Journalist who became the chief strategist and negotiator of the Tamil Tigers in their struggle for autonomy.
ANTON Balasingham, the LTTE's chief negotiator and ideologue who died of bile duct cancer in London on Thursday at the age of 68, was a moderating influence on the militant group's supremo, Velupillai Pirapaharan. "He knew the importance of flexibility in political negotiations when flexibility was called for. Even though he fully endorsed the hard line of the LTTE and ultimately, always bowed to the wishes of Pirapaharan, he never failed to argue for accommodation when he thought that prudence demanded it," said a Tamil journalist who was close to him. Towards the end of his life, when he...
If President Rajapakse can't ask the Norwegians to go, he can certainly make it impossible for them to stay.
States enjoy no legitimacy without the consent of their territorial minorities. Britain went to war for this principle in Kosovo.
For the custodians of the global economy US, EU and Japan, ensuring Sri Lanka's stability, not a just peace, is the pressing priority.
Tamils need to come to terms with the fact that the international community is simply not interested in their difficulties.
For decades, cautious and limited engagement with Sri Lanka's ethnic crisis has not served India's interests.
The world has turned away. The Tamils must find a way out of this crisis on their own.
Tourists won’t put up with bombs and random violence. I am writing this on my laptop in the thatched dining area of our cabanas in Tangalle, Sri Lanka, safe in the knowledge that we are the only guests here. Given the rising level of violence, and the refusal of both sides to make concessions in peace talks, it is no surprise that tourists haven’t exactly been flocking to this fabled isle. And after the LTTE attack on the Galle naval harbour last month, there have been massive cancellations. Long considered safe, the attack on Galle demonstrated yet again the long reach of the Tigers...
Tamils fear they have lost their right to fundamental freedoms of conscience, thought, belief, opinion, expression, peaceful assembly and association enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.