08/01/2011
|
Himal Southasian
By Kannan Arunasalam
Those who chose to stay behind in Jaffna had to innovate to survive.
07/07/2011
|
Himal Southasian
The last two months in Sri Lanka have seen increasing international pressure coupled with domestic struggles against Mahinda Rajapakse’s government. In fact, in the post-war context, other than perhaps General Sarath Fonseka’s challenge during the presidential elections of January 2010, which split the war coalition in the south, these recent weeks have been among the most worrying of times for the Rajapakse regime. International criticism centring on questions of post-war accountability and political reconciliation has suddenly coincided with anti-government domestic mobilisations by a range of actors – from workers challenging the government’s pension schemes, estate workers calling for wage hikes, university teachers moving on strike actions and student unions opposing leadership training by the military for university entrants. While President Rajapakse’s strategy might be to wade through these difficult times until the criticism and resistance begin to subside, the question remains as to how a government that has won thumping victories in presidential, parliamentary and local government elections over the last two years has had to face such mounting challenges.
10/01/2010
|
Himal Southasian
By: Tisaranee Gunasekara
With the passage of the 18th Amendment, the last real impediment to the Rajapakse dynasty has been removed.
09/01/2010
|
Himal Southasian
S Thavaratnam, chairman of the Jaffna District Fishermen’s Cooperative Society Unions Federation, played a significant role in unionising fishermen in northern Sri Lanka, starting in the mid-1970s. At that time, small unions were established in every fishing village across the Northern Province. As the civil war took hold, however, communication across villages became difficult and the federation was disrupted, and the unions in the Jaffna District functioned as a smaller federation. Thavaratnam became the president of that federation in 1995. He recently spoke with Himal contributing editor Ahilan Kadirgamar, and explained the impact of the civil war on the fishing industry, the problem of South Indian trawlers encroaching on Sri Lankan waters, and the need for more advanced boats. Translated from the Tamil.
08/01/2010
|
Himal Southasian
With recent attention shifting to the Sri Lankan north, the east has remained excluded from post-war revival.
08/01/2010
|
Himal Southasian
EDITORIAL Over a year after the end of the war, the Sri Lankan regime is continuing the politics of confrontation, undermining the possibilities for reconciliation in the post-war period. There remains an urgent need for reconciliation between multiple actors: between the Tamil and Sinhalese communities, polarised by nationalist mobilisation; between the state and minorities who have faced majoritarian discrimination; and between the government and the United Nations, which have become increasingly estranged. The challenge before Sri Lanka now is whether it can move forward as a genuinely multi-ethnic polity and an accepted member of the international community, particularly when local participation and international support are both vital for the reconstruction and development of the war-ravaged society. Since the end of the brutal conflict 15 months ago, Sri Lanka has also completed two national elections, ensuring the political stability of Mahinda Rajapakse’s government and strengthening his hand. However, the president’s actions on the ground, and his administration’s response to international engagement, would have one believe that the conflict was not over.
07/01/2010
|
Himal Southasian
The recent evictions in Colombo have precedent – and larger significance.
06/01/2010
|
Himal Southasian
I was born and raised in a little community in Kuliyapitiya, a typical agricultural area with three small tanks (wewa), which watered paddy fields, within walking distance on three sides of my house. Of course, there were also three Buddhist temples, almost within walking distance from each other. It was a typical village in the North-Western province, a part of which is known as bat kooralee or ‘rice province’. Where there were no tanks or paddy fields there were coconut plantations, big and small. Not surprisingly, much of the ‘coconut triangle’ is also in this province.
05/01/2010
|
Himal Southasian
With the suspension of preferential trading access, the European Union has sent a strong message to the Sri Lankan authorities.