07/23/2011
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Colombo Page
Sri Lanka : War-battered Tamils in Sri Lanka vote for rights, not for development
05/13/2011
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IRIN
JAFFNA, 13 May 2011 (IRIN) - Peace dividends have yet to reach thousands of unemployed graduates returning to Sri Lanka's northernmost, conflict-affected Jaffna District.
05/11/2011
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Asia Foundation
On a recent trip to Sri Lanka, I traveled by car from Colombo to Jaffna, a journey of more than 10 hours, and I discovered a city that seemed quietly determined to move forward. Two years after the devastating civil war between the Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tigers ended, signs of the decades-long conflict are still omnipresent in Jaffna, the capital of Sri Lanka’s Northern Province. Although the city’s significant landmarks are being rebuilt or rehabilitated, including Hindu temples and the revered Jaffna Public Library, many buildings remain gutted or severely pocked with bullet holes. Certain areas have not been cleared of unexploded land mines, leaving large swaths of land off-limits and thousands of families waiting to reclaim their homes and livelihoods. The strong Sri Lankan Army presence in the area gives an uneasy impression that this is not yet a society at peace. Some soldiers can be seen actively helping the mostly rural population rebuild their lives – I saw one driving a tractor with a group of farmers and another distributing cows in the middle of town – but most of the soldiers I saw were stationed on every other street corner, armed and alert.
05/10/2011
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Sydney Morning Herald
After the war, one of the few jobs available is clearing explosives.
THE women are taking back war-torn northern Sri Lanka, one square metre at a time.
05/04/2011
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American Center, American Embassy in Colombo, State Department, U.S. Embassy, U.S. State Department
ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE: It is a pleasure to return to Colombo and see so many old friends. I have had a series of productive meetings with Defense Secretary Rajapaksa and External Affairs Minister G. L. Peiris, members of the opposition, and representatives of civil society.
03/14/2011
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Asia Society
NEW YORK, March 14, 2011 - Sri Lankan Amb. Palitha T.B. Kohona, Amb. Robert Blake of the US State Dept., and Asia Society's Jamie Metzl assess prospects for reconciliation in postwar Sri Lanka. (1 hr., 47 min.)
Asia Society, Blake, development, Diaspora, GoSL, Kohona, Metzl, post-war, U.S.
03/11/2011
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IRIN
COLOMBO, 11 March 2011 (IRIN) - As the Sri Lankan government launches a cash-for-work programme in areas hit by recent flooding, following similar schemes in the former conflict areas in the north, experts warn of potential pitfalls of such schemes.
03/10/2011
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Asia Society
Over the last week, the United States has raised its voice regarding accountability and reconciliation in post-war Sri Lanka. A US Senate resolution called for the establishment of an independent international accountability mechanism, and Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake told AFP: "If Sri Lanka is not willing to meet international standards regarding these matters ... there will be pressure to appoint some sort of international commission to look into these things."
03/05/2011
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Lanka Business Online
Mar 05, 2011 (LBO) - A Sri Lankan employment network is encouraging businesses to give jobs to over 15,000 youth in the former northern war zone who are seeking work and help improve ethnic relations in the country.
02/27/2011
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Groundviews
On 4 February, Sri Lanka celebrated its 63rd birthday. After nearly three decades of armed conflict, it is now one of Southasia’s calmest and fastest-growing countries. Its social indicators, apart from the northeast zone, remain the best in the region, and its strategic location is inviting investments from both Asian giants, China and India. Its stock markets are booming, its growth rate bouncing at around eight percent, and tourists are back to enjoy sun, sand and sea. Along with big sister India, Lanka is the only other country in the South Asian region with unbroken if rather tattered democracy since independence from the British Raj in 1948, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently congratulated the government of Sri Lanka when it released a Standby Agreement (SBA) loan tranche despite the high ratio of public debt to GDP.