Features

Features

Latest news from and about the homeland

Remembering Sivaram - 20 years since the killing of leading Tamil journalist
Today marks the 20th anniversary since the abduction and murder of Tamil journalist Dharmeratnam Sivaram. Sivaram, popularly known under his nom-de-plume Taraki, was abducted in front of Bambalipitiya police station in Colombo on April 28 and was found dead several hours later in a high security zone in Sri Lanka's capital, which at the time had a heavy police and military presence due to the…

Witness to Thileepan’s fast

Sep 11, 2007
Adele Balasingham
‘As we entered the premises of the Nallur Kandasamy temple we were confronted by a sea of people seated on the white sands under the blazing sun.’
 
Thileepan, the young Tiger leader of Jaffna, took the podium on the 14th September at the Nallur Kandasamy temple to commence his fast- unto-death as a protest against India’s failure to fulfill her pledges, and to mobilise the frustrated sentiments of the Tamils into a national mass upsurgence.
 
Thileepan’s non-violent struggle was unique and extraordinary for its commitment.

The wretched of the earth

Aug 28, 2007
Sonali Samarasinghe
The Sri Lankan government may hail the scorching of the east as a victory but for the civilians of the east it is hell on earth.

Mistaking night for day in the new dawn of the east

Aug 28, 2007
David Rampton
A review of the al-Jazeera Documentaries, ‘How the East was Won’ and ‘Monks of War’

Sri Lanka economy slides

Jul 17, 2007
"There is clear evidence that production in several sectors of the economy was affected by the prevailing security conditions and the tight money policy."

I had hoped he would carry me, now I have to carry him

Jul 17, 2007
Displaced since 1990, a Tamil fisherman tells a tale of fleeing one tragedy only to find another catastrophe. Aloysius Premathas, having just seen his son loose his legs in a SLAF air-raid, recounts his familiy’s woes.

Life for ordinary Tamils gets worse

Jun 20, 2007
Mel Gunasekera
Every time 16-year-old Suresh Subramanium steps out of his home in Sri Lanka's heavily-guarded capital, his father says a silent prayer for his son's safe return.
 
The Subramaniums are ethnic Tamils, and run a grocery store in Colombo. They have lived in the city all their lives, and have little connection to the north and east where government troops are fighting Tamil Tigers.
 
But they say life for ordinary Tamils in Colombo is getting worse.
 
"I can't step out of the house without my identity card and police papers.

‘Every night now, I am afraid’

Jun 20, 2007
Sri Lankan authorities were rounding up hundreds of ethnic minority Tamils in the capital of Colombo, forcing them onto buses to destinations unknown.
 
They were allowed to return two days later , after an international uproar , but many Tamils are afraid the expulsions could mark the beginning of a new wave of persecution, and that the next knock on the door might be even more dangerous.
 
"I'm scared about what will happen," said the woman, Sanmugam Rasamma, who came back to Colombo after her expulsion.

Tiger planes change war dynamics

Apr 30, 2007
Amal Jayasinghe

The new capability of the Tamil Tigers to carry out airborne attacks has not only made them a rarity among the world's guerrilla outfits but has also badly shaken an entire country.

Sri Lanka's defence ministry has acknowledged that the Tigers may be operating at least five light aircraft, used in three headline-grabbing raids against military and civilian targets over the past month.

The Tigers already possess an effective naval unit known as the Sea Tigers.

Life in embattled Batticaloa

Apr 10, 2007
PK Balachandran
There was not a town in the government-held areas which was not dotted with Karuna's offices or camps, which significantly, were almost always close to the camps of the government forces.

No going back until peace is restored, refugees say

Apr 10, 2007
P. K. Balachandran
The attacker can't be seen. There is no warning that he is going to come. There is no escape!'
Witness to Thileepan’s fast
The wretched of the earth
Mistaking night for day in the new dawn of the east
Sri Lanka economy slides
I had hoped he would carry me, now I have to carry him
Life for ordinary Tamils gets worse
‘Every night now, I am afraid’
Tiger planes change war dynamics
Life in embattled Batticaloa
No going back until peace is restored, refugees say
Witness to Thileepan’s fast
The wretched of the earth
Mistaking night for day in the new dawn of the east
Sri Lanka economy slides
I had hoped he would carry me, now I have to carry him
Life for ordinary Tamils gets worse
‘Every night now, I am afraid’
Tiger planes change war dynamics
Life in embattled Batticaloa
No going back until peace is restored, refugees say