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What chance of a change for Sri Lanka?

by admin on Jan.08, 2010, under Tamil Eelam

What chance of a change for Sri Lanka?

logolasanthaOne year ago today, my uncle Lasantha Wickrematunge – one of Sri Lanka’s best-known journalists – was assassinated. For 15 years his paper, the Sunday Leader, was the strongest liberal democratic voice in the country. Despite frequent attacks on its staff and offices, it produced impartial reporting on the brutal civil war and high-level corruption, and thwarted censorship to expose human rights violations.

But just how much difference can there be between the president and one of the chief architects of his war? In the run-up to the election, both face questions in relation to the alleged shooting of surrendering LTTE rebels, unarmed and bearing flags. At this important juncture, the Sri Lankan electorate would do well to revisit Lasantha’s writings………  http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jan/07/sri-lanka-tamil-election-war

The battle for evidence of ‘war without witnesses’

camp 21timesl-logoAccusations of fakery and political bias have been Sri Lanka’s stock in trade in the face of allegations of serious war crimes.

When The Times reported the estimated civilian death toll of 20,000, based on unofficial United Nations figures, the Government responded by claiming that not one non-combatant had perished. When The Times published aerial photographs that had been analysed by defence experts depicting how civilians were caught in government shelling, Colombo dismissed those images too as fakes. The photographs were taken by a Times reporter and other journalists on Sri Lankan military helicopters flying the UN Secretary-General across the battle zone………. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6980115.ece

UN may help Sri Lanka address allegations of human rights abuse

UN 4Colombo has also said that by the end of January 2010, it would resettle Tamils uprooted from their homes in the north and initiate a reconciliation process between the Tamil minority and the Sinhalese majority.     Some 300,000 Tamils fled their homes in the country’s north during the government’s final offensive last year, in which more than 7,000 civilians were killed, according to UN reports.     However, hundreds of thousands of Tamils still reportedly languish outside the UN-run detention camps, waiting for the reconstruction process.     On Wednesday, Ban told reporters that he hoped the government would keep its promise………….. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/08/content_12774397.htm

Lasantha: The Courageous Editor who Fearlessly spoke Truth to Power

Remembering “Lassieboy” on the first anniversary of his death  by D.B.S. Jeyaraj

lasanthaIt was on January 8th last year that Lasantha Wickrematunga the Editor of “The Sunday Leader” in Colombo was killed by “unknown” assassins. He was my colleague, editor, friend and above all a kindred soul. How I miss him. There is big vacuum in the media scene after his departure. One whole year has passed but there has been no progress whatsoever in the investigations into the brutal murder. This was to be expected as those responsible are ensconced in the seat of power…………  http://dbsjeyaraj.com/dbsj/archives/1291


2 Comments for this entry

  • Karuppen
    January 8th, 2010 on 8:53 pm

    Do not waste any time on thinking about voting any fancy presidential candidate. The sole purpose of united Tamils should be, first of all, on removing the criminal Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa, who, from the past treatments of Tamils in Sri Lanka, has shown how far he could go against the law and order of International and national codes to inflict pain, suffering and death on the innocent Tamils in the recent war on Tamil community. He deserves to be brought before the International Court of Justice at a time when the UN has openly called for the UN inquiry into Sri Lankan war crimes.

    Tamil fronts have to learn one lesson if they have not learnt anything in the reent years. Unite with other Tamil voices in moulding a strong opposition to the animal Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa and unseat him from the post of President. His presidential immunity has to be removed and he himself has to be relegated to an ordinary citizen to face the consequences of his own past actions.

    When the head is severed, the body will not function. That is the same of political image one has created.

  • GENGA
    January 8th, 2010 on 12:27 pm

    Late Lasanth is a product of St Benedicts college Kotahena. My salute to Lasantha who stood for the freedom of media that finaly took him away from us. The brutality of the past regimes have taken the life of various people and this has continued without any sanctions. Let us hope That after the silencing of guns from the north and east will bring an end to the gun culture. All these years we blamed terrorism now let us wait and see who is going to be blamed. people

 

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