional competition for control over the outlying territory[Read More…]
I went to participate in a candle light homage paying event at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s statue organised by about 200 dalit students on Hazratganj main crossing in Lucknow on 16 February, 2019 evening, two days after the dastardly terrorist act in Pulwana, Jammu and Kashmir, in which 37 Central Reserve Polica Forces’ personnel was killed. While the condolence meeting by[Read More…]
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s three-nation tour of Asia is as much about demonstrating he stands tall – despite Western criticism of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the war in Yemen – as it is about exploiting geopolitical and economic opportunity. Prince Mohammed is betting on the optics of his visit to Pakistan, India, and China offsetting[Read More…]
In a momentous decision on July 28, 2017, then Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif was disqualified from holding public office by the country’s apex court on the flimsy pretext of holding an “Iqama” (a work permit) for a Dubai-based company, and was subsequently given a ten-year imprisonment sentence, though the latter decision is subject to appeal. Subsequently, sham elections[Read More…]
‘How many Deaths will it take till we know That too many people have died?’ PIPFPD is shocked and saddened by the loss of lives of 44 CRPF personnel in a militant attack in Lethapora, Pulwama, Jammu & Kashmir. The gruesome manner in which an explosives laden vehicle, driven by a suicide bomber, rammed into a CRPF convoy and the[Read More…]
When Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi next week, the elephant in the room is likely to be what weighs more: the issues the two men agree on or the ones that divide them. As a matter of principle, Prince Mohammed and Mr. Modi are likely to take their strategic partnership to a new[Read More…]
As the Jamaat-e-Islami’s founder Maulana Abul A’la Maududi (1903-1979) despised democracy, so do all his adherents. Soon after establishing the Jamaat in 1941, he admired Mussolini and considered him to be his role model. He also called himself the “Amir” or “Dictator/Fuherer” of the Jamaat-e-Islami. The JI chiefs in Bangladesh and Pakistan are still called “Amir”. So, the JI is[Read More…]
Towards Understanding the Current Affairs Prime Minister Imran Khan impressed the constituents to imagine the phenomenon of “change” as a driving force for future-making. Was the political power a motivating factor to influence the curious minds of the masses or was it an exercise in self-propagated approach to gain success at a critical juncture of Pakistan’s contemporary history? For too[Read More…]
History proves Tamils a homeland [North and East of Sri Lanka] The Kingdom of Jaffna had included a vast region. its boundary has said that Jaffna Kingdom was not confined to the Jaffna Peninsula. It had included the following areas namely Valikamam, Vadamarachi, Thenmarachi, Islands and the parts of Vanni from Mannar to Trincomalee(Perera,S.G.trans, 1930, p.51). The Ariyasakkaravatties, had made[Read More…]
The “Language Movement” of erstwhile East Bengal/East Pakistan and Bangladesh today was more than a language movement, it was a cultural-political movement for Bangladesh. No wonder, even after the Pakistan Constitution of 1956 had guaranteed Bengali as one of the two state languages along with Urdu, East Bengalis continued to mourn the deaths of half-a-dozen martyrs, who got killed by[Read More…]
“Equality, Human dignity and Social justice” – the visionof independent Bangladesh, stipulated at the Proclamation of Independence by the Bangladesh Government-in-Exile on 17th April, 1971 in Mujibnagar In recent times, similar to Trump’s ‘Making America Great Again’ (an exclusionary ultra-right slogan) or Modi’s ‘Achche Din’ (promise of good days through Hindutva ideology that seeks to establish the hegemony of Hindus[Read More…]
Sheikh M Abdullah in his autobiography [“Blazing Chinar” (Gulshan Books (2016) Chapter 30 titled “Mohammad Ali Jinnah & Myself” at pages 220-231] briefly mentions of an interesting criminal case of 1930s that for peculiarity of its facts had attracted attention of the whole of Kashmir. The Chapter does not divulge the full facts of the case which are, however, adumbrated[Read More…]
The political history of Tamils who inhabited the island before the arrival of Vijaya in 543 BC, a legendary prince, still to be proved by real and documented evidence, has been tarnished with the record of betrayals, pogroms, genocide and massacres in the hands of successive Sri Lankan Governments since 1948.Numerous articles and books have detailed these events locally[Read More…]
It would be a silly question indeed to ask why December 25th is celebrated. On the other hand, one could ask why it is a national holiday in Pakistan, for it is not because it’s Christmas. By an unusual coincidence it happens to be the birthday of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of the country. Exactly how Pakistan came[Read More…]
The Anti-Corruption Court in Islamabad on Monday (December 24) sentenced former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to seven years in prison for graft, while a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) constituted on the orders of the Supreme Court to investigate the multi-billion rupees fake accounts scam, has held former President Asif Zardari responsible for the suspicious transactions. Nawaz Sharif could not prove[Read More…]
History is replete with examples of political grandstanding by arrogant leaders. At the same time it’s also full of landmark opportunities that they came across to make major course correction. However, no politician worth his tuft has ever had the guts to choose the latter and create history. The territorial dispute over Kashmir between India & Pakistan is one such[Read More…]
The Pakistani and Indian Diaspora came together in Surrey to celebrate the opening of the Kartarpur corridor, which will provide Sikhs access to their historical gurdwara across the international border. The founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, spent the final years of his life in Kartarpur, located close to the now fenced Indo-Pak border in Pakistan. On the 550th birth anniversary[Read More…]
Class struggle defined traverse of the Baangaalee people’s victory-1971 in Bangladesh. The people’s War for Liberation achieved the victory by defeating Pakistan in 1971. Dynamics of class struggle also determined pace and forms of the political and other struggles the Baangaalee people were waging since August 14, 1947, the day the British colonial rulers transferred the bifurcated sub-continent to their[Read More…]
People choose various methods of resistance when dealing with ideological issues – from outright belligerence and violence to democratic collectivism. It depends on their perspective, beliefs, or sometimes there is just a selfish agenda. In the long run such methods cannot provide solutions for serious issues which hang on for years, like an incurable ailment which drains the human condition. Let us deal specifically[Read More…]